A website can be a powerful tool to connect with customers, showcase your products or services, and establish your brand online. Whether you build your own website, or partner with professionals like Dialogs to build it, you should consider who will maintain the content to keep your website fresh and up-to-date. That's where a Content Management System (CMS) comes in. 

There are hundreds of CMS platforms on the web to choose from today.  You've probably heard about WordPress, Wix and Weebly.  Of course, that's the tip of the iceberg.  With so many options and such a vast variety of functionality, making the choice of the platform can be daunting!

So now you're asking yourself: what's all the hubbub about all these platforms anyway?  How can I hope to navigate all of this and pick the right one?

Keep reading to find out.

Think of a CMS as Your Website's Edit Button

Imagine your website as a brochure for your business. It displays all the great information potential customers need to know. But brochures get outdated, right? A CMS acts like a magic edit button for your website. 

Decades ago, web pages were hand coded by  technically skilled people. In 2024, content management is table stakes for any small business website. Here's what a CMS can do for your small business website:

• Effortless Updates: Add new blog posts, product descriptions, or team member profiles with a few clicks, no coding required.
• User-Friendly Interface: Most CMS platforms offer a user-friendly interface that feels like using familiar editing software.
• Collaboration Power: Allow multiple team members to work on the website simultaneously, perfect for keeping content fresh.
• Brand Control: Many organizations deploy Content Management to completely separate content from design and presentation ensuring the website look and feel cannot be jeopardized by content maintainers.
• Security and Maintenance: Many CMS providers handle security updates and maintenance, freeing you to focus on running your business.

What Content will I manage?

Naturally, you'll manage website pages, and possibly blog entries, at a minimum. If the web project includes large lists of different types of content, you should look closely to understand how that content will be managed within the system; some basic options may not scale for you. Examples of content requiring an enhanced CMS configuration would include:

• Large Product Catalogs with hundreds, thousands or more products
• Large Staff listings with links to detailed content
• Audio/Video/Image Libraries with captions and likes

Understanding CMS Options

Over the decades, we've watched the tools used to build the web improve with regular cadence. Virtually every webpage you see today is "managed" by some system. If you search for CMS options you'll inevitably see results that include WordPress, the popular website builders such as Squarespace, or marketing tools like HubSpot. Each of these tools does have a CMS component but there are other options that may be better for larger organizations, for projects that must scale, or for custom applications that need greater control.

Let's explore the pros and cons:

• WordPress/WP Engine: A blogging tool at the core, WP has become the most popular CMS globally.
  • Pros: WP is familiar to many content maintainers who have used it for years; a vast selection of plugins and themes.
  • Cons: WP popularity makes it a target for security attacks; the sprawling themes and plugins available were developed by independent developers who may not maintain security patches and updates.
• Website Builders: Squarespace, Wix and Shopify (which includes powerful ecommerce options) all include some level of content management.
  • Pros: One service that provides hosting and content management;  user-friendly, beautiful pre-designed templates, ideal for limited budgets;
  • Cons: limited control of design (integrated corporate branding may be difficult), mobile-friendly but not responsive design,  limited to simple content management.
• WebFlow: A popular no-code builder option that includes on-going hosting and limited ecommerce options.
  • Pros: favored by website designers for it's design flexibility, pages are truly responsive.
  • Cons: steep learning curve for site building, all but the simplest assembly of existing templates does require HTML/CSS skills, only one designer can be editing the site at a time, can become expensive at scale.
• HubSpot: Increasingly popular SaaS Sales and Marketing tool that now also includes integrated drag and drop website editing.
  • Pros: If you're using HubSpot for marketing, it may be beneficial to manage your website the same tool; drag-and-drop editing, tightly integrated with HS marketing  (landing pages, CTAs, analytics and reporting).
  • Cons: ongoing cost much higher than other options, learning curve for site building.
• NetSuite: While NS has added some simple website builder functionality we do not recommend building out anything more than a simple one-page website. Design limitations and costs are not competitive with other options.
• Frameworks: Laravel, Symfony, and Dialogs Framework are examples of code bases that streameline php application development for more complex websites and web applications.
  • Pros: complete design and functional control, shortened development timeline as common requirements are readily configurable.
  • Cons: minimum development budget larger than website builders or WebFlow. 

Things to Consider When Choosing a CMS

• Technical Savvy: How comfortable are you with technology? If you're a beginner, and you're not working with a technical partner like Dialogs, choose a user-friendly platform like Squarespace, Wix or a system that your web developer can setup to be very simple to use.
• Scalability: Will your website need to grow in the future? Opt for a CMS that can scale with your business needs.
• Design Flexibility: How much control do you want over your website's design? WordPress, WebFlow or custom development in one of the frameworks offer more customization options.
• Integration: Are you looking to connect to your Salesforce hub, or your email marketing campaigns?  Do you have vendors providing product data or fulfillment software for customer orders?  The more your website can do, the fewer phone calls you'll have to field.
• Costs  Over Time: Does the platform you're looking at come with gotchas like third-party licenses for plugins?  How much time will be required to maintain the platform itself?
• Portability: If you had to move your website—to another host, or to be supported by another technical partner—what would be involved?  The internet is a living place where business is always shifting, and just as in life, change is guaranteed.  Make sure you're building on a platform can last as long as your business.

The Takeaway: CMS - Your Website's Best Friend

A CMS empowers you to take control of your website content, saving time and resources. Leveraging the features of a CMS, you can keep your website fresh and informative, and increase meaningful engagement with your customers. So, explore your options, choose the CMS that best suits your needs, and get ready to showcase your small business to the world!