Top warning signs you are OUTGROWING
your CMS
By: Paul McKibben
May 22, 2014
Design/Theming● Usability Testing
● Responsive Design
● Drupal Theming
● Annotated Wireframes
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Development● Drupal Support
● Custom Module Development
● Large Scale Systems Integration
● Security & Performance Expertise
We help organizations build highly impactful, elegantly designed Drupal websites that achieve the strategic results you need.
Digital Strategy● Content Strategy
● Content Generation
● Result Metrics
● Marketing Automation Integration
Is this your relationship with your CMS?
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It’s not me, it’s YOU!!!
Top Warning SignsYou Are
OUTGROWINGYour CMS
Should your CMS stay, or should it go?
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Let the CMS Relationship Doctor help.
● Editorial Experience
● User Experience
● Digital & Social Marketing
● Performance & Scalability
● Cost
● