How to choose a content management system?
By: Jonathan Briggs
May 16, 2001
Since 1997, the OTHER media has been developing sites using its content management system OTHERobjects. In this article, Jonathan Briggs, outlines the features of the system and what distinguishes it from the rest of the market.
The most suitable tools for your project will depend on your budgets, the complexity of your site and your technical environment. Rather than simply compare features you should take time to think about your real requirements. Before you choose the system or the team to build it for you, here are some questions you might like to think about:
1. Do you want to buy software or a service?
Some systems are delivered as software for you to install on your development machines or servers. Other systems are hosted by the system’s developers and accessed over the Internet via a browser. The latter systems can be cheaper, may be rented month by month and usually require less technical expertise and support. Software on the other hand gives you complete control and ownership. But do you have the developer expertise, time and budget to really get to grips with complex software?
2. Does the system create static HTML pages or make pages dynamically?
Many content management systems store data in a database and make pages only when they are needed by visitors to the site. This can be effective if information changes very often (more than daily) or if the site is highly personalised but can be inefficient and result in a site that users will think is slow. More sophisticated systems cache the pages once they have been created and only make new pages when the information changes. A few systems use similar caching mechanisms to make pages as soon as new information has been entered. One big advantage of this publishing approach is that these pages will be found by search engines which can increase the traffic to your site enormously.
3. Will it support the ways you want to work?
Complex sites are often the responsibility of a whole team of people within an organisation and different people may be in charge of different parts of the site. Larger content management systems will support many contributors and editors and ways they work together. Workflow such as approval and collaboration is an area where smaller systems are often deficient.
4. Will you be able to publish your site on multiple platforms?
Increasingly your site will need to appear on different platforms such as Internet on TV, mobile devices and kiosks. Indeed, you may want different versions for Netscape and IE to take advantage of the latest features. A good content management system will allow you to create different templates for each of the platforms but use the same content. Remember that making a site suitable for a kiosk or TV means more than simply changing the template.
5. Who is using the system?
Large news organisations use and publish content in very different ways from small retailers and therefore need different functionality. Make sure that the provider you choose has proven experience for the sort of application you are proposing.
6. What will be the costs for setting up your site?
These can vary widely. Some suppliers will demand a large up front software payment but bundle in support and training for the year. Others will separate the content management software from any design work that you require. One effective way of costing the project is to estimate the entire cost over a two-year period.
7. What are the costs per year?
Look at what any ongoing charges cover. While it may appear cheaper to make a single payment you are bound to need ongoing support. Will you need to pay extra? What happens if you want to alter the structure of the site? This is usually outside the scope of content management because you are effectively rebuilding your site. Beware of low fixed fees – you may be relegated to the lowest level of support if you are generating no revenue for the supplier.
8. Are you paying for the creation or development of software?
Make sure that the system you are choosing is genuinely a stand-alone system and not something that has to be highly ‘customised’ for every job. Have a look at the same tools running several different client sites. How different are they? Can you see how these tools could help you manage your content?
9. Will the look and feel or functionality of your site be restricted in any way?
Content management separates content from presentation through the use of templates. Some systems provide a restricted templating system that may not suit your proposed design. Have a look at several sites that have been produced using the same system. If they look very similar it is likely that your site will have to look similar too.
10. How does the system deal with images?
Pictures and images are important to the look and feel of any site and you should find out how you will be able to use them. Is there a library of images that you can use and add to? Does the software resize images for you? How much control do you have of how they are used within the layout of a page?
11. Are you locked-in?
You are making a big commitment. Find out how easy it is to move to another supplier or content management system. Make sure that you can reuse all of your data and your design without starting from scratch.
12. How easy are the tools to use?
This is vital! How much training and support will your contributors and editors need? Running complex sites is a major undertaking and will require sophisticated tools but these should be straightforward to use. You will need to balance ease of use against the flexibility offered to you by the tools.
13. Can you use your existing databases?
Many organisations already have information stored in other computer systems such as Intranets and product databases. You may also wish to extract data from the content management system and reuse that within your business for newsletters, brochures and email. Make sure that the systems you choose can be easily linked together and bring additional value to your business.
14. Does the system impose restrictions on how the site is hosted?
Where and how your site is hosted are important considerations. Are you free to use Apache, Microsoft web servers, host it yourself, use your existing ISP or are these decisions made for you by the content management system? Remember to include the full costs of hosting in your plans.
15. How does your choice of system affect your choice of design company?
You may already have a design agency you like or want to do the design in-house. Check that your content management provider has experience of working with other designers or can provide the design services themselves. Take care if your design company has never worked with content management before as building a large content managed site demands a different approach from small handcrafted sites.
16. Will you get the benefit of updates to the system?
Content management systems are still evolving and you should make sure that new features and services are part of the agreement.
17. How will the system affect the way you work?
This is perhaps the hardest but most important question to ask and often ignored by the suppliers. If you are planning a large complex multi-section, multi-contributor site, you will need to think about the people and processes to keep it useful and up-to-date. Your chosen content management tools must support these people and processes rather than the other way round; this is not simply about technology. Discuss these issues with your suppliers and find out how they will help you integrate your new site into your organisation.
Are there other questions you think we should have addressed here? Would you like to talk to us about our content management service, OTHERobjects? Contact us and we’ll get in touch.