Today we are confronted with so many terminologies, and all of these seem so confusing not only for beginners but for some experienced individuals as well.

We are hearing superfluity of jargon such as content management system (CMS), blogs, web editors and online site builders with each set of words so baffling to understand. 

To make things simpler, just keep in mind that all these terminologies refer to creating and updating websites. 

Now we shall attempt to explain each term one by one. 

Content Management System or CMS

CMS is software or a set of programs that are utilized to create and manage digital content. 

CMS applications are used more in business than for personal use. CMSs are very effective for one-to-one marketing, which in effect means you can customize content and promotional for a target audience. 

In other words CMS is a web application that allows a group of users in a business or organization to collaboratively maintain and organize content of a website in an effective manner. 

A content management system typically has two components. 

- Content Management Application – It enables users to create or manage business website content 
- Content Delivery Application - It is the backend services that facilitate delivery of content once it has been created. 

To summarize, a content delivery system:

- Indexes content in such a manner so that users can search by characteristics such as dates, name of the author or keywords. 
- Manages format, for example can change content to PDF
- Allows revisions, updating and modifications after initial publication
- Allows users to publish by making use of templates. 

Blog 

A blog is a personal journal that is frequently updated online. Simply put, via a blog you can make your presence felt to the world by your opinions and stories. 

A blog is your own personal diary on the internet. 

For practical purposes a blog is a piece of software that allows you to post content on the web without having the need to know HTML codes. 

The following features are common in all blogs

- Content posted in reverse chronological order, that is the newest is on top.
- Articles are organized into categories. For example, recipes for dishes, photography and political views can be separate category.  
- It has an archive of older content, in chronological order
- Readers are allowed to post comments
- A link is provided to related sites, called a blog roll.

There are plenty of reasons why people blog. Instead of an email or a newsletter, a blog is a more powerful medium to make your views felt on the internet. 

For examples, missionaries, social workers, performing artists and politicians use blogs to keep their supporters updated in their field of work. 

Blog is also a wonderful way to connect with like minded people. 

Since blogging is also an internet activity, there are certain steps you must go through. But you can rest assured these can be completed in less than 30 minutes. 

- Choose a suitable platform, for example WordPress or Blogger. 
- Choose web hosting
- Design the blog

Website builder

Website builders are tools that allow for structuring of a website without the need of manual code editing. 

You have two types:

1. Offline builders – You can download certain applications on your computer and then build your website and save the files till your website is ready to be uploaded. A clear advantage you get here is you can keep working offline as you have already downloaded the software program
2. Online builders – These are internet based and run on the hosting provider’s service. Unlike the offline type, you need not download and install the software. 

Are you still confused?

If you are keen on starting an online business, either a web site builder or a CMS can do the job. 

Both these platforms have pros and cons.

If you are into selling products and or services, you need ecommerce facilities. It is true CMS offers ecommerce add-ons but to be truly effective you may have to add plenty of great content in form of blogs.

While CMS platforms are cheap because they are free to download, they may prove to be inadequate in the long run. 

To customize the website to suit your specific business needs CMS may prove to be quite challenging, because it has a steep learning curve. 

Here Website builders can offer highly tailored solutions with no technical skills required from you. 

It is true CMS websites are free but you may end up paying hosting or domain charge and also some money for themes, development or modification of design. 

Therefore take into account all these considerations. 

We can summarize the entire issue in the following manner.

A website builder is a convenient fast tool that frees you from the technical burden of launching and maintaining a top class website. 

On the other hand for businesses that want a tailored and flexible solution, a CMS can be the best solution.