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Post by Mark Drespling
Content Management Systems (CMS) have become a standard component for modern web sites. With the number of available packages on the market and the laundry list of options available in each one, making the right selection can be difficult and time-consuming. We have had considerable experience helping clients devise their web strategy and select the appropriate CMS, but key criteria in the selection process is often overlooked prior to our engagements. Here are a few questions that can help in the selection process.
How do you currently manage your web content?
Most organizations have some sort of method in place already for managing their web content. This may be an existing CMS platform (Sitecore, Sitefinity, & Drupal to name a few), a lighter content editing tool (such as Contribute, or one of the numerous blogging platforms for instance), or a trained expert within the organization that edits the code and publishes content on demand. Since any change in the current practices will require time and training, not to mention a potential resistance to the new way of doing things, a deep understanding o the current process needs to be assessed before selecting a new model to fit your needs.
Do you have staff in place to manage and create web content?
One of the biggest roadblocks to launching new and revised web sites is content. Generally speaking, integrating a CMS into a new or existing design is not as much of a challenge and sourcing, editing, generating, and governing the text and images that are to be included in the site. Without dedicated staff to handle the content needs of the site, you run the risk of having an easy to update site that no one is interested in viewing. To accommodate these content needs at the base level, you will want to consider the writer(s) of content for the site and at least 1 visual designer to assist in layout and imagery. Beyond that, custom HTML and development work may be needed from time to time for even the most robust CMS platforms.
How many people in the organization will be responsible for content on the site?
As an elaboration on the staffing question, determining the right CMS is often a matter of the number of authors and approvers that will be using it. For instance, if you currently employ a “webmaster” to manage you site and content is managed through this person, the user interface and content approval process may not be an important part of the selection. ON the other hand, if your organization is large with several different authors generating content with several more individuals approving and publishing, an easy-to-use tool set with comprehensive role management options would be the best approach.
How frequently will you update the content and on how many pages?
We have built a lot of sites in the past using CMS platforms that get little in the way of updates over time. Sure, some of the pages are regularly changed (events, news, & calendars to name a few), but a majority of the pages are fixed and may remain unchanged for years. If the site is primarily a brochure that requires little maintenance, some of the more powerful CMS tools may be too much. Alternatively, some sites that have a lot of content that needs to be changed regularly can be built on platforms that cannot handle this or scale as appropriate over time.
What is the criteria for successfully using the CMS?
Ultimately, understanding what indicators will point to a successful implementation will help greatly in planning and selecting the right tool. Time and money saved, less errors and bugs in the site, removal of bottlenecks from the publishing process, and empowering more individuals within your organization are just a few of the ways that CMS platforms can be selected and measured.
These are just a few of the questions that we ask when engaging with clients regarding CMS implementation. Creating a strategic foundation for a CMS platform will aid your organization greatly in making the best selection for your web site.
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