Website Advice Part 1: “To CMS or not to CMS? Is that still a question?”

Honey Design October 2011

So you want to new a website.  You have tips from your friends and colleagues, probably a good idea about what your competition is doing, maybe some copy from your old site you can repurpose.  You bring all this with you to your first meeting with the agency you have chosen to do your website. You think you’ve covered all the bases. Then the web team asks, “Have you given any thought about a CMS?”  You sit there for a moment and then reply, “CMS? Content management system?” “Yes” they nod. “Um, do I need one?”

The Answer: That depends...

Wikipedia defines a CMS as ... “a content management system (CMS) software…is used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of Web material (HTML documents and their associated images). A CMS facilitates content creation, content control, editing, and many essential Web maintenance functions.”

Not only should you have an overview of what is out there and what it will cost, but you should explore if you even need a CMS. 

This is where a good agency can help: they can guide you through the labyrinth of questions that will reveal what you really need. It starts with, “What do you want your website to do for you?” Here is a quick guide to start that dialogue. Next week, read Part 2 about Choosing a CMS.

chart: www.seomoz.org/blog/choosing-the-right-cms-platform-for-your-website-from-an-seo-perspective

 Part 2: http://www.honeydesign.ca/honey-blog/cms-advice-part2