The Future of Web Hosting: Web Content Management
by Bruno Pedro
Current panorama. In the beginning, websites were created by a single person: the webmaster. The webmaster was simultaneously a web designer, a programmer and a content creator. This wasnt obviously an efficient solution as all the responsibility was committed to a single person.
Some companies were aware of this reality and took the opportunity to offer specialised services in web design and programming. Normally a web design company updated the information. This was a slow and eventually expensive solution.
Many solutions included tools that would let the customer update the information on the website without the help from external services. These were not off-the-shelf solutions and were considered extremely expensive.
By that time, generic content management solutions started to appear. The ability to update information on the website as well as to manage the links between pages was made possible by these solutions. However, they were expensive and based on user licenses.
These solutions fit well into medium and large sized companies, who could afford them. Small companies keep relying on web design companies to get their websites updated or just do it themselves.
Along this line there are other companies that simply rent space on permanently connected Internet servers. These Web Hosting businesses are based on rigid rental plans with prices that are not compatible with large volumes of information.
What is the solution?
Why dont we offer tools that can simplify this whole process? Websites would be developed in such a way that they would have the capacity of being edited online. That capacity would be available at major web hosting companies at competitive prices.
Therefore the website development cycle would be highly simplified. Then, software development companies could focus on website customisation and improvement of content management tools which are available online.
Using the web to manage the web
One major problem about currently available solutions lies in their management tools. These tools are developed for a specific operating system and platform. The maintenance of these tools becomes highly expensive over time. One needs to do software upgrades in every computer, every time a new version comes out.
A web-based application doesnt have this kind of problems. Any computer with a web browser is perfectly capable of using it. Therefore it is not necessary to do software upgrades every time a new version is available. It becomes available for every user without further costs. The web-based application also has the advantage of being used from anywhere: at the office, at home, even from a laptop at an airport. There are countless possibilities.
Obviously, these applications need to have a high degree of security, so that only certified users are allowed to execute permitted operations. It is also necessary to provide an effective information backup and restore system. The application must also run in a speed compatible with local applications, so that users feel good using it.
Conclusion
We are now facing a new generation of web applications. These are generic web based information management tools. The way these applications are being commercially explored is not helping too much. The truth is that everyone would benefit if a much simpler commercial model would be found, one that could help to improve the development cycle.
This is the future, and we are part of it.