CMS stands for Content Management System, which is a term that many people have come across at some point. But what does it actually mean - and how do you know which CMS to choose? The system that best suits your business depends on the features you're looking for, and there are many to choose from. In this article, we'll look at a number of points to consider, as well as two of the most popular CMSs on the market.
When it comes to managing and updating web content for a listed business, the choice of CMS is crucial for both efficiency and security. A website for a listed company is not only a marketing channel - it is also a platform for transparency, information management and communication with shareholders, investors and other stakeholders. Therefore, the CMS must be flexible, scalable and secure enough to meet the strict requirements of listed companies. To start the process, you need to go over and gather information about what your project will need. How much flexibility and freedom you need over content and page design can help you decide which CMS will work for you. What functionality do you need for layout? That is, how do you want the pages to be structured? Should it be possible to work with image editing? Should it be possible to control how long the text paragraphs should be? Should it be possible to change typography, headings, sizes, colors? These questions should be answered before choosing a system.
An additional aspect is the expected size of the project. In order to avoid high costs and a CMS adapted for high-end websites, it is beneficial to go over the size of the project and answer the following questions:
- What is the expected amount of traffic?
- How many websites or domains will be included?
- How many languages will be available?
- What is the number of integrations with other systems?
- How many editors and others will be working on the site?
- Approximately, what is the amount of information and number of pages?
By answering these questions, it is easier to weed out potential CMSs that are not suitable for your project, leaving you with fewer, and better, options to choose from.
Different CMSs
In our latest survey, we have carefully reviewed the most popular CMS solutions on the market, weighing up the pros and cons of each. As well as a broad overview, we've also taken a deep dive into two of the most prevalent systems for listed companies: WordPress and Umbraco. These two platforms have proven to be particularly strong options for large, complex companies that need a stable and scalable solution. At AVA, we have extensive experience working with both WordPress and Umbraco and have helped several listed companies update and optimize their web solutions to meet the demands of today's digital landscape.
Wordpress
Wordpress is one of the most widely used CMS tools on the market. It started out as a simple blogging tool, but as its use has grown, it has evolved into a pure content management system. Wordpress has become more and more popular as it has evolved into a user-friendly and simple CMS. Wordpress is free to use, based on open source code and also includes a number of free plugins. In addition to being cost-effective, Wordpress has thousands of themes and thousands of plugins, making it possible to customize content exactly how you want. An additional advantage is that you do not need to have prior knowledge of programming to use Wordpress, but the system is built to be user-friendly, which also means that it is possible to change and edit the content in an easy way. It is also easy to add multiple users who can edit content and it is also possible to specify what the new users have access to see and edit. Overall, Wordpress is an easy-to-use and cost-effective option. However, for larger, long-term and complex projects that require greater freedom, Wordpress can be time-consuming because the advantage of the system is that you often start from ready-made templates and themes.
Benefits:
- Easy and quick to get started with
- Cost-effective for smaller web projects
- Ready-made templates and themes
- Easy to use
- Mobile-optimized
Disadvantages:
- Difficult to customize
- Higher costs for creating your own theme
- Requires a lot of maintenance
- Poorer security
Umbraco
Umbraco is an open-source CMS based on Microsoft's .NET environment that has been around since 2003. Umbraco is a web publishing system used by both small and large companies and organizations. It is a well-established and stable CMS that has many essential features built in. Unlike Wordpress, the features are maintained by Umbraco itself while in Wordpress you need to use third-party plugins. That said, there are also plugins customized for Umbraco which creates many options for customization. Another big difference from Wordpress is how the content is published. Wordpress uses blog posts and pages, whereas Umbraco offers greater flexibility in creating new content. It can be anything from press releases, news, services, information about employees and more. Umbraco has no license cost which, like Workpress, makes it a cost-effective alternative while being easy to use and offering several additional features. Creating a website in Umbraco is easy and it is possible to create a website with subpages immediately after logging in. As with Wordpress, you can edit text, add pages, images, and move material around without any programming skills. Since Umbraco is based on Microsoft's NET environment, many of the functions are similar to Microsoft Word. However, Umbraco is slightly more complex than other CMS. For simpler projects and continuous use, Wordpress or other alternatives may therefore be preferable.
Benefits:
- Cost-effective for larger web projects
- Easy to use
- Easier to customize
- Secure and reliable
- Automatic updates
Disadvantages:
- Longer development process
- More complex
- Less access to plugins
Other popular CMS:
Joomla
Joomla is a CMS known for its flexibility and ease of use. It is particularly popular among those who need a website with complex structure and content. Joomla also offers a wide range of extensions and themes.
Drupal
Drupal is another CMS that stands out for its powerful and flexible architecture, making it ideal for more demanding and large-scale projects. Drupal is known for its high level of security and customizability, but can be slightly more difficult to use for beginners.
Optimizely (Episerver)
Optimizely is a strong platform for organizations that want to manage content and e-commerce in an integrated environment and that value personalization and optimization. It is best suited for medium to large businesses with the budget and technical capacity to fully utilize its features, as it is a premium product with high licensing costs.
Wix
Wix is a popular choice for those who desire simpler web design and operation. It's known for its drag-and-drop functionality that makes it easy for users to create and customize their websites without programming and coding skills.
Squarespace
Squarespace is also well known for its aesthetic design and ease of use. It's ideal for creative projects and smaller businesses that want to create aesthetic, minimalist websites with little effort.
Both Wix and Squarespace are website builders aimed primarily at small businesses, sole traders and users without much technical experience. These platforms offer simplified solutions that make building a website quick and easy, but they lack the flexibility and scalability that larger and more complex businesses like publicly traded companies need. Wix and Squarespace offer a fixed library of templates and design options that can be limiting when it comes to creating a unique and tailored website. If your business grows or changes over time, it can be difficult to scale up on these platforms as Wix and Squarespace handle all the technical aspects (servers, security, updates, etc.). As a user, you have limited ability to control or customize security settings, and for listed companies that have to comply with strict regulations around data security and privacy, this can be a serious problem. It can be difficult to implement advanced security measures and comply with regulations such as the GDPR or SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act). While both Wix and Squarespace offer basic SEO tools, they don't have the same level of flexibility as WordPress or Umbraco. For a publicly traded company that needs to fine-tune SEO settings to maximize visibility, these platforms may feel limited.
In this article, we've gone through the most crucial aspects of choosing between WordPress and Umbraco, and outlined when one option can be beneficial over the other. If you want to know more about how we can help your business take the next step in digitization, don't hesitate to contact us for a free consultation.
