Choosing the right content management system (CMS) for your business is a complex decision.

In order to help you find the CMS that is right for your business, ALHAUS has put together an ongoing series to cover every factor in this decision. This is part three of our series and will focus on how to choose a CMS to meet your business needs. If you are just joining the discussion, you can read part one of the series here. Then you can find part two here.

Every company’s requirements are very different and picking a CMS that meets your needs starts by answering some key questions:

1.    What do I want to accomplish with my website?

Start by considering why you want to have a website. Do you want to sell your goods and services on your site? Do you want to use your site for brand awareness? Then consider the plans you have for your business. Do you want to grow into a large international company? Do you expect to stay a small business? Do you need your site for a short time or do you need your site to be around for the life of your company? Once you understand the answers to this question you can start evaluating CMS platforms by their offerings, speed, flexibility, and scalability. 

2.    What is my company’s budget?

Determining your company budget doesn’t just impact the overhead cost of which CMS you buy. You also have to factor in things like whether or not you will need to hire a web designer to build the site; add staff to maintain the content; or can you do everything in house. Your budget determines what kind of hosting you will be able to get and the ease of use of your CMS platform.

3.    What level of security do I need for my website?

This is a big question if you are going to have a storefront or give your customers access to proprietary information. Hackers often don’t discriminate and will go after any vulnerability, so you need to determine whether or not you will have to protect sensitive information (CMS Critic). Make sure to consider the security features of the CMS when making your decision.

These are the most critical factors when considering the business needs of your CMS. To learn more about what other factors impact this decision and how to effectively manage your CMS, make sure to subscribe our blog at ALHAUS.