CMS Series: Adobe Business Catalyst

Even though we’re here to help you succeed online, and our experience and love of the industry is what makes the process run smoothly, we think it’s important for you to have some idea of what it is we can do, and are doing, for your company. On top of that, you might like to manage the site yourself moving forward, in which case this background understanding is critical. So, as part of our series on Content Management Systems (CMSs), we’re going to run through in more detail what exactly Adobe Business Catalyst is and does. The first post in this group was ‘What is a CMS?’, so we’ll recap what we covered and then delve more into the Catalyst operating system specifically.

Adobe Business CatalystAdobe Business Catalyst

 

What we said:

CMSs have been around for a couple of decades now, starting off as a way for large corporations to stock and maintain digital documents. The idea behind them has developed somewhat nowadays so whilst a CMS is basically still a way to store files, when we’re speaking in the context of a website this includes coding that tells the Internet how to read the site.

 

What we use:

At Wolf we use a couple of different platforms. The most well known CMS publicly is WordPress (which you can read more about in our next post) but another we use is Adobe Business Catalyst. The latter is, along with WordPress, one that allows us to create powerful, unique websites for many types of companies.

Adobe Business Catalyst logo

So what is Adobe Business Catalyst?

What we said: CMSs have been around for a couple of decades now, starting off as a way for large corporations to stock and maintain digital documents. The idea behind them has developed somewhat nowadays so whilst a CMS is basically still a way to store files, when we’re speaking in the context of a website this includes coding that tells the Internet how to read the site. What we use: At Wolf we use a couple of different platforms. The most well known CMS publicly is WordPress (which you can read more about in our next post) but another we use is Adobe Business Catalyst. The latter is, along with WordPress, one that allows us to create powerful, unique websites for many types of companies. So what is Adobe Business Catalyst?”

Catalyst is, as the company themselves put it, “an all-in-one business website and online marketing solution”. Basically, it’s a CMS but integrated with a number of other built-in features that other platforms require certain extensions or entirely separate programs for.

For instance, along with your typical file storing and HTML coding sections (Content Management), Adobe has enhanced the platform with E-Commerce capability, Customer Database management, Built-In Email Marketing (as opposed to tying in something like MailChimp), as well as Reporting/Analytics.

Whilst most systems allow website builders and managers to add unique coding to themes or build a ‘child theme’ of their own, Catalyst is a platform for the coders. One where – as in the old days – coding can be done completely from scratch, with Adobe modules thrown on top where needed. This is ideal when you have the know-how.

So two things stand out for Adobe Business Catalyst: a less-restrictive coding space, and a 5-tier system as listed above.