Consider These Important Factors When Choosing A CMS

I’ve heard that you should never buy a product just because it offers a lot of functionality; what if you don’t need those functionalities? You are just wasting your money. The same goes with a CMS, and You will be enticed by fancy functionality that you will never use if you do not have a properly specified list of requirements. Before you know it, you’ll be spending tens of thousands of dollars for an enterprise-level system when an Open Source CMS would have successfully met your requirements.

What is a CMS? And Why do you need a CMS?

As the name indicates, a content management system can provide you with easily accessible content management. It is designed for people with hardly any programming skills, and it’s quite easy to understand. Once your website has been developed, there is no need to hire expert web developers to manage your content: the content team members will handle everything using a CMS.

In addition, CMSs allow several persons to access and work with the website on your project. Team members can contribute, modify or update content from separate accounts. CMS is also a safe way to store content online for everyone who has access to the website. In order to make your organization run more efficiently, CMS is also utilized for automating, standardizing, and simplifying business operations.

Critical Factors to consider when choosing a CMS

1. Support and Input

Not all CMS platforms include customer service. Many open-source CMS does not provide direct support. Therefore, allow your developer the necessary independence of doing their things and learning because they’ll be your first line of defense if something bad happens. Similarly, you could indeed probably hire developers that can provide 24/7 technical support, whenever you need it. Open source CMS typically creates security fixes and software updates that you should download and install in order to maintain your site updated and secure.

On the other hand, the CMS which are not open source, provide you a direct line of support, they are there 24/7 and help you in every way possible. Also, some of the CMS platforms if you buy their premium package you can contact them via live chat and phone support services.

Keep in mind that no matter which CMS you may choose for your website, you will need to be constantly on guard and prepared to deal with any prospective challenges that may occur. Every one of these choices seems to be equally useful, as long as one’s company has contingency plans in place to deal with challenges, difficulties, or even catastrophic mishaps.

2. Customization

It is not generally a good idea to choose CMS platforms solely based on the features they are providing. If a system’s functions are severely restricted, it would be unable to accommodate your company’s specific evolving requirements, so do your research and evaluate the possibilities of supporting plugin libraries and customization options.

Furthermore, selecting a content management system with a vast set of features will not essentially provide you with any value. If you really do not intend to use everything that has been available and can’t customize it. You may even discover usability issues and development problems as a result of this type of ‘feature bloat’. In this case, a more modular CMS platform WordPress, can provide you with greater customization and flexibility, as it is one of the best content management systems.

3. WYSIWYG ( What You See Is What You Get ) Editor

One of the major characteristics of any modern CMS platform should be an easy-to-use content editor. You don’t have any knowledge of coding! Well, you don’t have to worry about it with the WYSIWYG editor ( What You See Is What You Get ) because this editor can help you in creating the content you want even if you don’t have coding knowledge. They could also save your time when it comes to upgrading and managing your content, making them suitable for anyone who is working in your organization.

You should prioritize these questions:

1. The editor should be very fast and also very reactive, but when you use it, is it slow and frustrating?
2. Are you able to extend this editor with the help of plugins?
3. Is it possible for marketers to simply change the aesthetic appearance of content with the help of a WYSIWYG editor?

4. Out of the Box Plugin

A great CMS would also add additional useful features to your site by allowing you to extend the default configuration with the help of plugins, also you can improve the potential of a site, which can enhance the functionality of the site.

Check to see if the CMS you’re exploring already has a large number of plugins. Though you may not require plugins right away, they must be readily accessible to you in the future.

More than 58,000 plugins are available for WordPress, and there is no end to what you can accomplish with them. Any task you desire can be accomplished through the use of the plugins available in WordPress. WordPress plugins can be used to optimize SEO, improve efficiency, and, if desired, you can include contact forms as well as social media buttons on your website. There are numerous other uses for WordPress plugins. Even a simple task like adding an image to the sidebar can be done with the help of the plugin. They can grow to be quite huge and function almost as a platform in their own right (Example: WordPress eCommerce plugins or WordPress membership plugins).

5. An Open API

When it comes to CMS, the most common term is API. APIs are discussed by everyone, from Mark Zuckerberg to the programmer next door. What is it about the API that makes it such an important feature? An Application Programming Interface (API) is a piece of software that allows two systems to effortlessly connect and share data by enabling data interchange.

An Open API is freely available to all developers. Using them, developers can acquire access to backend data, which can subsequently be used to improve the quality of their applications. Open APIs have the potential to significantly enhance earnings without necessitating the hiring of more developers, making them a highly profitable software application. The fact that making back-end information accessible to the public might provide a number of security and management difficulties should not be overlooked. No matter how many drawbacks are associated with the open API, it is still a viable option.

If a software company that is just getting started wants to encourage third-party developers in vertical industries to be creative in finding new ways to use a startup’s software product, it might release a series of application programming interfaces (API) to the public in order to spur their innovation. According to the reasoning, it is a win-win situation for both of the parties involved in it.

6. Search Engine Optimization

Your content management system (CMS) should also assist with search engine optimization. Because search engine algorithms change on a regular basis, there is always the possibility of having to provide extra or restructured metadata that you manage with your content, rather than having to update or, even worse, re-enter all of your already published content.

Google uses over 200 ranking factors, which is commonly thought. Most variables that impact the technical performance and HTML components of a website are associated with the CMS.

