selecting a website content management system (cms)

Chris Remington Trivera

What to Consider When Selecting a Website Content Management System

Business Marketing Association- Milwaukee

January 29, 2014

A little bit about Trivera…

•Founded in 1996

•Website Design since 1996

•SEO since 1997

•Email Marketing since 1998

•Website Hosting since 1998

•eCommerce since 1999

•Mobile since 2000

•Content Management Systems since 2007

•Social Media since 2008

•Thousands of Engagements, Hundreds of Clients

Trivera is ‘CMS Agnostic’

This presentation will be: High-level Questions to ask Things to consider Vendor and client perspective

This presentation will NOT be: A sales pitch for any particular CMS Overly technical A side-by-side comparison of CMS tools and their options

CMS usage across the web

Source: http://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_management/all

The CMS Landscape…

64% of sites use non-monitored CMS tools or no CMS

WP used by 21% of all sites = a 60% CMS market share

The CMS Selection Process – WHY A CMS?

Empowerment Not held hostage to HTML coders Facilitates execution of an ongoing content strategy Scalability & additional feature sets Enables cross-device optimization (responsive)

"Question Mark Button" by Stuart Miles – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Strategy without tactics is the

slowest route to victory

-Sun Tzu

Tactics without strategy is the

noise before defeat…

The CMS Selection Process – BUSINESS GOALS

What is the main function/goal of the website? External-facing, client/member portal, or both? What will be the most frequently utilized CMS features? What business processes/workflows can be improved? How must it drive your brand voice and value prop? How future-proof and scalable is the CMS?

Mantas Ruzveltas - Source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The CMS Selection Process – WHO’S DRIVING THE BUS?

Marketing? C-Suite? Board? IT?

Know who is making the decision and funding the project

The CMS Selection Process – CONTENT

What is the content strategy? Who owns the content? Where is the content coming from? How frequently should it be updated? What are the primary content types? Is document/asset management important? "Creative Light Bulb With Technology Business Network Process" by KROMKRATHOG – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The CMS Selection Process – CONTENT

Is globalization/translation important? Gated/password protected content? To what degree will Social Media content be integrated? To what degree will ‘Community’ be important? Will customers/non-employees be empowered to enter/edit content?

"Creative Light Bulb With Technology Business Network Process" by KROMKRATHOG – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The CMS Selection Process – FUNCTIONALITY

"Waiting Lonely Dog" by Keattikorn – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Is the tail wagging the dog?

Asset/Document Management? Events Calendar? eCommerce? Gated Content? Blogging?

Thoroughly define what’s needed & find a CMS that delivers

Who will be responsible for using CMS to maintain site - what is their background and skill set? Technical Resources - internally vs. retaining developers? Will there be the need for various levels of access (e.g. Reviewer, Editor, Publisher, Super Admin)? Training?

"Business Team Meeting" by Ambro – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The CMS Selection Process – RESOURCES

Glossy Yellow Dollar – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The CMS Selection Process – BUDGET

License Fees? Buildout? Post-launch Support/Maintenance? Upgrades? Resources – Internal? External?

http://www.trivera.com/blog/9-questions-your-it-guys-need-to-answer-before-you-host-your-own-website/

The CMS Selection Process – HOSTING

"Cloud Computing" by hyena reality – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

.NET Solution? LAMP Stack? Emulation? Local vs. Cloud? Internal vs. External?

The CMS Selection Process – PLATFORM

Open Source vs. Net vs. Hosted (SaaS)?

The CMS Selection Process – SEO IMPLICATIONS

Customizable Page Titles & Meta Data

CSS Drop-Down Nav

URL Structure

Support rel-canonical Tag

XML Sitemap Creation

No Frames/Iframes

301 Redirects, Not 302

Pagination

Custom Alt Tags

Breadcrumb Navigation

"Hand Clicking Internet Search Page" by phanlop88 – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2223883/10-SEO-Considerations-for-a-Content-Management-System - Ray Comstock

How frequent? Mini-enhancements vs. new versions? Security or Functionality-driven? Forced by hosting companies? Risks of falling behind? Costs?

The CMS Selection Process – UPGRADE PATH

"Stairway In Garden" by anankkml – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What comes ‘out-of-the-box’ with the CMS? How easily can things be added to it? Who can add things – Client/end user or Developer/Programmer/Platform Team? 3rd Party integration/APIs - e.g. Quick Books, Salesforce.com, Constant Contact, PayPal?

"Plastic Building Blocks" by nenovbrothers – FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The CMS Selection Process – EXTENSIBILITY

The CMS Selection Process – OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Source: http://moodyandsanguine.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html

Size of community? Community vs. Vendor-built add-ons? What is the national roster of clients using the tool? Security? Versions – which is right for you?

Stability (freelancer vs. agency vs. proprietary) Site ownership - what is in the vendor’s ‘fine print’ about who owns the site? ‘One trick ponies’ ‘Jacks of all trades’ Relevant & related CMS experience What other services beyond the CMS does the vendor offer?

The VENDOR Selection Process

Plenty of options Assess your needs and goals Take time to ask questions and do research Understand the big picture beyond the initial build out Commit to an ongoing content strategy

SUMMARY

Thank You, and Good Luck!

Chris Remington

@eMilwaukee on Twitter

Trivera Interactive http://www.trivera.com

262-250-9400