A content management system (CMS) is a computer software system for organizing and facilitating collaborative creation of documents and other content. A content management system is frequently a web application used for managing websites and web content, though in many cases, content management systems require special client software for editing and constructing articles. The market for content management systems remains fragmented, with many open-source and proprietary solutions available.

There are several types of content management systems:

• Web content management systems assist in automating various aspects of web publishing.
• Transactional content management systems (T-CMS) assist in managing e-commerce transactions.
• Integrated content management systems (I-CMS) assist in managing enterprise documents and content.
• Publications management systems (P-CMS) assist in managing the publications (manuals, books, help, guidelines, references) content life cycle.
• Learning management systems (L-CMS) assist in managing the web-based learning content life cycle. See also managed learning environment.
• Document imaging systems are also generally considered under the family of general content management.
• Enterprise content management systems (E-CMS) vary in their functionality. Some support both the web and publications content life cycle, while others support the web content life cycle and either transactional content or customer relationship management content. The definition of AIIM for ECM includes methods and tools for"capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver" content across an enterprise."Manage" contains components like document management, collaboration, business process management, records management, email management, workflow and web content management. The ECM concept is not restricted to web based technologies but includes client/server and host based solutions.