Why Microsoft® Word?

Most content management systems (CMS) assume you want to manage and maintain every single part of your content separately. With this assumption, you must convert your documents to HTML manually, or split your content into pieces and input them separately into the system, making a distinction between text, images, hyperlinks, etc.

This will take a lot of time and effort. Even if the system provides a text editor (usually a Word look-alike) to input and format your content, it’s still tedious and laborious work. Additionally, you have most likely created the original version in your own text editor, as documents are rarely written solely for the web.

So why not publish these documents straight to the web?

It’s easier

Most people already know how to use Microsoft® Word. Even if a built-in, CMS text editor is very easy to use, it’s still an additional program to learn.

If you have a question about a specific Microsoft® Word feature, there is usually someone around to ask for help. Knowledge about Microsoft® Word is widespread and it is a program used frequently outside of the context of WebHare. A word processor as part of a CMS will only be useful for that single purpose.

Furthermore, embedding Excel charts, creating complex tables, spelling and grammar corrections will always be just a little bit easier and more flexible in Microsoft® Word.

It makes more sense

A paragraph of text or an image rarely has meaning without its context. Why is it common in most CMS to separate each paragraph, image, table and hyperlink into its own solitary ‘object'?

“The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” An image without textual clarification is usually meaningless. It just makes more sense to manage an image in a meaningful context along with the textual information.

Organizing information is also much easier to do in Microsoft® Word. A single document can be divided into multiple web pages. WebHare will adjust the layout of each document to adhere to your corporate design specifications and will automatically create hyperlinks to the separate pages.

Then why do others do it differently?

That’s a legitimate question. Each CMS, based on its own logic, chooses its own approach. There are pros and cons to every system.

We also see the advantage in dividing information into separate ‘objects’. As a matter of fact, this idea is used frequently in WebHare when it comes to storing meta information such as the author, a short description, the publication date and/or keywords.

But we don’t overdo it. Most information on the Internet is only relevant for a short timeframe. A news item is obsolete within a week and even a product description doesn’t last forever. That’s why, in our opinion, it’s important to make information as easy as possible to maintain and refresh. In WebHare, priority goes to the way information is created and maintained, not the way in which it is stored.