Is using a CMS the right choice for your project? Before you can make that decision, you’ll need to evaluate:
- Site requirements
- Site architecture
- Site design
- Content production process
- Clients ability to implement
- Site maintenance
- Etc.
Expectations
Having realistic expectations about the project and the team capabilities will help you make a better decision about when it’s appropriate to use them.
CMS Pros
- Create sites without knowledge of programming languages like HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP and others.
- Reduced cost
- Outside technical support eliminated
- Quicker development and deployment time
Considerations
Web Designers
- Steep learning curve
- Many systems have their own templating language
- Knowledge and understand of the specific CMS workflow
- You need to know the code the CMS uses to be proficient
- Online support – documentation forums, codex, and community for help
Non-Web Designers
- Knowledge of HTML and CSS is important with a CMS
- Default templating structures have limitations
- Without the knowledge of web design basics – you’ll need outside contractors for site customization
Larger Organizations
If you’re part of the large organization, a CMS is often seen as a way to control costs and streamline workflow.
- Dedicated resources for CMS management
- Maintenance
- Updates
- Security
- New Projects
- Changes to internal processes can be time consuming and expensive
- Open source CMS doesn’t mean free – there will be additional overhead and investments to set up and maintain
When Does a CMS make Sense?
Web Designers
- Rapidly develop complex sites with advanced functionality
- Sensitive to clients – can they manage a CMS site
- Time to support clients
- Transition to CMS
- Content creation and publishing
- Site maintenance and management
- Time to find and learn the right CMS for your skills
Larger Organizations
- Time to evaluate the entire process – current and future needs
- Is internal workflow suitable for a CMS
- Are the processes inefficient
- Is the site architecture poorly constructed
- Are there other problems
- Is a CMS flexible enough for the requirements
A CMS is not a cure-all when the real problem lies within the organizational structure. Many CMSs do not offer flexible workflows – without proper evaluation could be a recipe for disaster.