Why your site needs a CMS
I was recently working with a small start-up client who were looking to develop a static website with no content management system (CMS).
We planned ahead, realising that if no CMS was going to be used then we’d have to get the content right from the start. Work was done on content themes, headline messaging and a copywriter engaged to make sure the content was relevant and engaging enough to positively impact conversion.
Everything was going well in the development process yet we still struggled to finalise copy due to internal stakeholder input and a shifting priority from one internal capability of the business to another. We needed more time to refine the content structure yet there was also a need to get the site to market as quickly as possible.
After speaking with the client, we decided their initial decision to go without a CMS may have saved them some upfront cost, the reality was that they needed one.
On all but the tiniest sites you probably do to. Here’s why.
Things change
Both new and existing businesses need to be flexible and adapt constantly to stay relevant in their market place. Product marketing priorities will change over time, new lines will be released, new services offered and promoted. Your website needs to be as nimble as your business is to remain relevant. A CMS is the perfect way to make sure your website can move as fast as your business can.
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
- Winston Churchill
CMS’s are easy to use
Writing code is hard. Not everyone can do it but pretty much anyone can use a CMS. CMS’s are set up with a view to enabling the administrative tasks of the site to even the most noob user. If you can understand the structure of your website, know how to use upload and save buttons and can use a basic word-processing then you’re probably CMS admin qualified.
Many hands make light work
In a business there’s often more than one person who needs to add or change content on the website. A CMS system allows multiple people access to the website to make those changes. There’s no key-person risk of having the one person with access to the website code being sick or running off and not leaving the password.
D.I.Y.
Total reliance on your vendor is not a good thing. You’re restricted to their timelines, have to pay them for each minor change and generally like a passenger yelling directions at a driver. If you’ve ever driven with or been a backseat driver you’ll know that it’s a situation that rarely ends well. Taking control of your own website in empowering, allows you to execute your ideas at short notice and will inevitably be the most cost effective route in the long-term.
