A content management system (CMS) is computer software that handles the presentation of your web site's content to your users. Rather than having to worry about how to display photos or your storefront or a blog, you only have to be concerned with which photos to display, what you want to sell in the store or what you want to say in the blog. In other words, you just have to be an expert in your subject matter; you don't have to be a computer programmer.

You still have to learn to use the content management system--and there is a learning curve. The content management system will save you significant time and money and allow you to quickly and easily add new features to your web site so it's worth your time to learn it. At 20MinuteWebBusiness.com, we'll be leading you by the hand, 20 minutes at a time so you'll master the learning curve gently.

Use Drupal for Your Content Management System

There are hundreds of content management systems in existence. Some cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Others are free, open-source software. You are welcome to use any one you want. But there is one that's often voted the best. It's free. It's available on BlueHost.com and on most other web hosts. Its name is Drupal. Perhaps you've heard of it. Because of its high quality and zero cost, we'll use it to build your business. (Our philosophy is that it's not good to consume your capital if you can get what you need for free.)

Major Web Sites that Use Drupal

There are thousands of web sites based on Drupal. To give you confidence that Drupal is a good choice for your web site, take a look at some of these "name brand" sites. (Warning: if you spend too much time surfing, you may exceed your 20 minutes! Oh, well. You can always come back for a second 20 minutes.)

American Idol AOL.com (for their corporate site) Fast Company magazine Amnesty International Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City Yahoo.com (for their research site) Popular Science magazine The Kentucky Derby

MTV UK Crosby, Stills and Nash, the band Warner Bros. Records Forbes magazine (for their office pranks) The Grateful Dead band The Onion The New York Observer

Install Drupal

Join this illustrious (or, at least, well-known) group of Drupal users. Follow the steps below if you signed up for BlueHost.com. Otherwise, go to your web host and sign in, then search on the control panel for Drupal and install it.

1. Click on BlueHost.com and sign in.
2. From your control panel, scroll down to the Software Services section and click on the SimpleScripts icon.
3. Scroll down to the Content Management section and click on Drupal.
4. Click on the Install Now button.
5. If this is your first site at BlueHost.com, you can simply accept the choices on the form that SimpleScripts shows you without changing anything. You may want to read the license agreement if you're not familiar with it. Then click the Complete button.
6. Wait a few seconds for the installation process to finish. (One of the reasons we recommend BlueHost.com is that they use SimpleScripts to make it fast and easy to install new features on your web site.)
7. Copy down the password. Drupal will email it to you as well but you'll want it handy for the next 20 minute session when you'll get a chance to change it to something easier to remember.

That's it. It only takes a few seconds and you're done. If all went as planned, and you didn't get lost surfing the example Drupal sites, this task took a lot less than 20 minutes.