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Avoid the risks in Web content management

Someone recently asked me what the biggest risks are in content management (CMS) implementations. While most CMS implementations are very successful and on time, like any enterprise software solution there are risks.

1. Managing a Web redesign and CMS implementation at once. Web content management is unique because outside of the software itself, a complete website needs to be designed, planned, and implemented. Most organizations choose to redesign their website along with a CMS implementation. Getting the web design and information architecture right often takes time, causing delays in the CMS implementation and launch plan. The new website is often not planned in concert with best practices for content management, templates may lack functionality that can be driven by the CMS, and the design has not accounted for content reuse and other advantages of a CMS. My recommendation is that organizations start with the CMS solution and then move into design, while keeping in mind the advantages the CMS can provide in making the website easy to update and manage.
2. Lack of planning. A content management system is only as good as its implementation. To make CMS successfully you need to align the business goals with the technical specification. We do this through a needs assessment and specification process. We also teach a course called "Planning for CMS Implementations." Organizations that start with the technology rather than the business goal never succeed.
3. Ease-of-use. If a CMS is too complex it will not be used. We talk to a lot of organizations who had purchased expensive CMS platforms that we never adopted internally. To succeed with content management you need to make sure that the CMS software is set-up to match the needs of each internal group of users. A CMS should make elements or sections of the content to hidden or read-only. The client software should only show users features they need. When it comes to ease-of-use, less is always more. An infrequent content contributor does not need the same depth of features as a Web Master. Keep the CMS as simple as possible.
4. Customizations break the upgrade path. This is a hidden risk that many organizations to do not weigh or understand. But it is an issue that a large percentage of organizations using CMS today face. With many CMS "platform" products we see integrators needing to custom build large portions of a website implementation. Or worse, CMS vendors that add new features that are not part of the underlying API or changing the data schema for how content is stored without an upgrade path. If your CMS implementation uses customizations that are not built against the underlying API or programming interface of the CMS it may break your website and require expensive consulting to fix. When evaluating a CMS ask your references if they have had issues upgrading. Moreover, make sure that the people implementing the site have considered if their customizations have an upgrade path.

Web content management is essential for any organization that manages a complex website, has many content contributors, or has compliance and workflow needs. However, launching a new CMS does not need to be overly complex, expensive or risky. The key is finding a CMS that fits your business needs and then use best practices in designing your website, properly planning your CMS and website implementation, and keeping it simple for your end users.

I would love to hear what all of you think. Please feel free to leave a comment with you ideas about CMS risks and how they may be avoided.

Posted by David Hillis