Content Management System (CMS) sites are very popular these days and the number one reason cited for being so desirable is because they allow people to make their own changes. Sounds good, but is this always the right choice? Are there any useful guidelines for when to use a CMS? Yes! And that’s today’s topic. 

So, why would people want to make changes to their own websites? After all, that’s extra work for them. Generally, I think it’s for two reasons. First is the belief that it’s the lower cost option. That it’s less expensive to have someone in the office make the change to the site than to have the PR company or graphic designer do it. Second, it’s perceived to be more timely to have someone in the office make the change than to schedule the change through a third party. I think that’s the complaint I hear more often, that changes that were requested to the site took a long, long time to be made by third parties. This surprises me, as I’ve always been able to provide these kinds of changes in a timely way.

Here’s the guideline I recommend to my clients when asked whether a CMS site is right for them.

1. If your site is going to be large, as in, many pages and…
2. You plan on making many additions or changes to the site, then…

…using a CMS makes the most sense. Not a hard and fast guideline, but useful. An exception could be that you plan on making many additions/changes to your site, even though it isn’t very large. This makes sense too.

Having the ability to make changes to your own site is especially good if you make MANY changes. However, keep in mind that this requires the dedication to actually follow through. It also requires a certain amount of skill. In addition to being able to perform some pretty basic word processing functions, which may be enough for simple updates, the skills required can quickly get more complicated. Training may be required for the person who makes your changes, meaning extra expense and time investments. Still, for an active site, this can be a good plan. You’ll have to weigh the pros and cons for your particular situation.

The added bonus of making frequent changes to your site of course is that this is good for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), helping your site be easily found on the internet.

Other considerations include:

Cost savings due to making your own site changes are sometimes offset by the added costs associated with the initial cost of building a CMS site and ongoing maintenance, which is more than for a static site. (The software used to build CMS sites needs to updated periodically and this is not something you should do for yourself unless qualified to do so.)

Hosting is a little more complicated for CMS sites, as the server requirements are higher than for a regular static site. You can expect to pay more and should also be sure that daily and weekly backups of your site are being made and are available to you. Should you need to have your site restored, your designer/developer will need to handle that for you, unless you have a staff person qualified to do it.

The use of a template (purchased or free) can save on the cost of getting into a custom designed CMS site, but keep in mind that it’s best to find one that closely matches you site needs. They can be modified to meet your design preferences, but if a lot of modification is needed it may make sense to start from scratch. Also, an advantage of building your CMS from scratch is there won’t be a lot of unused code weighing your site’s performance down, which can be a problem with some templates.

To sum up then, a CMS site is best suited for large and/or frequently changing websites. It will cost more to set up and run a CMS site over a traditional static site, though the additional costs may not be significant and the advantages of a CMS site may outweigh the additional costs. A Content Management System site will facilitate frequent updates, many of which you will be able to do yourself, but there will be some technical requirements that will call for either an in-house person with these skills or hiring out this service. For additional information or assistance, drop me a line or call 303.682.2415 and ask for David.