Content is dynamic

D for Dynamic
What Does That Mean?What does that mean?

The concept of dynamic content is technically motivated and is an important feature of modern content management systems.

With the introduction of the World Wide Web and HTML as the language for coding web content, content itself was initially static. Similar to traditional editorial processes, a web editor created an HTML file in an editor and then published it via a web server. However, the first software solutions that enabled editors to dynamically compile a complete HTML page appeared very early on. This means that individual parts such as text elements, images etc. are put together in real time at the time of publication.

Not only can content be published much faster and at much shorter notice, it can also be easily updated at any time – in other words, it can be dynamically adapted to new circumstances or current events.

Why Is This Important, and How Can I Benefit from It?

The dynamics of content are a decisive factor in the fundamental changes brought about by digital, Internet-based communication.

The ability to produce content dynamically is the basis for interactive real-time communication. Web 2.0 with its possibilities for social interaction would not be possible without dynamic processes for content creation and publication.

However, dynamism is not only important in one-to-one communication between people on digital channels, it is also the basis for the creation of personalized content, i.e. content tailored to the specific needs of individuals. In modern content management systems, artificial intelligence algorithms now do the work of creating content dynamically.

How Exactly Can I Use This for Myself, and What Tools Are Available?

Dynamic content creation is no longer a specialty. Nobody creates a website by directly creating an HTML file in an editor anymore. Nowadays, content management systems are always database-based, i.e. they help to manage individual content assets (text, images, videos, etc.) and dynamically combine them on a page.

Editorial systems that support XML-based workflows are significantly more complex and powerful than web content management systems. Here, the content fragments are equipped with additional metadata that helps to define rules for when and how publishable content is created from individual content modules.

Due to the highly dynamic nature of the internet and the sheer unmanageable variety of content, dynamism is now not only a characteristic of content, but also an obligation for media creators to update their content dynamically on an ongoing basis. This is because topicality, along with many other factors, is a key factor in the relevance that search engines such as Google or Bing attach to content.

Content that is not published dynamically ages more quickly – and is displaced by new, fresh content in the search engine results lists.