17 June 2019 | Jack Fisher
When it comes to choosing a content management system (CMS) for your new website the amount of choice can sometimes be overwhelming. There are hundreds to choose from and they all have their pros and cons. So, what strategy should you adopt to ensure you choose the right one? In this article, we discuss the 3 pillars of any good content management system. If you choose a content management system that has all three of these traits, then you will be in safe hands. Let’s get started.
Creative Freedom
The first pillar of a good content management system is creative freedom. What do we mean by this? Your content management system should never restrict what you want your website to do. You don’t want the content management system you choose to hold you back when building a website or developing new features further down the line. Something that is important to keep in mind is that although any old content management system might fit your current business needs, it might not fit the needs of your future. Keep in mind where you want your business and online presence to be in a few years’ time and ask yourself if the content management system you are choosing will still be able to handle your needs. Some questions you might want to ask yourself are; “will I be able to do a design overhaul in the future to keep my website looking modern and up to date?” “Will I be able to add e-commerce functionality to my website?” “Will I be able to add a secure area that allows user accounts and secure logins?”.
Ease-of-use
The second key feature you’ll want to be on the lookout for is ease-of-use. This covers a lot of things but the key thing to consider is “will this content management system give me a headache every time I go to use it”. How can you determine this before you’ve actually used the system? One way is to look up some reviews on Google. If the content management system you are thinking about using is a popular one, then there are bound to be several user reviews and articles that discuss the overall user experience of the content management system. There are some key features that a CMS will have which can make operating it much easier. These include features such as user management (can you have multiple users in your company using the CMS at once), a file recovery system (will the CMS allow you to recover your files when you accidentally delete the wrong thing), and an intuitive layout/interface (how much training will be required to get you and your employees up and running on the CMS).
Security
The final pillar of a good content management system is security. Security is a major concern for many businesses, especially when sensitive (or customer) data is involved. It’s a complicated topic that you shouldn’t have to concern yourself with. The content management system you choose should be secure out-of-the-box and shouldn’t require any thought from yourself as the user to keep it secure. One way to determine the security of a content management system is our good friend Google. Try googling ‘*insert name of CMS* security breach’ or ‘*insert name of CMS* hack’ and see what sort of results you get. You can also check out the official website of the content management system you are considering – often they will have a section on security that details the steps they have taken to secure their product.
Wrap-up
So that does it for the 3 pillars of any good content management system. Ensure your CMS has these features and we believe that you will be in safe hands. At Pogo Studio our favourite CMS is Umbraco. It goes without saying that Umbraco covers all three of the pillars discussed in this article which is just the start of why we love it so much. If you’re trying to choose your CMS then you should definitely check it out, their website can be found here.