You're building a website from scratch. How do you choose the right content management system?

Crafting a website is like tailoring a digital suit, and the choice of a content management system (CMS) is the bespoke fabric. Begin by weaving your goals and requirements into the digital tapestry. Envision the website as an extension of your vision, with the CMS as the artisanal tool shaping it. Just as a tailor understands the nuances of fabric, align your aspirations with the CMS capabilities. This bespoke synergy ensures not just a website, but a digital attire that seamlessly fits your objectives, making your online presence a tailored statement of excellence.

Choosing the right Content Management System (CMS) for building a website involves considering several key factors. Evaluate the ease of use, especially if you're not technically inclined. Prioritize a CMS that is scalable and can grow with your business. Check for SEO-friendliness to ensure good search engine ranking. Assess the availability of themes and plugins for customization and functionality. Consider the security features and support provided. Lastly, factor in the cost, including any ongoing expenses for premium features or updates, to ensure it fits your budget.

Building a new website from scratch and choosing a CMS is an exciting opportunity to think deeply not only about your "current" needs but also your future "what ifs" as part of your goals and requirements to have a future-proof decision. However, one important point that sometimes gets misunderstood is the fact that the team "building and setting up the CMS" and the team "that will take over the day-to-day CMS tasks" are often totally different teams having very different competencies. Having the best customizable CMS in the world with all of your dream functionalities may not be the easiest CMS available. Therefore, make sure the "WHO & HOW your day-to-day CMS management will be done" is also considered for your CMS requirements.

Choosing the right CMS involves assessing your needs: scalability, ease of use, customization, and security. Consider WordPress for user-friendliness and extensive plugins. Drupal suits complex, highly customized sites requiring detailed content organization. Joomla offers a balance, suitable for social networking sites and e-commerce. Evaluate the community support, development flexibility, SEO capabilities, and cost. Prioritize a CMS that aligns with your technical skills and project goals.

Benutzerfreundlichkeit: Das CMS sollte intuitiv und leicht zu bedienen sein, auch für Personen ohne technische Kenntnisse. Anpassungsf?higkeit: Achten Sie darauf, dass das CMS an Ihre spezifischen Bedürfnisse anpassbar ist, sei es durch Themes, Plugins oder Customizing-Optionen. Skalierbarkeit: Das System sollte mit Ihrem Unternehmen mitwachsen k?nnen. Sicherheit: Ein gutes CMS bietet robuste Sicherheitsfunktionen zum Schutz Ihrer Website. SEO-F?higkeiten: Suchmaschinenoptimierung ist für die Sichtbarkeit Ihrer Website essenziell. W?hlen Sie ein CMS, das SEO-Unterstützung bietet. Kosten: Berücksichtigen Sie sowohl die anf?nglichen als auch die laufenden Kosten. Integrationen: Stellen Sie sicher, dass das es mit anderen Tools kompatibel ist.

For many years our website used WordPress as its CMS. Now we've moved to SilverStripe and the difference is remarkable. Yes, it takes a bit to learn but the additional options make it so much more viewer-friendly. And that's more important than how we find it. Visitors to our website don't care about the level of difficulty for us, they care about what they see on their screen - are we delivering the information they need, is it easy to use and navigate, and do the images display properly across devices? Keep the customer (or website viewer) in mind when thinking about a CMS system, not what's easiest for you.

Do not underestimate how easy a CMS is to use. Some of these can be a whole new job to learn properly and you typically want to avoid the complex ones at the start. For that reason (and because most websites nowadays are on WordPress) I suggest WordPress.org as your CMS of choice. It provides you with a ton of super useful tools and it's easy to use as well.

When considering ease of use and the learning curve of a CMS, think about the diversity of your team's technical skills. For instance, WordPress is renowned for its user-friendly interface, making it a go-to for teams with varying tech abilities. It offers a balance between simplicity for beginners and advanced features for developers, such as custom plugins and themes. Conversely, a CMS like Drupal might offer robust functionalities but comes with a steeper learning curve, ideal for those with more technical expertise. The key is to choose a CMS that aligns with your team’s skill set while offering room for growth and scalability. A CMS should empower your team, not hinder their creativity and efficiency. ??

