Over the last 10 years I've had an opportunity to poke around inside many different content management systems. I've seen some very good ones and I've been unfortunate enough to have had to deal with some very bad ones – and I'm the talking pull-your-hair out and bash-your-iPhone-on-the-table kind of frustrating!
Lets face it. All a CMS really needs to do is allow someone to create, edit, publish and delete web pages. Sounds simple doesn't it?
However CMS vendors can be so focussed on rolling out the broadest and fanciest suite of additional modules that in their haste to go to market they neglect to spend enough time testing their products with real users. The result is many CMS's just struggle to do the basics well.
Add to the mix poor support, and a reluctance by the same vendors to provide affordable customisation options, and its easy to see why choosing the right CMS for the job is mission critical for any organisation.
So here are my top 10 considerations for choosing a CMS that will be 'best fit' for your business:
- Do the research. There are many CMS's on the market. Explore a few options.
- Ask for testimonials from real customers. You need to hear what other users think about the product. Is the WYSIWYG editor nice to use? Does the system crash much? Don't take too much notice of what the CMS product sales guy says – he is just selling units. Focus on analysing the quality user experience.
- How flexible is the CMS product in terms of look and feel? Are there any restrictions on how the CMS can be skinned?
- How will you be supported? Are you happy with a ticket based support system for when things go wrong?
- How will you be charged? Will the vendor hit you up for an annual license fee? How will this fee be calculated?
- Genuinely user focussed CMS vendors are open to improving the way their products work based on what users are feeding back about the user experience? Indeed the good guys are proactively seeking feedback from customers and improving user experience at no cost to customers. If they are not, run away fast.
- What rates will the CMS vendor charge to customise the way an aspect of the CMS product works if your user tell you they would prefer it to work a little differently? What processes does the CMS vendor have in place to facilitate this sort of customisation?
- Does the CMS product come with a warranty period? All reputable vendors offer this.
- Can the vendor demonstrate the code behind the CMS product is compliant with accessibility standards? Think twice if it isn't.
- Can the vendor demonstrate the code behind the CMS product is search engine friendly? What sort of control do you need over SEO? Does the CMS offer administrators the ability manage page title, page description and keyword metatags on a page by page basis?
So there it is. If you can come to grips with most of these points before you make a decision, you'll save yourself time and money – and you'll keep your hair longer too!
Comments [0]