Now let us begin with the page components that you encounter each time you build a new page. Page URL, title tag and meta description, image alt tags, and headers are all examples. It is critical to use them correctly in order for a website to rank effectively in search results. And this is why:

1. Page URL: Your CMS should be capable of creating an SEO-friendly URL. Because with the help of a URL the search engine, as well as the user, can tell or come to know what the page is about. So taking SEO perspective in mind it will be better that we make an SEO-friendly and human readable URL.
2. Image alt tags: When the image cannot be loaded, users would see an ALT image tag. Google also uses ALT tags in pictures so that it makes sense and promotes them in image searches. ALT tags are also utilized by visually impaired screen readers.
3. Content hierarchy such as categorization: Essentially, you need to design and allocate these categories and subcategories of your CMS. WordPress is doing great work, however, to achieve this you may also create your own custom CMS.
4. Title tags and meta descriptions: Title tags and meta descriptions are what SERPs view customers and use to evaluate how valuable your website is.

7. Blogging

Blogging is becoming incredibly popular. Organization, fashion, life-coaching, travel, and a variety of other blog sites have taken over the Internet.

You can create a fully functional blog and even publish your first article in a couple of hours using any of the several platforms that are available. CMS are systems designed to aid you in publishing, editing, and scheduling your content on the website.

When searching for the best CMS for  blogging purposes, look for a CMS that includes the following features:

1. A CMS should have a Built-in text editing option.
2. Functionality to comment.
3. Customizability and scalability.
4. And last but not least it should be easy to use.

I have used many CMS platforms for blogging purposes, but WordPress is the best content management system for blogging, and there are no second thoughts on it.

8. Multiple Website Support

In light of the increasing number of content management systems that allow you to administer numerous websites from a single installation, I would endorse this as a must-have feature.

Although you may not require the ability to administer more than one website at this time, this might easily change in the near future. It is possible that you will opt to build a new website in order to target a smaller audience.

Additionally, with the advent of the mobile web, you may want to consider developing a website that is specifically designed for mobile devices. Whatever the reason, having the ability to run several websites is critical for business success.

9. Universal User

When you make your website, it will be language-specific, but this might change if you start to gain traffic from all over the world in the future. So, therefore, it is very necessary that the CMS you are choosing grows with the business.

A CMS with multilingual features offers the ability and adaptability to enter new markets rapidly. In the meantime, multi-site management in a CMS makes global expansion far more scalable because customers can centrally share content and management functionality across numerous locations.

And you can overcome this language problem with the help of CMS like WordPress very easily. As per the WordCamp website, WordPress is used by over 75 million websites. Citizens from all around the world use WordPress to create individual and commercial websites. The basic dashboard composition is ideal for remote working teams. To satisfy almost anyone, multi-language translation can also be accomplished using plugins like WPML and Qtranslate.

10. Evaluate your Future and Current Needs

Every CMS platform has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, and it is unrealistic to pick the ideal one before even determining company requirements. Carefully consider what you intend to use your website for and conduct extensive research to determine the functionalities that will be required. Whether you are attempting to create a blog, an insightful portal, or an eCommerce store, you must first identify and define your preferences.

A CMS should be able to function for a few years. You must make sure that every potential solution will continue to stay dependable, safe, and useful for your needs in terms of both technology and content production.

Consider these points :

1. How do you see your content output expanding in the next one, three, or five years?
2. Will the visits on your site increase after a point of time?
3. Will you need to manage hosting in multiple countries?
4. Is it critical to be able to rapidly expand (and, if necessary, scale back)?
5. Is it likely that your availability requirements will change?

11. Customers Demanding a Personalized Experience

People grew familiarised with comfort, preference, and instant quality services due to the growth in technology. Customers expect something more than a product. They want an experience in which your organization is aware of who they are, their relation with you, and their requirement.

Your CMS must be able to leverage all of their interactions with you — either through your website, mobile applications, help desk or in person — so that you can anticipate their necessities and provide them with a direct road to achieving whatever they want.

They want a convenient, anticipatory, and tailored service from every brand with which they interact, and it’s down to the CMS to deliver it—a smooth, connected, multichannel experience tailored precisely to individual needs and tastes. Delivering great experiences at scale requires the seamless integration of a CMS and a cross-channel, analytics-ready customer experience platform. Even if you’re not ready or organized to manage experiences vs. just web content, you’ll want to ensure the CMS you adopt can support it in the future.

12. Technology Changing

The widespread adoption of digital transformation is a fundamentally disruptive force. Numerous new technologies and fields of study within the marketing ecosystem are constantly advancing simultaneously, and CMSs must integrate at the widest possible levels.

Because of the integration of technologies such as automation, customization, and newly emerging channels such as voice assistants, wearables, and the Internet of Things, any prospective CMS must be flexible, extensible, and scalable enough to withstand continuous rapid change.

Think Twice Before you Select a CMS

It is difficult to choose the finest CMS. Many factors must be studied, planned, and considered when deciding whether to use open source or branded software. The best CMS for your company is one that can meet your needs today and in the future, as well as one that can help you thrive in the long run.

I hope I am able to provide you with all the information you require to choose the perfect CMS.

If you ask me, I will suggest you to use WordPress; as all the points I have mentioned above, WordPress fits in every single one of them. And also, according to the w3techs survey, WordPress powers 65.2% of all the websites on the internet built up using CMS and the rest 38.4% on other CMS. So, if you want to expand your business on WordPress and build a website, hire an expert WordPress Development company.