A Content Management System (CMS) is a software application that makes it possible to publish documents and data on the internet without much technical knowledge.

It is usually a web application that is used to manage (online) content. A CMS is especially useful for websites where the content needs regular adjustments and the content is presented to visitors in a fixed layout.

It consists of at least three parts: an administration module, where data can be entered, deleted or modified; a database or other form of storage of the data; and a presentation module, where the entered data can be viewed by visitors.

A CMS can be built for a specific application, such as a webshop or website, but generic CMSs are also available. Some of them have been published under an open-source license. According to research, 77% of these open source solutions are a good alternative to closed source software solutions.