What's CMS? 

A Web content management system (WCMS or Web CMS) is content management system (CMS) software, usually implemented as a Web application, for creating and managing HTML content. It is used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of Web material (HTML documents and their associated images). A WCMS facilitates content creation, content control, editing, and many essential Web maintenance functions.

Usually the software provides authoring (and other) tools designed to allow users with little or no knowledge of programming languages or markup languages to create and manage content with relative ease of use.

Most systems use a database to store content, metadata, and/or artifacts that might be needed by the system. Content is frequently, but not universally, stored as XML, to facilitate reuse and enable flexible presentation options. A presentation layer displays the content to regular Web-site visitors based on a set of templates. The templates are sometimes XSLT files.

Administration is typically done through browser-based interfaces, but some systems require the use of a fat client.

Unlike Web-site builders like Microsoft FrontPage or Adobe Dreamweaver, a WCMS allows non-technical users to make changes to an existing website with little or no training. A WCMS typically requires an experienced coder to set up and add features, but is primarily a Web-site maintenance tool for non-technical administrators.

HUH?

Simply put a CMS makes it easy for the average everyday person to make text and component changes to their website. If you can use a computer you can update your site.

Another big selling points for potential clients is the ability to register users and assign access levels as well as implement many additional components like:

• Forums
• Blogs
• Live Chat
• Shopping Cart
• Customer Commenting
• File Sharing
• Photo Galleries
• Video Galleries
• Private Messaging System
• Event Calendar
• Event Registration
• and so much more

Prices for CMS websites vary greatly depending upon individual needs but generally range between $500-$1000.