CMS Simplicity: Does Your Content Management System = Good Times?

I recently visited a company in Bromley to talk about a CMS website project and naturally got talking about their current Content Management System. Safe to say I was surprised by the relative complexity of their CMS.

When it comes to editing content, you want the end user to feel in control and at ease with the process. This particular firm felt completely the opposite and were a bit disillusioned at the thought of finding a new CMS that would make life easier for them.

This is when we discussed the open source Content Management System Drupal and how my clients have been happy with its' day-to-day operation.

CMS Simplicity

When it comes to managing a website you need a system that is not only intuitive but inspires confidence. Many of my clients are by no means technically minded so the CMS needs to provide them with the tools to create and edit content within a few clicks.

Editing a Page

When it comes to editing a page you don't want users to get lost clicking around trying to find the right page. With Drupal you get edit and view tabs directly on the page you are viewing.

Editing Text

Editing a page can come in two forms, plain text or by using a WYSIWYG editor that most applications have such as Word etc. A combination of modules brings together a powerful editor which allows everything from bold and italic, to adding imagery and flash.

Preview and Publish

Once you've created or edited a page, you want to be able to preview exactly what you've done so as not to publish an unfinished page or one that has mistakes. Again Drupal provides two simple buttons at the bottom of the page.

Stuck With Your Developer

Some developers provide their own in-house CMS which can be a blessing and a curse at the same time. It's in the interests of the developer to supply you with everything you need, whilst at the same time expanding the range of capabilities of their own system. This is all good until there comes a time when something happens to either the company or your relationship with them.

This is when an in-house CMS causes a problem. You need to have faith in a company in the long term otherwise you could have no alternative but to start again with a new developer and CMS.

When choosing a developer I would always plump for a firm that uses either an off the shelf system or an open source solution. This way if something happens to the company you can easily find another developer to take over where the last one left off.

Does your CMS = Good times

What is your experience with a CMS? Have you recently changed to Wordpress or Drupal from another system? Or are you stuck in a rut not sure where to turn?