Why You Need a CMS
The key to having an online presence is to never stop working on it, and in this, you have no better friend than a great content management system.
Emotions ran high after my last post about Flash, in which I argued that Flash websites were obsolete, largely for constraining their owners' abilities to quickly publish and control the content within them.
Don't let your website wilt
Many potential clients that I've encountered see a new website as a one-time, one-off project. But like the bouquet of flowers at your reception desk, the news and content on your website needs to stay fresh, lest it leave a bad impression with your visitors.
Put another way, websites shouldn't be treated as a project or expense – they should be treated as a department of your company, requiring ongoing attention, just like operations, accounting, or customer service.
Back in November, I said your blog is your campsite. In fact, your whole website is your campsite, while social media are more peripheral. These tools are great for getting your message out, but you can't forget about your website itself – after all, that's where all your Twitter roads lead to.
Content Management Systems
We build most of our websites using a Content Management System (CMS) like Wordpress or Drupal. A CMS allows site owners to easily edit their site's content on their own. In my experience, most clients require little support or intervention from us after receiving a basic tutorial, which is a win-win for both parties.
While a good web firm will always be around for technical and emotional support, it's also a good idea to designate someone at your organization to learn the website back-end and keep the content up-to-date. And if your website still doesn't have a user-friendly CMS, it's time to start thinking about getting one that does.
The only way to establish and maintain a web presence is to work on it constantly, and to be in control of the message yourself. And today, with free publishing platforms like Drupal or Wordpress, if you can compose an email or manage your Facebook account, you can update a web page.
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