A web content management system is essentially a computer system used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of web documents. A CMS facilitates document control, auditing, editing, and timeline management. A Web CMS provides the following key features:

Automated Templating:

Create standard visual templates that can be automatically applied to new and existing content, creating one central place to change that look across all content on a site.

Easily Editable Content:

Once your content is separate from the visual presentation of your site, it usually becomes much easier and quicker to edit and manipulate. Most CMS software include WYSIWYG editing tools allowing non-technical individuals to create and edit content.

Scalable Feature Sets:

Most CMS have plug-ins or modules that can be easily installed to extend an existing site's functionality.

Web Standards Upgrades:

Active CMS solutions usually receive regular updates that include new feature sets and keep the system up to current web standards.

Workflow management:

Workflow is the process of creating cycles of sequential and parallel tasks that must be accomplished in the CMS. For example, a content creator submits a story but it's not published on the website until the copy editor cleans it up, and the editor-in-chief approves it.

Document Management:

CMS solutions always provide a means of managing the lifecycle of a document from initial creation time, through revisions, publication, archive, and document destruction.