June 13, 2017

Content Management Systems (CMS)

Content management systems are nothing but software that allows you to create a website and its subsequent updates and expansion easily. The creation of content and presentation on the website, which is managed by CMS (Content Management System), takes place with the help of easy-to-use user interfaces in web pages containing complex forms and modules. In short, a website based on the CMS system allows you to edit the content yourself without having any IT knowledge. The most popular content management systems are WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. To be able to operate these and other systems, the free and open Django framework is safer.

The advantage of having access to the CMS is independence because the contractor providing the CMS must train and show the system's functionality. If we learn how to use CMS, we will manage the content on the website on our own. CMS allows you to easily add, delete and freely modify content, graphics, pictures, photos, videos, or tables. To operate, you only need a few mouse clicks on the buttons available in the application.

WordPress is the most popular content management system. It consists of files and databases. If any of them are attacked, it is difficult to recover data; in databases, it is possible to restore them from 7 days ago. If we do not immediately realize that there has been a hack, unfortunately, restoring older data is impossible. There has been an attack on this system recently. Hundreds of thousands of users have compromised website stability, mainly because the WordPress update was not done on time. Well-positioned websites are the most susceptible to attacks, which does not mean that those hidden in further places will never be attacked. Nobody chooses a specific page to be affected by it, as it is often the person who attacks, not the program.

To create the page, we log in with a login and password, but there are some vulnerabilities in the security through which an attack may occur. To avoid this, the system should be updated regularly. Users themselves create new add-ons that are not verified too thoroughly and duplicated in other projects, creating dangerous vulnerabilities that are very susceptible to attacks. We will not catch everything at once, but it is better to prevent potential threats than to have a problem with dealing with the existing ones.

It is important always to remember page backups, i.e., backups, i.e., creating a full backup of files that will allow you to restore lost or changed files. It is best to keep such copies in a suitable place and for as long as possible. An external carrier will work well.

The free and open Django framework, written in Python, is used to create web applications. The Django administration panel is automatically generated and complete, allowing for further customization for a specific user. It has a clear, simple template system, readable for everyone. It allows safe and easy database operations thanks to high-level ORM (object-relational mapping). High performance under load and scalability.

Django is not a CMS itself; it is a web farmer, a programming tool that allows you to build websites. It is something you use to create things like Joomla and Drupal, for example. Django is very stable. It was designed to be able to use its potential fully.

The use of free CMSes does not mean that the website will be cheaper to make because you pay for their installation, configuration, and graphic design. Free solutions work well, but they also have significant limitations that are often impossible to overcome when we personalize our website. Therefore, it is best to trust an experienced contractor and use his knowledge; then, we will gain full support and a guarantee that everything will work according to our expectations.

Of course, it is very profitable to write exploits for content management systems. Unfortunately, many people create plugins that are not verified, and people use them without checking if they are safe. Also, they require constant updates as patches come out, which makes them less secure than the Django framer.