Your Guide to CMS: What It Is and Why You Need One

Your Guide to CMS: What It Is and Why You Need One

by Samantha Goniea

In the finance realm, we are no stranger to acronyms. But, there is one acronym rapidly gaining market traction that needs to be added to your vocabulary: CMS. CMS, or Content Management System, is a web platform or software that allows you to easily create, edit, and publish content to a website or blog without advanced coding or HTML knowledge. In today’s competitive market, a good website is crucial to your success. Unfortunately, many businesses have relied on the “set it and forget it model” with their sites due to costs or lack of resources. The reality is, if your website is not working for you, then it’s working against you.

This is a mobile world. It is estimated that in 2018, shoppers will spend upward of $400 billion online. It is common for consumers to do their research, evaluate potential product purchases, and make shopping decisions right from their mobile devices. Your website is essentially your first impression with these potential buyers, and a good website could be the difference in a sale. In addition to staying in front of your customer, there are also plenty of other advantages of having a CMS platform:

• Reduce reliance on coders, developers and/or marketing firms.
• Save substantial time, money, and effort on web-related updates and content changes.
• Drag and drop functionality and web apps allow you to become a website expert.
• Easily modify the look and feel of your website to keep up with trends and changes in technology.
• Browse thousands of pre-designed themes, templates, and widgets to create the exact look and feel you want for your site and change them with the click of a button.
• Add eCommerce functionality, credit card processing, or even customer service functionality for thousands of dollars less than a standard site.
• Create responsive layouts and mobile friendly websites with the click of a button.

What are some popular CMS options?

• Drupal
• Joomla
• Magento
• Shopify
• Squarespace
• Wix
• WooCommerce
• WordPress

Tips, Tricks, and Items to Consider

Take a test drive—most modern CMS platforms allow a free trial run before you commit. These trials range from 2 weeks to 30 days and allow you to test the editing functions, browse templates, explore apps, as well as add your own photos, logos, and content.

For ERP Integrations, explore third-party connectors, integrations, and shopping carts available to you before you commit. Be sure that the data gathered on the website can be easily transferred into your accounting software. Customer orders, sales orders, and inquiries are crucial to your day to day. Make sure the platform you select is compatible with your accounting platforms to reduce
manual efforts down the road.

Although a majority of design work can be done in house by your team, it never hurts to get a second set of eyes on these projects to ensure ease of use and good design execution. There are plenty of freelance designers and marketing resources who can step in to help as needed for a fraction of the cost of developers and coders. There are also plenty of free YouTube tutorials and online resources available to you should you need assistance.

Take your website into the 21st century with a modern CMS; increase your sales potential, save time, reduce efforts, and (most of all) save money.