Hi, I’m Kyle Brigham, Chief Strategy Officer at Marcel Digital. You’re likely using a content management system to manage your website. Whether you are actively managing it or you have a team managing your website, choosing the right CMS can be the difference between fast efficient updates to your site, and long, arduous and costly updates.
But with so many options to choose from, how do you select the right CMS?
There are really five key factors to keep in mind:
The first: Ease of Use. You want to make sure the platform is user-friendly, especially if you're not tech-savvy. Giving your team the tools they need to make changes to the website may seem simple, but meeting their needs and their workflows is imperative to effective use of a CMS.
The second: Security - It’s important to protect your site with features like firewalls, data backups, and software updates. If it’s not secure, you could find yourself dealing with data breaches. Some content management systems rely on plugins to operate, exposing your website to potential security breaches and technical bloat. Choose a CMS that puts security at the forefront.
The third: SEO Friendliness. How SEO friendly is the CMS? Does it programmatically follow SEO best practices? Does it give you and your SEO team the tools needed to optimize your site for search engines? A beautiful website is nothing if it can’t be found.
The fourth: Flexibility. You want to choose a CMS that offers flexibility in design and functionality. If the CMS is too rigid, you’ll feel the walls closing in around you when you want to scale the website as your organization grows. Flexibility is key to adjusting for these changing needs, increasing the effectiveness and longevity of your website.
And finally, Cost - Many content management systems can come with costly annual license fees. They offer a list of features that are often not utilized or understood. It’s important to determine what you’d like to get out of your website before investing in these types of content management systems and to look beyond the initial investment to consider long-term expenses like hosting, maintenance, and premium features. There are a number of great platforms out there that do not require an ongoing license fee and will give you just as much scalability and customization as a larger box solution.
Here at Marcel Digital, we offer a number of content management solutions such as Umbraco CMS and Hubspot CMS that we recommend to clients based on their specific needs. Working with an expert partner can help to navigate a sea of growing options and find the CMS that works best for you.
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