Essential Features to Look for in a CMS
If you are not happy with your current content management system (CMS) you are not alone.
Spending in this area is growing, with TechNavio's analysts forecasting that the global Web Content Management Systems market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.87 percent during 2012-2106. The increasing demand from small and medium-sized enterprises is said to be one of the key factors contributing to this growth.
The reasons for shopping for a new CMS are plenty. For starters, many organizations have simply evolved past their current CMSs, in terms of their expectations of what it can do for publishing content, personalizing end-user experiences, and analyzing and optimizing all the content they create and distribute.
What's more, businesses paying attention to this developments in this space want to not only keep up with the digital Joneses, but they also know the rapid pace at which innovation is happening to make content management systems a portal for their entire digital existence.
Where does a small or medium-sized enterprise start when it comes to choosing a new CMS? For starters, it must have essential features that will remain relevant in the years to come, have a staff that is at the ready to answer questions and teach them all the possible use cases for the technology and, lastly, have a commitment to evolving its technology with the times.
Last year, Website Magazine put together an article on, "How to Choose a Content Management System," and its advice holds true today. For example, establishing goals for a new CMS is the first step a company should take. Is it to use a responsive design? Is it to start personalizing content? Is it to have better integrations with other technology, like marketing automation? Is it to A/B test different content like article titles? Is it to rank higher in the search engine result pages? Is it all or none of the above?
Once goals are established, those who hold some power in the decision over which CMS to ultimately purchase must think about the features that a CMS must provide in order to reach those goals. From the previously mentioned article, here's what a simple Word document should look like:
The topic of content management systems is covered quite often at Website Magazine, so those in the process of making a CMS change, or even just thinking about it, should check out the following articles:
- How Steady is Your Web Content Management System?
- Top 5 WordPress Alternatives
- Sitecore Takes on Goliaths of CMS World
- DNN's New Evoq 8 in a Digital Nutshell
