HTML, CSS and Javascript

CMS - Content Management System

The first content management systems went online in the mid-1990s, but the birth of the modern CMS was in the early 2000s, with Joomla and Wordpress among others. Until then, most websites were still created manually using the three core web technologies.

The first modern website went online on 20 December 1990, and since then HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) has formed the basis of every online presence. A few years later, HTML was joined by other technologies that became the cornerstone technologies of every website; CSS and Javascript.

CSS (Cascading Stylesheets) greatly expanded the possibilities for displaying a website so that it is now more than just plain text with images. In addition, CSS offered the advantage that the layout was defined in its own file, so that the content and layout of a website were now separated from each other, which greatly simplified the creation of a website.

JavaScript also became a core technology of the web (after some initial difficulties) and is used to execute more complex functions on a website, e.g. browser games, validation of user input or displaying new content without reloading the page.

Although these three technologies have been constantly updated and expanded since their introduction in the 1990s, creating your own website still represents quite the challenge. It is impossible to create dynamic website using only HTML and CSS, and even though Javascript can solve that issue, the average user often lacks the necessary knowledge of these technologies to create their own web presence. Furthermore, FTP access (or similar) to the server hosting the website is required for any changes. If this is not available, change requests must be made via the server's administration. What to do..?

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CMS

CMS to the rescue

This is where CMS come to the rescue! The introduction of these systems made the creation of modern, dynamic websites accessible to people that have little or no knowledge of the the three cornerstone technologies.

Contrary to raw HTML sites, CMS offer an administration area that enables users to update and expand the website's content on the go. This area offers a graphical user interface that makes managing a website and its content faster and far more convenient. The content of a website can be created using an UI similar to a text editor such as Word or Open Office; content can therefore be created without knowledge of HTML or CSS.

In addition, a CMS brings many advanced functions to the table, such as the possibility of user registration & management, uploading and displaying digital media (images, videos) and various security features (encryption of transmitted data, backups, logging).

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Websites for everyone?

Does the introduction of CMS mean that everyone now has the opportunity to create their own website?

The answer to this question is yes and no. On one hand, you can create a good-looking website quickly and easily, but on the other hand, if you want a good-looking website that loads quickly and ranks high in search engine results, deeper knowledge, experience and patience are essential.

Last but not least, maintaining and securing a website is a task that should not be underestimated.

The introduction of CMS has certainly contributed to the establishment of an increasing number of web agencies. In the course of our career, however, we have noticed that many web agencies only delivered a good-looking website; the technical aspect, however, painted a different picture. The sites were often slow, had little to no SEO optimisation and were not designed to be viewed on mobile devices. (Mistakes that we used to make, too.). So, all show and no substance.

So if you don't want to do it yourself, choosing the right web agency plays an important role in the creation of your own web presence.

We can help! Read about our services, or write us!

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To be spoilt for choice

As with all products, there is a large selection on different system, each one with their strengths and weaknesses.

We focus on the following systems:

Wordpress

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Wordpress

The undisputed market leader among CMS; 43% of all websites are created with Wordpress. The focus of this CMS is primarily on user-friendliness, so that even users with little development experience can quickly create a good-looking website. Due to its huge market share, it has a correspondingly large community as well as the largest selection of templates and extensions from third-party developers.

Logo Wordpress

At a glance

  • Usability:
    Wordpress goes to great lengths to being beginner-friendly. The user interface is clean and easy to navigate, allowing the users to easily edit the content of the website even without much in-depth knowledge.
  • Page speed:
    Wordpress has fast loading speed, but increasing page complexity tends to slow it down.
  • Security:
    The core security systems of a WordPress website are rock solid and the huge community ensures that any vulnerability is quickly discovered and fixed. The biggest security vulnerability lies in the extensions; every extension installed increased the risk of adding security issues. The huge market share is also a disadvantage on this front; as there is a disproportionately large number of WordPress sites, the likelihood of these being attacked is also greater.
  • Expandability:
    There are over 59000 third party extensions for Wordpress. (As of August 2024)

Joomla

Joomla is a CMS suitable for both beginners and experienced developers. It offers a modern, easy-to-use user interface and many technical functions that are only available in Wordpress via third-party extensions. And although Joomla's market share is only a fraction of Wordpress, it has a large community and a good selection of extensions and templates.

Logo Joomla

At a glance

  • Usability:
    With the Joomla 4.0 update, the whole user interface was modernised, making website management more convenient. Nevertheless, many users still prefer the Wordpress user interface.
  • Page speed:
    A pure Joomla installation performs slightly slower than Wordpress in terms of speed however, the complexity of a site has less impact on the page speed.
  • Security:
    Joomla offers many security features out of the box, such as SSL encryption, two-factor authentication, ReCaptcha and an internal backup system. Joomla also receives regular updates that fix any discovered security issues. As with Wordpress, third-party extensions can also be installed with Joomla, which offer the same advantages and disadvantages.
  • Expandability:
    The official page offers 5450 extensions. (As of August 2024)

Contao

Contao is a CMS developed in Germany that is more suitable for experienced users rather than beginners. Although it can be difficult to get started with this system, it is definitely worth the effort as it offers many functions that are essential for a dynamic website as well as easily achieving high loading speeds.

Logo Contao

At a glance

  • Usability:
    Contrary to Joomla and Wordpress, Contao is aimed less at beginners and more at technically experienced users. Accordingly, Contao has a steeper learning curve.
  • Page speed:
    Joomla and Wordpress provide the user with UI tools for creating content that can be used like a text editor. While easy to use, it has the disadvantage that the code generated by the CMS tends to be unnecessarily complicated and bulky. With Contao, the development returns to the classic HTML, which is more complicated, but has the advantage of much leaner code. This leads to very high loading speeds, which are difficult to achieve with Joomla and Wordpress.
  • Security:
    Contao has similar security features to Joomla. As Contao is used much less frequently than Joomla or Wordpress, this CMS is a far less interesting target for hackers.
  • Expandability:
    The Contao community is nowhere near as large as Joomla's, let alone Wordpress. As such, the size of the community and the number of available extensions (2003, as of August 2024) is correspondingly small.

What services do we offer for CMS?

Despite all the advantages and simplifications offered by a CMS, the creation of your own web presence should not be taken lightly. In addition to HTML, CSS and JavaScript, many other skills are required for a good and secure website, such as Linux, nginx, SEO optimisation and many more...
That's where we come in!

We offer a large selection of services:

  • Development of your online presence:
    We support you every step of the way, from the purchase of the domain name to the launch of your online presence.
  • Website-Hosting:
    We offer you fast servers with a secure backup strategy and website maintenance so that your online presence is always up to date.
  • Restoration of your website:
    Has your website fallen victim to an attack or misconfiguration? We can restore it!
  • Website-transfer:
    No longer happy with your current provider? Switch over to us and enjoy the benefits mentioned above.
  • SEO optimization:
    We give your website the boost it needs to be at the top of the search results!
  • Extensions:
    We develop our own extensions for Joomla, Contao and Wordpress.

Did we pique your interest, and you'd like to know more?
Read more about our website support and SEO optimizations... or write us!

Never begin to stop. Never stop to begin!¹

We look forward to connecting with you and bringing ideas and visions into the digital world together!
Let's create new things and improve existing ones together!

¹ Quote by Marcus Tullius Cicero

Contact

Mo-Fr: 8:00 – 17:30

Address

2C, op der Gare
L-6850 Manternach

Phone
+ 352 29 20 21
Email
info[AT]time4digital.lu
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