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The 2013 Content Management System Report Card #13NTCcms. Kyle Andrei Laura Quinn. What We’ll Cover What Does a Content Management System Do? What Should You Be Evaluating For ? Comparing the Systems How to Choose. Introductions. Laura Quinn Executive Director. Kyle Andrei,
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The 2013 Content Management System Report Card #13NTCcms Kyle Andrei Laura Quinn
What We’ll Cover • What Does a Content Management System Do? • What Should You Be Evaluating For? • Comparing the Systems • How to Choose
Introductions Laura Quinn Executive Director Kyle Andrei, Research Analyst Me!
What is a CMS, Anyway? A software package that allows non-technical folks to update the text and images on a website – and possibly build one from scratch
There’s Two Models of Websites Static Pages Update with HTML, DreamWeaver, etc
Database Backed CMS Style and Design Page Layout CMS Database of text, images Update within the CMS
CMSs Let You Update Text WordPress Almost all have a “WYSIWYG” editor
CMSs Let You Update Photos You can upload images, and choose where to put them. Squarespace
Define the Look and Feel of a Site Many let you pick from existing graphic designs; many let you design your own.
Create Pages Joomla They’ll let you add new pages and place them in the website
Create Content Objects They let you manage news items, events, grant listings, blog posts and other items separate from an actual page. Luminate (formerly Convio)
No CMS Can Build Your Site For You! It can’t: • Design a site that is useful to your visitors • Ensure a functional and usable site • Make sure the site enhances your brand • Write your text and take your pictures • Provide timely content updates Only a human can do those things!
Ease of Setup • Do you need to setup your website yourself? • Can you use an existing graphic design? • Can you understand how to structure a site in a reasonable amount of time?
Power and Flexibility • Do you need to support: • a complicated site structure? • a complicated work flow? • A multi-language site? • A multi-site structure? • If you don’t know what these mean… this probably doesn’t apply to you!
Integrating with Constituent Data • Can the system integrate at with your current constituent database– out-of-the box? With some work? • Or is it worth switching constituent system to have an integrated solution? Screenshot? Joe, see what you can come up with, otherwise we’ll see if we have a screenshot
Cost Cost to Implement your website Additional Ongoing Support Costs Ongoing License Fees Upfront License Fees Total Total A Possible Open Source System 5k $0 $20k 20k $5k/yr $0/yr A Possible Vendor Supported System $5k $15k 20k $5k 5k
Extensibility • Can you get add-ons to do what you need? • Can you create custom structures in the system? • Can you adapt the code to do anything you want?
Support for the System • Who is in charge of system development? • Where can you go for help? • How likely is it to be around down the road?
Open Source vs. Proprietary? Cost It’s not a simple question. Each system has a different profile on the criteria often associated with open source tools. Free Really expensive Support Community Vendor Extensibility Complete None
SquareSpace Polished, user-friendly tool appropriate for small sites or microsites – especially ones that center around photos. Starts at $8 a month.
WordPress Surprisingly flexible for straightforward sites. Free, but will require someone with a sense of technical adventure to set it up. Open source.
NetCommunity Deep integration with Raisers Edge (and GrantedGE) to allow you to create integrated forms, tailor pages to visitors and more. Starts at about $500/month.
Luminate CMS Integrated database to allow sophisticated campaign tracking, tailoring pages to visitors and more. Several thousand dollars per month.
Plone Powerful system that’s complex to setup- but easy for end-users to add content and maintain the site. Open source.
Ektron Powerful, flexible, and friendly.. for $30-$40K up front.
WordPress… again! Surprisingly flexible for straightforward sites. Free, but will require someone with a sense of technical adventure to set it up. Open source.
ExpressionEngine Geared for more techie folks who want a lot of flexibility and speed of setup after a learning curve. Not as polished for the content editor as some. $175 license fee.
Joomla Polished and friendly. Not as flexible as some, but easier to setup and a great utility player. Open source.
DotNetNuke Polished and quite flexible. Open source, built on the Microsoft .Net platform.
Drupal Powerful and flexible, but not as user friendly to learn or edit as some. There’s a huge community to support it. Open source.
eZ Publish Powerful and flexible, especially when it comes to unusual structures and complex workflows. Open source, with a paid option.
Plone…again! Powerful system that’s complex to setup- but easy for end-users to add content and maintain the site. Open source.
Which Comes First? Do you choose the system or the consultant first?
Most Consultants Specialize Most website consultants only implement one, or a few, content management systems.
Website Needs Often Don’t Differ Much For many organizations and websites, the consultant will matter far more than the content management system.
Unless You Have Very Specific Needs But if you have specific needs, your needs might not align with the tool a consultant specializes in.
How Do You Start? Decide if you fall into one of the specific need categories: Key Priority: Integrating with Constituent Data Key Priority: Power and Flexibility for a Large Site Key Priority: Set it Up Yourself • If so, it probably makes sense to pick a system first.
Or Are Your Needs Not That Specific? Plan to hire a consultant to just build a good site for a middle-of-the-road price? Are your priorities are around design, content, user-friendliness? Then pick a consultant first, and use the CMS they recommend
Remember the Human Side of the Equation High quality design and content –the team behind the website–is more important than a feature-rich content management system every time.