Could your small business use a content management system (CMS)? It depends on a few factors. Ask yourself some questions:
Who is your target audience? This, of course, determines how you will market your business. Do you plan to hit your audience with fresh or serialized content every few days? If so, then CMS is probably for you.
A few things to keep in mind if you are a small business planning for a CMS…
You must budget. When you plan for having open source tools, you need to include this in your expenditures. There may be a larger cost upfront in order to integrate your site into a content management system. Also know that the more editable data you require, the more time and possibly expense could be added to the project. ABR Systems Group will work with you on keeping your costs to a minimum.
It’s up to you to keep your content updated. Well, or it’s up to your employees. If you market your business via a highly interactive site containing multimedia like video, press releases and blog posts, you need to plan for the time necessary to spend on the work that will keep your content current. Having stale content not only prevents new potential customers from coming to you, it also severely detracts current folks. You will need an individual, or individuals considering your company growth, who are dedicated to maintaining your site so that it doesn’t get put away.
Don’t invest in a potentially valuable business tool like a CMS, if there is a possibility it may not be used. However, if you have a new image or new piece of text to add to your site, it is extremely fulfilling to be able to go in and add it yourself rather than take several steps to have a developer add it for you. Make updates on your own terms, but decide to allow time in your week for doing so.
However…
Not every business has the need for a CMS. If the web is likely not your most effective marketing tool, you may have more success with a really good web developer rather than a way to make your own site content updates.
If your site doesn’t have content that needs to change continually – that is, if your site is purely informational, and that data will stay constant most of the time – then you shouldn’t invest in a CMS. The IT consultants at ABR are available to you to make your updates quickly and efficiently.
No matter the choice you make regarding a CMS for your small business, ABR Systems Group can help. We can work with you and advise you on what will best suit your company and your budget, to make you successful. Call us today.
