Acronyms can be confusing at first, but once you get the hang of them they tend to be a handy vocabulary asset. This especially rings true when it comes to technical jargon.
We at Gravity Jack have decided to help spread acronym awareness and periodically break down some of our favorite abbreviated terms that we use around the office. For our inaugural post, we want to explain what a CMS is, and why having one could prove to be a valuable addition to your mobile app.
Sure, in a perfect world a CMS would stand for cats mobbin’ segways, but unfortunately, that wouldn’t improve your app’s performance (or would it?). For us, a CMS represents a content management system. It allows you to manage different aspects of the app without the need to hire a developer. In most cases, it is created and accessed through the backend of a website and allows you to login online and make changes as necessary.
One of the most common use cases for a CMS are applications that offer various retail goods. For example, if a new product becomes available or if a price changes, you are able to log in online and update one single item or an entire product line. After a quick refresh, the new products, pictures, pricing, layout, etc… will all be reflected in the app.
Having a content management system keeps fresh content flowing through the app on your own time. This especially holds true if you want to swap out products or experiences with the changing seasons. Want to hold a 24 hour Black Friday sale within an app? Not a problem if a content management system is tied in.
Gone are the days of continually having to go back to a developer every single time something needs to be updated in the app. Tying a CMS to an app gives control back to you when it comes to making content changes within the app. Not only does this save you time, but it is also budget friendly when it comes to the life cycle of a mobile app.
The best part is that there are very few limitations on what content can be managed through a CMS – and it doesn’t necessarily have to be retail related. If you wanted to have the capability to control various Augmented Reality experiences for a tourism app or video game, our development team would set up an easy to use website that would make that possible with just a few clicks.
Even if your app is already built, it’s not too late to tie in a CMS. We have worked on projects in various stages of their development – from shower thoughts to apps that have been available in the App Store for years. If you have any questions about potentially adding a content management system to your app, feel free to contact our team. OR if you have an app idea about cats mobbin’ segways, we want to hear all about that too!
