4 signs that it may be time to change your CMS
At their best, we know that Content Management Systems (CMS) offer businesses a convenient and swift way of working with the content on their website. Often, like an old coat, it can also be a comfortable way of wrapping yourself in your web content. However, here are four key signs that it may be time to consider changing or upgrading your CMS:
You are operating a historical system in a modern environment
The CMS you are struggling with may be what was there when you began working with it, or was the best available at the time your website was initiated. It might even be that the system was perfectly adequate on day one, but simply hasn’t evolved at the same pace as the online environment has. Your business is now taking its message onto multiple platforms, yet to achieve this you may be working with separate mobile and desktop content management systems. Using a consolidated environment for your authoring work both simplifies your actions and ensures uniformity of content across all the platforms where your website is viewed.
You are having to multi-task a single job
Imagine that you have a product image you wish to add to your website. You want it to appear in a dozen different target places, but in a range of varying sizes. With your current CMS, this may mean that you spend considerable time cropping, entering dimensions, and checking that each individual example of the image appears exactly as you wish it to. Changing to an up-to-the-minute CMS gives you the chance to select an option that includes an imaging engine which creates all variations from your original.
Your are responding slowly to urgent situations
Suppose a breaking news story is going to have an effect on your business. This could be a product recall, a government decision, a climatic event, even a sudden change in public opinion. Equally, you might have a solution to a suddenly newsworthy problem. Being behind your competitors in responding can be like being second in a race! Your current CMS might lose you time as you have to assemble information, build images, choose tags – and much more. Modern alternatives can offer swift and flexible user interface (UI) to allow you to assemble the material quickly in a single authoring environment.
Your content isn’t communicating as effectively as it should with your target audience across all devices
Our first three signs are from within your business. For the final point, let’s look from the outside in. When we spend time browsing the web, we tend to visit places which match our own interests. When you do this, how many of the sites you visit truly hit the spot? Many others are slightly off – and then there’s a remainder that seem outdated, inadequate, or are simply not delivering an effective message; one that is tailored to be powerfully user-friendly for your chosen device. How does the world at the other end of your website view it – and your business?
Changing your CMS
Two actions are well worth taking when considering such a change. From the thoughts here, take time to build a list of your specific business requirements, and key benefits you would want to achieve.
Secondly, place a quick call to our iFactory team on (07) 3844 0577 or even fire off a brief email to info@ifactory.com.au. We’ll be happy to discuss with you what CMS options are worth considering, and answer any key questions or anxieties you might have. Some people have fervour for one solution or another; we are happily CMS agnostic and simply aim to provide the best outcome.
It’s an important decision for you, one not to be taken lightly, and one that will affect how your company keeps its place, or expands its presence, in an increasingly-digital and online future.
