The Pros and Cons of Content Management Systems
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Early in the development of the Web, Content Management Systems (CMS) were created as a way for large and small companies to easily build and maintain websites. As a result, there are some CMS's in use today that do not provide the best marketing results. This article explores the different types of CMS's, their pitfalls, and possible strategies to overcome those problems.
What is a Content Management System?
A content management system is a web program that allows a user to build a website without having to edit the HTML and CSS source code files. Common CMS implementations include: custom CMS programs, site builders, standard template sites, online stores, and blogs.
CMS Benefits
A CMS can provide the ability to edit your own site, so you can frequently add new material. If you are running an online community, this benefit may be your most important consideration. Blog, forum and wiki software are all types of content management systems that promote online collaboration. Some of these CMS's are so simple to install that you can build a decent looking site within a few hours.
If you have an e-commerce site and sell a large number of products, you will need a content management system to manage your online catalog. A variety of well-developed electronic stores are available that support product databases, and provide reasonably good search engine optimization capabilities.
If you need a CMS, consider installing an open source system to avoid depending on a single vendor. OpenSourceCMS provides information on content management systems that are supported by multiple hosting providers.
Potential CMS Problems
We have seen CMS's that make it difficult to access and edit the source code. Sometimes the CMS contractor needs to be involved in significant website changes, leading to inflated costs and project delays. When source code is not available for modification, it can be much more difficult to implement a successful search engine optimization strategy. Some CMS's don't comply with web standards, so they create a risk of incompatibility with search engines and visitors' software.
At times clients have been frustrated by their CMS design limitations. We see a way to improve the site, but the CMS can't implement the design changes without major, expensive work. Some "site builder" CMS's offer instant website templates. Unless you want your website to look "canned," you should avoid using the same templates as everybody else.
If you install a proprietary CMS, you will become dependant on the publisher for ongoing support, design modifications and installation of additional features. Should that vendor go out of business, quote you unreasonably high rates, or just be too busy to handle your requests promptly, your only option is tearing out the CMS.
Enterprise Level Content Management Systems
For large companies, web development shops offer CMS solutions under the premise that the client can save money by maintaining the site themselves using non-technical staff. Most IT departments are overburdened, so they are more than happy to install a CMS so the "headache" of maintaining the site can be passed to the marketing department. Unfortunately, the savings is often an illusion, because the CMS hinders the site's marketing effectiveness.
In general, content management systems are not the best solution for corporate marketing sites. They may be appropriate for portals or catalogs that would be expensive to implement without a CMS. Search engine optimization is easiest when you have direct access to the source code. Switching your marketing pages to standard HTML design has a cost, but in the long run you will save money on site updates, hosting charges, and you will get better results from your Internet marketing campaign. If you have a catalog, using an open source CMS may provide the flexibility to optimize the pages for search engine referrals.
Site Builder Tools and Standard Templates
For small sites, companies like Yahoo! and Network Solutions offer online CMS's that allow the user to instantly create a website. Inexpensive site builders solution may be appropriate for websites that do not involve a substantial marketing investment. For sites that will have a significant marketing budget, using a "McWebSite" does not provide the best return on investment. If you plan to use web marketing to generate sales and sales leads, you probably need to tear out this type of CMS and replace it with standard web pages. With a tool like Macromedia - Contribute 3 you can still have the power to edit your own site.
E-Commerce Sites, Online Stores
Online stores are usually build with a CMS so the own can easily add products, change pricing and perform routine administrative functions. This functionality cannot be achieved with a custom HTML site without a substantial investment. Therefore, this type of CMS usually makes good business sense. However, most online stores are not built to implement best practices search optimization. Either you need to select a system that works well out of the box, or you may need to ask your developer or hosting company to make modifications to the CMS.
Blogs
A weblog is actually a content management system combined with a module that allows users to enter feedback. If you turn off user feedback, a blog can be used to create a standard website, where each article is a page. Blogs may be appropriate solution for a site that isn't trying to sell something, or as a feature within a corporate website. If you need to add content frequently and want to publish visitor remarks, a blog is an ideal solution. However, most businesses don't use blogs because it takes considerable time to moderate user comments to prevent comment spam, trolling, and other nuisances.
Conclusion
If you are using a content management system, and plan to invest in Internet marketing, then you need to investigate different CMS's. Then you need to make a strategic decision, depending on your specific business requirements, whether to tear out, replace, modify, or keep your current CMS.
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