Apart from user-friendliness and intuitiveness, evaluate the following aspects: 1) Look for features that streamline content creation and management, such as drag-and-drop functionality, pre-built content blocks, and user-friendly image editing tools. 2) If multiple team members will be contributing to the website, assess the CMS's collaboration tools, including user roles and permissions, version control, and real-time editing capabilities. 3) Consider the availability and quality of technical support offered by the CMS provider. This can be crucial in resolving any issues or answering questions that arise during website development and maintenance.

When in doubt, start simple! WordPress (which seems to be the popular choice) is extremely beginner-friendly, highly customizable, and already has a massive theme and plugin database to choose from (both owned and available on 3rd party sites). Other easy-to-use options include Weebly, Squarespace, and Wix, which offer drag-and-drop interfaces, however operate on a freemium model. Depending on your technical skills and business demands, I'd also really recommend delving deeper into options like Ghost, Joomla, Shopify, Drupal, and Concrete5.

This is spot on advice. Right now, you may just need somewhere to place articles and content. But overtime, as you continue to grow - can the CMS support your growing team's demands? This is an extremely common bottleneck when considering less customizable solutions like Wix, Ghost, or Medium. They're fixed products, provided by third parties. This is where open-source like WordPress or Strapi can really help. Out the box, they work well for 90% of situations. And can expand to fit new plugins, features, themes, branding, etc. as you grow. This is why it's vitally important to regularly backup, review needs, and consult with stakeholders and dev teams.

Beyond typical customization, explore these aspects: 1) Headless CMS: If you're building a complex website with specific front-end requirements, consider a headless CMS. It decouples the content management interface from the presentation layer, giving you more flexibility in designing and developing your website. 2) API integration: Look for a CMS that offers APIs to enable seamless integration with other software, services, and tools. This can extend the functionality of your website and enhance user experiences. 3) Developer-friendly documentation: If you have in-house developers or plan to hire them, assess the quality and comprehensiveness of the CMS's developer documentation. It can significantly reduce development time and effort.

With these complex tools, support is everything. If you get stuck, you need an expert to help you out. While I do like WordPress.org as a CMS, it doesn't have the best support (mainly because it's free.) But, because it's related to WordPress, the community around it is huge. You just need to do your due diligence and research a solution to your problem a bit more.

Explore real-life examples of websites built with the CMS to gain insights into its capabilities and the experiences of other users. Participate in online forums, social media groups, or dedicated communities related to the CMS to get a firsthand understanding of user experiences, challenges, and solutions. Evaluate the CMS provider's track record in delivering regular updates, security patches, and bug fixes. This ensures the long-term stability and security of your website.

For many companies, the first (and often best) Content Management System (CMS) platform comes with their chosen website builder, such as WordPress, Wix or Squarespace. I have worked with each of these CMS platforms, and while they each have their own idiosyncrasies, they offer a very cost-effective means of providing users with direct control of their website content.

Assess the potential return on investment by considering the CMS's features, scalability, and the value it adds to your business objectives. Look beyond the initial license or subscription fees and consider ongoing costs such as hosting, maintenance, security, and any additional plugins or extensions you may need. Research the CMS provider's reputation in the industry, customer satisfaction ratings, and financial stability. A reliable vendor can provide peace of mind and ensure long-term support for your website.

In my experience, if you are an individual, small business owner, or start-up, you'll try and be more cost-efficient upfront, while large corporations are willing to invest the funds needed to build to their needs. Therefore, consider the following: - Start small and scale. Don't overspend of features you won't need. - Evaluate what you NEED from your CMS, such as content creation, collaboration, SEO, or security features. - Know your technical limitations. Do you and your team need something more basic and user-friendly, or can you code? - Factor in potential additional costs, such as licensing fees, hosting, maintenance and support, theme/plugin costs, freemium or premium features, etc.

4 important things to add 1. Content Type: Consider the type of content you'll be managing. Some CMS platforms are better suited for specific types of content (e.g., WordPress for blogs, Magento for e-commerce). 2. Integration with Third-Party Tools: Determine if the CMS integrates well with other tools and services you plan to use (e.g., social media, analytics, marketing tools). 3. Mobile Responsiveness: Ensure that the CMS supports mobile responsiveness, as a significant portion of internet users access websites through mobile devices. 4. Vendor Reputation: Research the reputation of the CMS vendor. Look for reviews, testimonials, and case studies to understand the experiences of other users.