6 Tips on Choosing CMS
Selecting the right Content Management System (CMS) can make or break your business. An unsuitable CMS can result in extra expenses and downtime while you are searching for a replacement.
When you are just starting your business, it may seem that any CMS will do. Don’t rush into making a decision and dig a little deeper. As the company grows and its needs change, you need the CMS to accommodate them. If the chosen system can’t do it, you are in for a lot of hassle.
Remember that there is no such thing as an ideal content management system for all situations. You may still need to struggle with a few problems along the way. However, their number will be much smaller than if you invest in an utterly wrong CMS.
We asked experts from Bedrock IT to share some tips on choosing the right CMS solution for your needs.
1. Go For Off-the-Shelf Solution
Custom CMS is an excellent choice for enterprises with large IT teams and sufficient time and budgets. When you are just starting out, take advantage of the off-the-shelf solution. Trying to create a custom CMS on your own requires plenty of time, money, and effort. Without the right experience and sufficient time, the project is bound to fail.
As your business grows and develops, you may decide to invest in custom CMS to suit your specific needs.
2. Check Out The Scalability
When searching for the right CMS, look forward. If the program satisfies your current needs, it may not accommodate them in two years. A good CMS solution should be sufficiently scalable and flexible in order to grow with your company.
Sometimes, highly flexible systems have too many options. Newbies get lost with customization and give up halfway through. Among the scalable offerings, look for one that doesn’t have a huge number of features that you are unlikely to require.
3. Identify Your Needs
Before choosing a system, you need to understand what you want from it. What will your website be like? What type of a marketing campaign are you planning? How will you engage your audience?
Even though one of the first pieces of advice you’ll read on the web is to get a website fast, doing some brainstorming can keep you from making a mistake.
Get your team (if you already have one) together and ask what they expect to get from a website. Then go and choose the ideal CMS for your needs.
4. Evaluate The ROI
Many startups make a mistake of choosing the cheapest option. However, free CMS usually have paid add-ons, which get more and more expensive as your business’s needs grow. If the system is highly customizable, what customization costs are you likely to incur? Are the updates free? Will the security cost me more than the system itself?
The system should have such returns for your money as a low learning curve, optimized design for any marketing campaign, security, and readily available support.
5. Look For PHP
When choosing a CMS solution, consider one that uses PHP. This popular programming language has a simple scripting and impressive versatility. This language is used on a large variety of websites and can run on such stacks as Linux, Windows, Mac, and Apache.
6. Check Responsive Options
Today, mobile-friendliness is a vital part of any website’s success. The better responsive options the CMS has, the easier time you’ll have reaching your target audience. Make sure the platform has a good choice of starter themes with responsive designs.
