Skip to main content

What is a CMS?

A content management system (CMS) is an interface that allows users to create and manage the content of their websites. Whereas CMS’s started out as simple software to publish content online, they have grown to become core technology platforms that support cross-organisational goals and objectives, from marketing to sales.

The CMS you choose is closely linked to your business goals and the success of your organisation. Your website is your digital estate: the online representation of your brand, your benchmark against competitors and a key driver of sales. Additionally, your website will be the destination for your marketing efforts and a core hub of your operations. When it comes to CMS platforms, paying more doesn’t necessarily mean better. To pick a CMS that you can rely on and is right for your business needs, a considered evaluation of features and functionality requirements is crucial.

So let’s take a look at how you can start the research process for selecting your CMS.

CMS websites

Find the corporate website of the CMS platform and read through their product information, case studies, and customer testimonials to learn more about their CMS product. Look for evidence of its commitment to performance. Has it grown with technological trends and incorporated new digital capabilities over the years? Is it financially secure? Does it have reputable and longstanding clients?

What the customers say

Research what other clients say on review sites such as Gartner, G2 Crowd or TrustRadius to get a feel for the features in practice. Look out for reviews from companies in a similar sector. Try and differentiate between comparisons based on experience of the CMS features and an experience of a site poorly built in a CMS (there’s a huge difference!).

Test in Sandbox

Where possible, install the CMS in the sandbox environment (a virtual space in which new or untested software or coding can be run securely) and experiment with its features and functions.

Talk to your agency

Talk to your website development agency. If you’ve already assigned an agency to develop your website, speak to your project manager who should be able to advise you on the best CMS for your business.

Conclusion

We hope we’ve convinced you of the importance of starting any web project by taking the time to select a CMS. Your CMS should be chosen based on an evaluation of your organisational needs and goals. Choosing the wrong CMS will have implications for operations further down the line and become an unnecessary hurdle in future website development and business growth. With this at stake, don’t be afraid to call a CMS provider to discover how their solution will work best for you and, of course, you can always chat to the team here at Spindogs.

If you found this article useful you can read our full CMS white paper here.

Get in touch below, we’d love to hear from you!

How can we help?