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February 14, 2000

Get A Handle On Web Content
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However, Boiko says, the electronic-publishing tools weren't initially designed for the Web and lack an understanding of the Web-content process. Again, companies that practice this type of electronic publishing will most likely adopt these tools for the Web.

A third group comes from the software-development world, not information publishing. While the other groups treat the Web as another form of publishing, this group looks at the Web as an extension of conventional application development. In application development, the company uses software configuration-management tools to organize, track, perform version control, and secure all the many chunks of diverse code that go into a final executable application. Managers can use the tools to roll back to an earlier version or branch the code to support parallel development streams.

However, even application development shops populated by trained, disciplined developers can find it difficult to impose and enforce strict software configuration-management discipline. These tools generally aren't designed for the typical Webmaster or the nontechnical content creators who contribute to most Web sites.

Still, if you use software configuration management and think of the Web site as an extension of application development, you can manage Web content as another bunch of objects along with the application code.

The fastest-growing group is the Web content-management players. The leading players in this group include BroadVision, Interwoven, and Vignette, although a new generation already is appearing. These newest entrants include ePrise, FutureTense (acquired by Open Market), and Allaire's Spectra. "These tools all look at Web content as components, not as files," Boiko says.

The tools also are built specifically for the Web and content management, unhindered by legacy technology and an installed base. These products should prove particularly appealing to dot-com companies and others building their Web content from scratch.

Finally, there are companies that dispense with front-end Web content management altogether. Instead, they manage the Web content entirely through a back-end database. In these cases, the content is loaded into a relational database from which it is poured into a Web template. The content is updated or removed through the database. This approach works particularly well for sites consisting primarily of data, such as price-item lists.

Regardless of which approach is used, the objective is to let computers manage the content. "It is not possible for the Webmaster to keep content management in his head," Boiko says.

With content-management tools, the company captures the content once and lets the technology take over. The Webmaster is free to focus on the look and feel of the site, navigation, performance, security, and other issues.

Finding the right content-management solution depends on the complexity of the Web site, who the contributors are and how many there are, the nature of the content, and the company's own skills and management orientation.

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