The one thing you must have to succeed in business.

– Robert Kruger 2 September 2010

Simply having a website isn't enough any more. As a business owner, you threaten the success of your company if you don’t understand how to leverage the internet to bring in customers and increase sales.

When talking with site owners, I am often asked to explain the concept of content management. Believe me, it’s OK to ask, “What exactly is a content management system?” If you don’t understand current technology, your competitors will pick you apart.

The true power of a content management system (commonly referred to as a CMS) is often overlooked. The top two reasons most businesses say they want a CMS are:

• non-technical people can edit content
• content can be kept fresh because editing is so easy.

There are much more compelling reasons to power your site with a CMS like Dialogs. Dynamic CMS websites are far more flexible than the hard-coded sites of the past. You can do more with your content than leave it sitting on one page of your site. You can spread around your content so it catches more attention. You can personailize content for individual site visitors. Content can adjust itself based on external conditions like the date. You can also win Google’s attention with less effort if you have the right CMS. If Google likes you, you will find more customers.

One of the hidden benefits of developing websites with a CMS is development efficiency. On more than one occasion, a web developer has told us that their customer decided they didn’t want a CMS, but the developer was going to build the site in Dialogs anyway (and not even tell their customer). They know that manually building every page is much more work than configuring Dialogs. It’s also harder to maintain.

Building a static website is like building a house completely from scratch. And I mean completely from scratch, like a hand made cabin in the woods, not a custom modern house in the burbs. Before you can frame the house you cut down some trees and cut up the logs into lumber. If you want nails, you heat up a forge and hammer out some nails from raw steel. Some things are just too difficult to do from scratch, so you settle for less. For example, you dig a well for water, but you opt for a bucket instead of running water inside the house.

Building a dynamic website is like building that modern house. Milled lumber, nails, pipe - all the parts needed to build your house - are purchased. Someone else expended the effort to make the materials you need so you can jump right into the construction. When compared to first scenario, your house was 30% finished on day one of construction. Plus, you don't have to settle for anything. You can have running water and electricity and internet access.

You might think, “Nobody builds houses from scratch any more.” Well, successful websites aren’t built from scratch any more either.

Building a website in Dialogs is like being 30% done before you start. It’s also like building a house with power tools instead of a hammer and a handsaw. Ask us for a tour. We’re sure you’ll like what you see.