simondelliott

10 step guide to buying a new CMS

Ive just written this article for the atos origin blog (probably the best CTO blog in the whole world !)

http://blog.atosorigin.com/2010/09/10-point-cms-guide/

Over the past few years I have been involved in many solutions and engagements that need or use a CMS as part of the solution. This invariably will involve some element of CMS product selection, and I have seen quite a few ways to successfully work out what’s right for you. I am a big fan of the CMS matrix which provides a good list of capabilities and features, and presents you with all the information that you will need. However I am not a big fan of counting the ticks and going with the system that has the highest score, as you will end up with a bloated “do everything” lemon that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Nor am I a fan of the marketing reports such as the magic quadrant reports as they often don’t include non-commercial products which are the market leading CMS tools…

So, to address this I have written this practical 10 point guide to choosing a CMS.

1 > Avoid the lock in
If you have a significant publishing operation you will be aware the choice of CMS system becomes very important. Your skills, the way your team works and even your capabilities will map onto the decision you have made.

CMS vendors are very aware of this and they will offer you a range of complementary features that make it easy for you to do this or that. But beware it is very easy to get locked in to the technology stack that the vendor offers.

Before you choose try googling and see if others have experienced lock-in.

2 > Give it try
Spending just 5 minutes trying out a system is worth at least a day trawling through vendor presentations or reading the Gartner reports. If the CMS is difficult to use, or its tricky to add a plug-in or change theme then you can find out in minutes instead of hours.

3 > You don’t need training
Choose something to do that is a bit tricky like adding a keyword to the meta data, or adding a widget to show an rss feed. Then try it out! You will learn loads about the CMS and you should be able to achieve the task without googling, user guides or training. If you do find yourself googling, gauge the support that you get from the community.

4 > Can it cope with IE6
Without a doubt the worst and most annoying of all browsers is IE6. It has a completely different way of drawing things to all the other browsers. Give your CMS output and UI a try using IE6. How well does it do? This is a really good indication of how well it is made. If it still works, why not go to the next level and try it on a Nokia.

5 > A good CMS should be invisible
Creating and publishing content is genuinely good fun. Lots of people love to make websites and hopefully your production/editorial team is made-up of people who are like this. If you are one of these people try making and publishing some content. If the CMS is a good one you will notice that you don’t have to think about it, and your mind should be on the content.

6 > A good CMS can import all your content, a great CMS can export it all
Most decent CMS systems have an import feature that should make it fairly easy to get up and going with your content. However, a great CMS system will also provide you tools to allow you to export all the content, taxonomy, users etc. and … use it in another CMS system. This test is associated with the point about lock-in (above) and if your content is not massive this can be a quick test.

7 > Exploit the exploits
If you are going to be using a CMS to run a popular site, then someone will try and hack you.

Google the name of the CMS that you are thinking about getting and the word “Exploit”. Try the first few out on the demo that the vendor has set up for you.

8 > SQL and SCRIPT Injection
When the vendor finally lets you get at the UI try putting this string into the first text box you see:
<script>while(1){alert(“im not going to buy your CMS”)}</script>
the press save, preview publish or whatever and see if the CMS is still working. Alternatively try putting this into the user name field:
smith’); drop table users;

then press save and see what happens.

9 > Look at the showcase
Search for the CMS product name and “Showcase” or “Top 10 Sites” and see if it comes back with something that you know and love. Or, visit www.builtwith.com and put in the address of the site you love and see what CMS system was used to make it.

10 > It should be fun!!!
Using the CMS should be a pleasure. There is no real way to define fun on Gantt chart or in a spreadsheet, but if you are using an actuarial method to decide on your CMS make sure you have a column for how much fun it should be use it!