Building a Website Using a CMS in 90 Minutes

This is another in the "In Ninety Minutes" series, which offers the reader a comprehensive but easily readable and easily digestible text covering a specific topic in an hour and a half of study.

There are many free Content Management Systems available. These 'websites in a box' allow complex site structures to be up and running in a matter of hours, using nothing but a web browser.

Topics covered include the following:

overview of CMS systems vs static HTML or 'home-grown' sites;
evaluating CMS systems;
choosing the right web space and server functionality;
installing a CMS (focusing on the Mambo and Joomla! CMSs);
building your content's structure;
installing additional modules (including forums and ecommerce);
modifying the look and feel of the site;
optimising the CMS for search engines;
modifing the back-end database using phpMyAdmin;
and backing up the site.

In 90 minutes, readers will be able to identify the best CMS for their needs, locate a suitable hosting company, upload the code and configure it to match their design and functionality needs.