How and why a cms works:

I use a cms to build my websites. I never used to like the idea of using a database to store my information – part of the reason for this was that I didn’t understand what the point of it was. But now I do.

I love my cms because I can skin anything I want and plug sections of data around the graphics. I can add javascript and use that in conjunction with elements of my cms. I can also edit the templates of the site using HTML.

The way a cms works is that each different bit of information is stored is a column in a database and then that information can be generically accessed. So if I have a page it would be made up of a title, the content and a location within the hierarchy of the site – where it is in the menu.

These tags are pieces of code that call to the database to show that information – the part of the information above that you can’t see is the database column which say, “this is page 1, this is page 2″.

You can download a free content management system from here, but read up on how to work if before you think about building a site with it.

Stay tuned there will be more talk of cms in the future.