Got the Content Management System blues?

Finding the right CMS for your business website can be a headache. It’s true that the preferred suppliers list changes over time as some technologies grow obsolete and other new operating systems are developed.  Here is a helpful list of the top 30 CMS systems as reviewed by experts.

And if you are fretting about how to pick the right web content management system, here are a few tips

  1. Befriend your marketing director or chief marketing officer. It’s his team that will be using the CMS – not yours. Make sure they choose the one they want that has the functionality the marketing and sales team needs
  2. Check with purchasing or procurement. These guys are going to be specifying and deciding how to select and buy the preferred option. What detail do they need that you and marketing can provide?
  3. And lastly, speak to your web developer team – internal or your agency. Check that they have experience in the CMS you want to use and / or are happy to learn a new CMS.

Here’s a case study about a company choosing its CMS

Once the decision to replace its CMS platform was made, MBC launched a search for new system provider, and compiled an extensive list of requirements, ranging from technical to business objectives.

As Samra explains,

“The problems that had been occurring in the previous system were the foundation of these goals. For example, we were looking for a system that has good reliability and scalability, with no problems in those areas.” MBC was looking for a system that would “overcome the application design and architecture problems we had in the previous system” and included “good skilled people, good developers, that maintain the system consistently for us later on after we get it in house.”

Recommendations: Write out a list of the shortcomings and issues you have had with your current CMS. This will help write the briefing document for the new website design.

In addition to choosing a CMS that satisfied its current content management needs, finding a CMS that would fulfil future requirements was essential to MBC.

“We were looking for a system that can stay with us for a long time,” says Samra. “Such a project, during implementation, will take a long time, but at the same time, it will live in the company for years to come.”

Recommendations: Understand and ask questions about scalability – what are the limitations to each CMS you are reviewing; what will happen when you need to increase (say 10x) the number of pages or download files from your website?

Whatever anyone says, you can bet that within 5 years you will be revising your web hosting, web CMS and web design. But finding a product that will last that test of time and grow with you is a challenge for any chief marketing officer.

Author: Rebecca Caroe works for Contegro, a scalable, sophisticated CMS which can be used by marketers and web designers who are not technicians or coders. It delivers a superior web interface allowing content to be managed, changed and uploaded within minutes. Customers include Avis, Subway and Alfa Romeo.