LMS, CMS, LCMS…if you’re involved in customer education or employee training, then these three acronyms are bound to have popped up.
But if you’re still in the dark about what they actually mean (or what the difference is), you’re in the right place.
In this article, we’ll be looking at what they’re used for, the differences and similarities, and how to determine which one will work best for your organization.
What is a learning management system?
A learning management system (LMS) is a software application that helps companies implement and manage their e-learning courses and training programs.
There are many LMSs on the market, each with its own features and functionalities.
Generally speaking, however, they all work around the planning, delivery, and administration of e-learning content.
LMSs usually consist of a cloud-based or on-site server for storing data. They also have a user-friendly (hopefully) UI that’s used by learners, instructors, and administrators.
Whether it’s for employee, partner, or customer onboarding, upskilling, or reskilling, LMS software solutions provide learners with numerous interactive features for learning and development.
These functionalities aim to optimize online learning operations, improve the user experience, and boost knowledge retention.
Read our LMS basics guide for more details on LMSs.
Let’s now take a look at CMSs and what they’re all about.
What is a content management system?
A content management system (CMS) is a digital tool, typically used for the creation and management of a website, be it a personal blog, e-commerce marketplace, or corporate site.
Think of WordPress as a popular example.
It’s a CMS with a built-in authoring tool for content creation and management.
You can use it to create text, upload images and graphics, embed video and audio files, and more.
Though not specifically designed for corporate training purposes, businesses can still use CMSs in their customer or employee learning process.
Their main function in this scenario is creating, curating, and managing online training content in a central location.
As a side note, a learning content management system (LCMS) is a software tool that aims to combine the features and functionalities of both an LMS and a CMS in a single platform.
Now for the big question: What are the main differences between LMSs and CMSs?
LMS vs. CMS: The key differences
LMSs and CMSs are both great solutions for customer or employee training, but there are three major differences between the platforms. Here’s what you need to know before making your choice.
Heads-up: These aren’t the only ways CMS and LMS platforms differ, but they are the biggest factors to consider.
Creating content
The first obvious difference between them is in terms of content creation capabilities.
While most CMSs and LCMSs come equipped with some type of built-in content authoring tool, an LMS typically doesn’t.
This shouldn’t be a deal breaker, as most professional LMSs nowadays can integrate with third-party tools for communication, video conferencing, and, of course, content creation, among other functions.
That means you can take your pick on a content authoring tool that suits your needs and skill level.
With an LMS platform like Docebo Content, you can access over 20,000 off-the-shelf online courses for employee onboarding, upskilling, reskilling, sales enablement, compliance training, and more.
SCORM compatibility
Another major factor to keep in mind is SCORM compliance. SCORM, or Sharable Content Object Reference Model, is a set of e-learning industry standards.
SCORM allows for the different tools in an e-learning tech stack to communicate and share files, training courses, and other data with each other.
Since most digital learning materials are SCORM-compliant, the software platforms used to create, manage, or distribute them need to be too, otherwise, they won’t work.
While CMS tools generally cannot handle this type of digital content, most LMS platforms can.
This is a big factor to keep in mind if you plan to reuse training content or purchase eLearning courses from a third-party provider.
E-learning features
As their name suggests, LMSs typically focus on e-learning courses and training programs, whereas CMSs do not.
This means that any good LMS comes equipped with e-learning features and functionalities specifically designed to improve the learning experience.
These include knowledge bases and FAQ sections, on-demand training courses, built-in collaboration tools, videoconferencing and webinar integrations, quizzes, gamification features, and certification.
CMSs, on the other hand, specialize mainly in content creation and curation.
For example, with most CMSs, like WordPress or Squarespace, you can create training content and give employees user permission to engage with it. Yet, CMSs often lack the functionalities to drive engagement or completion rates.
On the instructor and administrator side, LMS digital platforms help deliver the training materials to fit the specific learning needs of their users.
These delivery methods can include things like mobile, blended, multimodal, or microlearning, among others.
LMSs also help track, monitor, assess, and report learner participation and performance.
CMSs generally do not. They may have some basic tracking and analytics but are not usually geared toward the e-learning experience. This is something to consider if you need to measure training ROI or learner progress.
That said, there are a few similarities between the two systems.
LMS vs. CMS: What are the similarities?
It’s generally more difficult to compare the two systems than it is to contrast them. This is largely because any similarities or differences depend on the specific tools being compared.
As we’ve said, most CMSs have content authoring capabilities, while many LMSs do not. Still, with an LMS tool like Docebo Shape, you can create AI-generated e-learning content, typically as learning pills.
These learning pills are bite-sized snippets of factual information that address a learner’s specific need at a particular moment.
Both types of management systems tend to be customizable and user-friendly but will differ based on the specific platforms we’re talking about.
This means that they can be tailored to fit your needs, and you won’t require special skills to operate them effectively.
Furthermore, both types of platforms can support multiple users and permissions, can be used to scale operations, and provide some level of reporting capabilities.
Lastly, they should both be able to provide data security against cyberattacks. So, knowing all this, which of the two platforms works for you?
LMS or CMS: Which should you use?
When it comes to choosing one of the two types of platform, you should consider exactly what you’ll be using it for.
CMSs are, by and large, used to create websites, blogs, and portfolios. But they are also good at creating and curating e-learning content.
They can also act as training material repositories that multiple editors and learners can access on demand.
However, CMSs lack the many features and functionalities that facilitate and streamline the e-learning process. This will become a problem, especially when companies look to scale their operations.
It’s almost impossible to design learning paths for employees with a CMS that can achieve the desired professional development.
A professional LMS, on the other hand, has the necessary features and functionalities to improve user engagement and knowledge retention.
Be it in terms of content creation, management, or deployment, as well as tracking and analyzing user performance, LMSs make it much easier to design and implement an e-learning strategy.
Therefore, an LMS is the better tool for employee training.
Solve your employee training needs with the right LMS
Going into employee training for the first time can be daunting, especially if you don’t know what tools and technologies are available for this purpose.
Understanding your needs is an important first step. Then, it’s homework time.
Hopefully, this article will help you better understand the difference between LMSs and CMSs. That way, you can make an informed decision about which solution will best meet your goals.
Finally, test potential platforms to see how they measure up.
Schedule a demo with Docebo today and see how it can fulfill your employee training requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A couple of quick answers to two short questions.
Q1. Is an LMS the same as a CMS?
While an LMS shares some similarities with a CMS, they are not the same.
LMSs are designed to host, manage, and deliver e-learning content and training programs, whereas CMSs focus on general content creation and curation.
Q2. Is an LMS part of a CMS?
The short answer is no.
An LMS provides multiple features and functionalities for customer or employee training.
A CMS, however, creates and curates various forms of online content.
While it’s possible to integrate both tools, they work independently from each other and serve different purposes.
