Important Features to Consider Before Choosing a CMS For Your Web Development Project

Do you know that the history of content management systems says that the first CMS platform was founded in 1985? Well, this stat clearly depicts that CMS technology has come a long way to be people’s choice. Even though the first CMS platform was released in 1985, the CMS technology gained much-deserved attention from developers and businesses around the globe only after 2000. And from there, it all began! Over the years, the web development world has seen the introduction of new and better CMS platforms. And today when we look back all we can say is gone are the days when developers need to run coding from scratch even for a minor change. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that CMS technology has completely transformed and made web development a lot easier than ever before. 

But as they say, too much of anything is also a matter of concern. Today, there are numerous CMS platforms available in the market to choose from. As a result, businesses remain in a perplexing situation where they find it difficult to choose the one best-suited platform for their web design and development project. Well, if you’re one of those businesses, fret not! We’re here to help you! As an important piece of advice, do not compare multiple CMS platforms as it will not only be time-consuming but you’ll also end up getting confused. Here we have mentioned a few important features that must be considered in order to know which is the best CMS platform and to hire the best services for the same from an experienced web development company. 

What to Look For in a Right CMS Platform For Your Web Design and Development Project?

Let’s have a look at all the crucial things that make a CMS platform best for any web design and development project. Whether you want to choose the best CMS for your eCommerce website, corporate website, healthcare site, education, or any other, this list is for all types of web development projects. 

• Core Functionality

In any website checklist, functionality is the most important point to ascertain. And its importance begins in the process of finding the right CMS platform for your web development project. It’s the CMS that allows you to incorporate exceptional functionality into your site. And for a fact, there is a lack of knowledge about CMS platforms amongst businesses and business owners. A majority believe that CMS technology is all about adding, deleting, managing heavy or quality content on a website. Well, the functionality of any CMS platform isn’t restricted to just these. It is important as a business owner to know what basic functionality you need for your web design and development project. And on the basis of that, look for an ideal CMS platform that matches your requirements. If a particular platform doesn’t allow you to build a website the way you want, it is not the right choice for your web development project. 

Now, since there are numerous CMS platforms available in the market, there are high chances that you can find a number of candidates with the same core features. Even though they can have the same core functionality, usability is the part where you have to judge them. Also, it is recommended to test the usability of a CMS platform before purchasing it. 

• Set-up and Deployment

Well, a majority of CMS platforms are free, and hence, can save some money in the initial stage. But cost shouldn’t be the main criteria to decide which CMS platform is the best for your web development project. The process of set-up and deployment is another factor that you must consider before choosing a CMS and hiring a professional web development company for your project. There are platforms that don’t have smooth set-up and deployment and choosing one of them can somewhere affect your web design and development project if you’re thinking of doing it on your own. However, if you’re still want to go with one of such platforms because other features comply with your requirements, then it’s highly recommended to hire a professional web design and development company to take care of your project. 

• Customization

If you want to build a full-fledged, feature-rich website for your business, then you need a CMS platform that is highly customizable. A website isn’t judged by the technology that has been used for it, but by the design, functionality, and user experience. And to bring all these factors into your website, you need a CMS platform for your web design & development project that supports a high level of customization in themes, modules, and core functionality. Just to let you know, customization can also be seen as flexibility in a CMS platform. 

• Integration

If you are going to manage an eCommerce website or eLearning website, you should know that such sites require some high level of integration to perform certain tasks and functions. In other words, such websites need support from multiple systems to work in the right manner. Hence, comes the importance of the ability to integrate third-party applications in a website for any CMS platform. 

However, if your requirements say that your website needs third-party integration, then the best way is to hire professional web development services for your web design and development project. 

• Budget & Licensing

A business always gets two options when choosing a CMS platform for its web design and development project, i.e., either go with a paid CMS platform or with an open-source, free CMS platform. And this is the point that a majority of businesses fail to understand. A free thing cannot always be the right option, but it can also not be a wrong option. Confusing, isn’t it? Well, all you need to understand is your business requirements and needs. And on the basis of that, you should pick between both options. If your requirements can only be fulfilled by a paid CMS platform, then it advisable to go with it for your website design and development project. However, if the requirements pick the free CMS platform, well, then you should look to invest some money in taking the best advantage of professional web development services in order to build an ultimate website for your business. 

• Security and Scalability

You have put so much effort and time into finding the right CMS platform for your web design and development project, surely you do not want to go through the same process again after a year or two because of the fact that your website isn’t safe in the web world. Well, if so, consider security as one of those important features of the CMS platform before finalizing it for your web design and development project or hiring professional web development services for it. For that, look for security measures that a CMS platform follows. Are they of the best standards? 

Scalability is another important feature that must be taken into consideration when choosing a CMS platform for your website design and development project. If you want your business to grow, which you surely do, it is important to ascertain whether a CMS platform has the capability to scale with your business. In other words, there will be a time when you would want to update your website or make it more advanced. Therefore, choose a CMS considering your future requirements as well. Besides, the platform must also support multiple delivery channels such as mobile, web, PDA, and more. 

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With that being said, these are some important features that must be taken into consideration to find the right CMS for your web design and development project. However, in order to make the most out of the capabilities of the chosen system, it is highly advisable to hire professional web development services. Talking about that, you can also consider Auxesis Infotech, a leading web development company. We have years of experience working in the industry on different CMS platforms and delivering top-notch web development services. Whether it’s WordPress, Shopify, Magento, Joomla, Laravel, or Drupal as a CMS, our specialization lies in all CMS platforms.