Skip to main content

Who Needs a CMS?

What makes a web design prospect a good candidate for a Content Management System?

Imagine that you are in front of your prospect. They love your portfolio and the previous work you've done and they recognize the value that a web site can provide their business. How do you determine whether a CMS is a good option for their organization? Showing a prospect an online demo of how easily they can take control of their web site content can be a powerful "oh, wow" factor. For some prospects, they can connect the dots and immediately see the value that a CMS can bring to their business. For most though, you'll need to build a business case and demonstrate the "What's in it for me?". Here are a few quick questions you can ask your client to see if a CMS is an applicable tool for your prospect:

What makes you different from your competition?

If the answer to this question is the quality of work they do, then wouldn't their web site visitors want to see recent examples of their work on the web site? If it's their competitive prices, maybe having "this week's specials" online will bring more people to their door? If it's their expertise within their industry, an easy to use tool that allows them to have an "ask the expert" or "industry news" may be the differentiator that gives them a leg up on their competitors.

Do the products/services you offer change?

A website is intended to be a reflection of the organization it represents. For most organizations, change is an everyday occurrence. Whether it relates to international exchange rates, a new home listing for a realtor or an upcoming food drive for the local food bank, organizations need to be dynamic and their website should reflect those changes.

Do you want control?

Let's face it - when we're not busy with other web site projects, it's great to hear from a client who wants to make some text or image changes to their web site. We can quickly make the changes and bill our client appropriately. But, on those days when we're juggling 15 deadlines and we get that same phone call, we just aren't able to address changes as quickly as our client would like. If you can paint a picture for your client where the local newspaper runs a glowing article about their organization which lists their website and they want to take advantage of this web traffic with a special on their site...and their web designer is on vacation...for some, this is a deciding factor.
Each client is different, but hopefully these questions and examples can help you determine whether a CMS is right for your client.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Keeping Web Design Alive

Staying Competive in Changing Markets There are a lot of forces impacting the business of web design today: from do-it-yourself software packages that allow anyone to build a website, to the proliferation of Software as a Service (SaaS) models that offer template websites for a low monthly fee. In effect, what is now happening to the business of website design is the same thing that has occurred in the hosting industry over the past few years. The big players are becoming massive through consolidation, while the smaller players are being absorbed or gradually squeezed out of the marketplace entirely. And everyone is caught up in a mad dash for that last, rapidly shrinking dollar. Similar forces are being brought to bear on website design. It is no longer enough to have the best creative talent and a killer portfolio. You must offer a complete package of design and functionality...and do it faster and more economically than ever before, just to remain competitive. The...
Post a Comment
Read more

Website Usability and Web Accessibility

Why are Usability and Accessibility Important? The web design and development industry has undergone a number of radical shifts over the last few years - in fact, many industry experts claim that it is the most rapidly changing industry in the world. What these changes have led to though, is increased potential - "anything is possible". The inevitable side effect of this is that software and web sites have become so feature-rich and complex that they are practically impossible to use.   This matters to individual website owners because, if they are not careful, their website project or website content management solution can easily suffer functional overkill. When launching a web design project, be sure to ask yourself and your web site vendor the following questions: How does your software meet accessibility standards? How do you implement usability best practices? Can users with disabilities use my website? How readable will my website be by visitors...
Post a Comment
Read more

Search Engine Marketing Terms

The Meaning of Common SEM Terms Aggregator An aggregator or news aggregator is a type of software that retrieves syndicated Web content that is supplied in the form of a web feed (RSS, Atom and other XML formats), and that is published by weblogs, podcasts, vlogs, and mainstream mass media websites Anchor Text This is the actual text part of a link that you click on to follow a hyperlink. Used by search engines as a ranking factor in their hypertext algorithm. For example, in the following link, the words " Anchor Text " are the anchor text. Blacklist Lists compiled by either search engines or vigilante users of search engine spammers. These lists may be used to ban spammers from search engines or to enforce boycotts of them. Bid Management Tool Software or an ASP service used to manage bids on pay-per-click search engines such as Overture. Bidding Placing a bid price that you are willing to pay as an advertiser on a pay-per-click search engine. The hi...
Post a Comment
Read more