Choosing the right content management system for your website
When Content Management Systems first hit the mainstream and became accessible to small and mid-sized businesses, everyone welcomed the fact that they could have more control of their website. The options available were limitless. Many were “free.”
Open source CMS
The more adventurous type dove into one of the powerful open source content management systems out there, Joomla and Drupal. Attracted to the idea that they could have a “free” website, these folks soon found themselves spending countless hours in forums patiently learning about modules, taxonomy (file organization), breadcrumbs and other techy terms. Because the open source community is constantly adding features and upgrades to the software, it can be quite a task to keep up with it all. That is why we see companies that specialize in Joomla and Drupal software selling services such as usability testing, training, custom templates, graphic design, optional modules and hosting. The software itself is very powerful and definitely a good option.
Hosted web platforms
Those who wanted more of an “out of the box” solution gravitated towards services that offered website hosting plus a content management solution. These services generally charge a monthly fee and have month-to-month contracts. Examples would be Homestead by Intuit or Squarespace. In some cases, you will be charged a percentage of your business sales! With Yahoo Small Business Merchant Solutions you can expect to pay from .75% - 1.5% of your sales. Even your local Internet provider may offer you a free website. Yikes! Remember—you get what you pay for!
Options for making the transition to CMS
When considering switching your website to a CMS you need to decide how much involvement you want in the process. You can choose to do the setup and the ongoing maintenance or have professionals take care of the details. There are four options to set up your CMS site:
- Start new with a new, custom design created by professionals
- You design and setup your content using one of the CMS templates
- You make improvements to your existing graphics as you migrate your content to the new CMS system
- You take your existing site graphics and content and migrate over to the new CMS system
Things to look for when evaluating a Content Management System
Not all content management systems are created equal. Be sure to compare features so there is room for your site to grow and tools to help you grow your business:
Be sure to evaluate the CMS for:
- Bandwidth limitations, data storage limits and page limits
- Email availability
- User-friendly control panels
- Customer service and downtime history
- Resources for creating and sharing content
- Tools for getting your website found
- Options and tools to engage with your visitors (most important!)
- Analytical tools
Beware! Most CMS systems are missing a critical piece of the puzzle
Unfortunately, very few content management systems provide the last four items in the above list. If your website is going to be a money maker and not a money pit, you must choose a system that gives you the tools to get found by the search engines, create and distribute content to your visitors, convert those visitors into leads, and analyze your website’s performance.
By Gayle Davies