We've talked before about the multiple advantages of using a content management system (CMS) as an integral part of your content strategy. A CMS is a great way to help those that don't have a technical background make a contribution to your publishing workflow. It helps to facilitate website maintenance and design changes, too. But what kind of CMS should you choose?
Ready-Made or Tailor-Made?
Many companies that offer a CMS allow you to take their system and use it as is. That's fine if your company fits their ideal user profile, but what if you need something a bit different? Instead of a one-size-fits-all, pre-packaged solution, wouldn't it be better to choose something that meets the unique requirements of your business? We think it would, because every business is unique. That's why a customizable CMS is a better choice for your business.
Flexible, Future-Proof Publishing
We already know that the content publishing landscape is changing all the time. Where once your CMS only needed to handle web publishing for desktop browsers, it now makes sense to integrate mobile web publishing,
social media publishing and
app publishing. If you'd chosen a CMS based on the need to publish web content only, you'd be in trouble now that mobile and social have become more important. And we don't know what's around the corner, as technologies and platforms evolve. You certainly don't want a CMS that breaks – or worse, breaks your site – when new technology comes in.
Aside from changes in technology, your company's internal needs may change. Suppose you want to set up an internal training portal, a company intranet or an information portal for investors? Wouldn't it make sense to manage that content from the same system? A system that focused only on external publishing would definitely be the wrong choice. A good CMS is future-proof because you can extend it to meet the needs you don't yet know about.
Evolutionary Workflow
And what about workflow? Business processes are borrowing from the IT world and becoming more agile. Some even borrow from CMS processes to
improve workflow. If you suddenly decide to change content production and approval processes, an off-the-shelf system may not adapt as easily. It's far better to use a system that's built for evolution - we won't say revolution – that can be configured to suit the way you work, however that changes as your business grows.
Change is not just about features but about scale. You want your business to grow - and your CMS has to grow with you, including the ability to cope with ever increasing amounts of content and data. If it doesn't, your business could be hampered in its publishing efforts, which is a problem as
multi-channel publishing becomes more important. As the landscape evolves, you may not want to be hampered by traditional CMS content types; you may prefer to design your own. A customizable CMS will help you achieve this.
The Bottom Line
We believe that tools should serve you, not the other way round. Overall, the greatest advantage of a customizable CMS is the ability to make it fit your company's needs instead of you having to adapt to what the CMS can support. That puts you in the driving seat for content publishing and business workflow, which is just the way it should be!
