Content Management Systems
Choosing a CMS?
supporting your web strategy with a cms
Over the last 15 years, ownership for website design and development has moved from the IT department to the marketing department. Why? Because your website is your marketing centerpiece, constantly changing with your evolving marketing strategy. It’s driven by data analytics and customer feedback to deliver targeted messaging to your audiences.
You choose a Content Management System (CMS) as the tool to support your marketing strategy and implement your carefully crafted designs (not vice versa). Your CMS provides the necessary templates, security, features, and controls to govern all this. Consequently, implementation into your CMS happens later in the development process, after the strategy is defined and all the graphical designs are complete. Of course, it’s important to select a CMS that is easy for your content managers to use, but also ensures that your graphical design mockups (desktop, mobile) can be implemented properly (and cost-effectively).
Proprietary CMS
Quality control. Security. Regular updates. Performance. A proprietary CMS is a complete enterprise solution, only accessible by you and your developers. No need to rely on third-party plugins or add-ons to enhance the look of your website. A good proprietary CMS is built to be flexible, secure, accessible, and easily configured to meet your needs. Most importantly, large websites like yours need internal controls to support workflow for content approval, maintain a base framework to ensure consistent presentation and the integrity of your brand, and facilitate best practices in change management.
We'll cut to the chase here. For us, the two most viable CMS's for colleges and universities are Cascade CMS (Hannon Hill) and Modern Campus Omni CMS. Both are incredibly similar in terms of technology and price, and we're a well-recognized partner of both. Not sure which to choose? Please reach out to us, and we'll be happy to answer your questions and help you find the right fit for your institution and content managers!