The first problem you will face while creating a website of any kind is choosing a CMS system. Having a website with a multitude of interesting functionalities is great. However, it doesn’t make a page easier to manage. Content Management System can save you trouble.
In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about CMS and its best options for RoR so that you can choose the best possible solution for you. Let’s get started.
What is Content Management System?
No matter what type of website you want to build, it surely is full of content, and the more content you want to include, the more complicated the management will be. That’s why we have Content Management Systems.
CMS is a type of software that helps you develop and manage content without hurdles. It will make it easier for you to create, edit, and delete the content of your website, making your work more efficient. The major advantage of this solution is that a website owner can make new sections and manage all the information independently. Meaning that there is no need to hire a specialist to assist on the matter.
Some of the features that are related to a CMS are:
- enabling new or existing formats into the electronic format of HTML or PDF before you upload it on your website,
- indexing your content and search look for specific attributes and keywords faster,
- having prefix templates and tools with specific settings for content modification and creation.
Some Content Management Systems include other, more specific features such as one-to-one marketing that enables you to manage ads for a particular user. Also, you can find CMS with tools like template customization, file management, multiple-language support, and so on.
What is Ruby on Rails?
Ruby on Rails is a software code built on top of another programming language, Ruby. RoR is an open-source web development framework that provides developers with an alternative to develop code much faster and more accurate. Speaking technically, we define it as a package library named RubyGem that you install with the use of the command-line interface on the operating system.
Ruby on Rails (also called Rails) was built by David Heinemeier Hansson. It’s written in Ruby under the MIT License, and it’s one of the MVC (model-view-controller) frameworks. The framework provides default structures for a database, a web service, and web pages. With RoR, you can easily encourage and facilitate the use of web standards such as JSON or XML for data transfer and HTML, CSS and JavaScript for user interfacing.
Moreover, another Rails feature is that it emphasizes the use of other well-known software engineering patterns and paradigms, including convention over configuration (CoC), don’t repeat yourself (DRY), and the active record pattern.
The innovative features of Ruby on Rails have greatly improved the development of web applications. The technology allowed for hassle-free database table creation, migrations and view scaffolding to enable rapid application development. It has groomed syntax and doesn’t require very elaborated punctuation. Compared to Java, Ruby is streamlined as it doesn’t need excessive lines of code to create simple structures such as data fields.
What is Ruby on Rails used for?
Software developers use RoR to create websites using the general-purpose programming language Ruby. Rails provides a structure for all codes; thus, invented to facilitate web application programming by predicting what every developer needs to start with.
You can use Ruby on Rails for:
- creating online stores with adequate and advanced browsing and buying options.
- creating profitable stock marketing platforms.
- creating social networking sites.
- creating non-standard complex projects.
- building features using it for creating Saas solutions.
Is Ruby on Rails good for CMS development?
Ruby on Rails is great for CMS development because it is a ready recipe for easy and successful development. If you want to take a step ahead of your competition, make sure you implement RoR technology choosing the right CMS simultaneously, and you are good to go.
Ruby on Rails is already excellent in itself; however, if you want to combine its functionality with something more and make your work easier at the same time, then Ruby on Rails Content Management System is your best choice.
Best Ruby on Rails Content Management Systems
Now you know how beneficial combining Ruby on Rails technology with the right CMS can be for your organization. But, you might not be sure what does a ‘right’ CMS means.
Are you wondering what the best Ruby on Rails Content Management Systems are? We have prepared for you a list of top CMS choices for RoR.
One of the most popular Ruby on Rails CMS thanks to its highly developed functionalities. It’s perfect for creating custom content websites that are easy to manage. It offers a long list of extensions with many features such as search support, contact forms, calendars, and image galleries. One of the most interesting features is a built-in image editor.
Refinery is especially useful when developing eCommerce sites; however, it will be perfect for any Rails application as it’s safe and easy to use.
Kind of a blog engine. You can use Locomotive to create a personal or corporate blog within minutes. It differs from other listed solutions as it is a hosted CMS for RoR.
Locomotive has an easy workflow. You basically need to install a command-line interface called Wagon to create sites with your favourite text and coding tools. It is not possible to change the look and feel of your website directly in the admin panel. However, when you develop your site and include content types locally, you can alter the website’s looks and manage the entire content.
Locomotive supports HTML layouts and snippets. Moreover, you can arrange multiple assets such as images, as well as JavaScript and CSS files.
One of the top solutions across CMS for RoR. Camaleon allows for advanced and dynamic content management as an alternative to WordPress. This CMS can be adapted to any kind of project without programming.
Besides publishing blog posts, uploading images, and providing an admin panel, Camaleon allows you to create and manage groups of content so that you can categorize it very quickly.
Pre-built themes, widgets, and customizable menus will help you define various types of users, for example, editors, administrators, or publishers. Additionally, the admin panel is available for English and Spanish speakers, and you can publish in English, French, Italian, and German.
Alchemy takes an interesting approach to content management as with this CMS; you need to split the page into logical parts such as headlines, paragraphs, or images. The only thing stored in its database is text, ids of images, and richtext contents. Thanks to that, developers can have the power and flexibility to implement various layouts, ensuring that the content manager won’t break it up.
We can say that Alchemy is sort of a ready CMS builder more than a full CMS solution. Thus, if you decide on this one, you have to be prepared to put some more effort until it responds to your requirements.
Sofa is something different. It still is a CMS engine. However, its tools differ from other Ruby on Rails Content Management Systems. For example, you will find there a CodeMirror text editor. The truth is that you will have to change HTML layouts manually, which might be a bit complicated at first if you’ve never done it before.
This CMS uses the I18n gem for multilanguage support, which means that you can develop more than one website with equal layout structure and mirror them. This means that when you change a template on one website, the rest of them will follow the same.
Comfortable Mexican Sofa approach to content management is designed for small web development teams who can handle HTML and can quickly learn a new template language.
Quite promising Ruby on Rails CMS. If you choose Spina for your company, you can be sure to find there a very attractive interface for user management, permissions, adding posts with images, multilingual support, and managing SEO-related metadata for each article. Also, you can alter your content’s structure with the use of drag and drop interfaces.
Even though Spina is a relatively simple Ruby CMS, it might provide you with everything you need. However, it lacks some features that could be useful for an HTML editor and won’t let you manage multiple websites in the same admin panel either.
Still, Spina CMS proves to be useful with the small but important features (such as adding a redirect URL for your article) that make it different from other Content Management Systems.
Conclusion
There are quite a few options when it comes to choosing a Ruby on Rails CMS for your website. It all depends on your company’s size and your specific needs. Many Content Management Systems offer different functionalities, and some might be more suitable for you than others. Hopefully, thanks to our guide, you will be able to choose the best CMS for you and benefit from it as much as possible.
Think about how would you like to manage your project, considering CMS quality features and drawbacks. In case you still have any doubts about it, do not hesitate to contact our team for assistance. We will be happy to help.
March 16, 2022
