Admin panel (CMS)

What types of CMS are there?

CMSs broadly fall into software you install yourself, website builders you pay for monthly, and admin panels custom-built for your website. For example, WordPress is well known as an installable CMS, Imweb and Wix as subscription website builders, and Cafe24 as a service specialized for online stores.

Generally, the more freedom a type gives you, the more upkeep it needs. The more you can bolt onto a tool, the more you have to handle updates and security yourself; the easier a tool is to manage, the more limits there are on changing its design or features.

Whatever the type, be sure to check “whether you can export your posts and photos later.” Even if you can’t take the design with you when you move, you should at least be able to download your posts and photos so you don’t lose years of content.

What can I change in the admin panel?

Usually you edit the “content” yourself, such as posts, photos, notices and menu prices, while the web agency handles the page structure and design. Keeping content and design separate means your website’s look stays intact no matter who posts.

For a cafe, for example, you’d change seasonal menu items and prices, closure notices and event banner text yourself, and ask your provider to add a new menu category or rearrange the first screen.

If staff will use it too, check whether you can assign different permissions. An “editor” role that can post but can’t change settings keeps anyone from accidentally deleting important settings.

It also matters whether you can preview edits before they go live. With a preview, you catch mistakes like a wrong price or a cropped photo before your customers do.

Aren’t social media and Naver Place updates enough?

Social media and Naver Place updates are great for getting news to customers quickly. But those posts pile up inside each platform, so they don’t remain as search assets for your own website.

Posts you publish on your website through the admin panel build up under your own address, and over time they become paths that bring customers to you from Google and Naver search. For example, if a craft workshop keeps posting articles like “How to care for a leather wallet” on its website, people searching for that topic may discover the workshop for the first time.

That’s why many businesses use both. Short notices go on social media and Naver Place, guides and information meant to last go on the website, and social posts link back to those articles.

What should I check when choosing a CMS?

Start by deciding “what will be changed, how often, and by whom,” and the right admin panel becomes clear. The best tool isn’t the one with the most features, but the one that makes it easiest to change what you’ll actually change.

For example, for a Pilates studio whose timetable changes weekly, easy timetable editing matters most; for a craft workshop that often posts photos of its work, being able to upload several photos at once and reorder them easily matters most. Even with the same CMS, the key features differ from business to business.

1. 01List what you want to change yourself. (e.g. menu prices, timetable, photos of your work, notices)
2. 02Note how often you change each one. (Weekly, monthly or seasonally)
3. 03Decide who will post and whether staff will use it too.
4. 04With a preview or trial account, try posting one photo and one post yourself from your phone.
5. 05Check whether you can create separate staff accounts with different permissions.
6. 06Ask whether you can export your posts and photos if you move elsewhere later.
7. 07Check for monthly subscription fees, paid features and extra charges.

How do I keep my admin panel secure?

The admin panel is the key to your website, so most of its security comes down to account management and updates. Installable software in particular is often attacked through weaknesses in outdated add-ons (plugins), so regular updates are important.

Use a password you don’t use on any other site, and if 2-step verification (a second check on your phone when you log in) is available, be sure to turn it on. When an employee leaves, delete their account or change the password that same day.

Problems can still happen, so regular backups are a must. If your website suddenly shows strange ads or posts you don’t recognize, tell your web agency right away, and if needed you can report it to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) through its Boho Nara security portal.

Get in the habit of logging into the admin panel from your own device rather than a shared computer at your business, and log out when you’re done. If a password is saved on a shared computer, anyone can get into your admin panel.

What should I ask before having an admin panel built?

The most common mistake is hearing “there’s an admin panel” and never checking what you can actually edit. Some owners only find out after launch that they can post notices but can’t change menu prices.

Also ask whether you can edit the fields that matter for search yourself. If you can change page titles, descriptions and photo descriptions (alt text) in the admin panel, you can get each new post ready for search at the same time you publish it.

The first month or so after launch is when you’ll have the most questions. Check before signing whether you can ask again how to use it or request small edits during this period, and whether that costs extra, so you can relax.

• Exactly which items can I change myself?
• Are uploaded photos automatically resized to the right size?
• Will you show me how to use it at first? Is there a manual?
• If I switch providers, can I get my posts and photos?