Help! I need a CMS that fits my site

Imagine this: You’ve just launched a new website for your company, and you have a few content changes that need to be made. If your site was custom-built without a CMS, that means going back to the developer time and time again to make those edits. CMS platforms provide user-friendly tools for non-developers to make content and imagery changes to the website without any particular web expertise. It’s one of the many advantages to use a content management system – which is why so many of my clients are asking for a CMS.

But how do you make informed decisions about which CMS is right for your company? Content management systems are not one-size-fits-all products, so it‰’s critical that you get the advice of someone who has worked on a wide variety of CMS platforms.

To make an informed recommendation, your digital consultant will ask you a few key questions:

• What do you want to spend? And what do you expect to get for the cost?These answers will help determine whether open source or proprietary CMS options are right for you.

• Who and how many people will manage the content of the website?This helps your consultant determine how user-friendly and intuitive the content areas of your CMS need to be. It also starts the conversation about permission requirements.

• How many pages will your website have?The number of pages and templates is one of the key drivers to making a CMS recommendation. A CMS needs to be able to handle the amount of information it will need to house based on the size of your site. Most digital strategists will have a number of CMS options in mind for each size – small, medium, large and scalable.

• How do you intend to design the site?Some CMS platforms incorporate front-end templates that restrict how creative a designer can be with the visual display of the website.

• What other platforms, tools or functionality does the website need to incorporate?Websites rarely stand alone these days. Often, clients want to utilize online booking tools, event calendars, videos, social media feeds, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, virtual meeting software, marketing automation platforms, external databases, sales platforms, and other tools. Your consultant will need to ensure your CMS is compatible.
• Questions about other key items, like security, permission or e-commerce needs.The more your consultant knows about how a client wants to use a website in the future, the better their recommendation can align with your growth needs.

As you can see, there are a lot of considerations that go into choosing the right CMS for your website. Here‰’s a list of some of my favorite CMS platforms to get you started as you start your own research:

• Adobe Business Catalyst
• Sitefinity
• WordPress (the most common and well-known CMS)
• Expression Engine
• WebCube
• Joomla
• Drupal
• Magento
• Ingeniux

Ultimately, the goal of any CMS is to provide you with the vehicle to take control of your website ‰- a vital component of your digital presence. If you invest the time and research to find the right fit, your website will go much farther to help you meet your business goals.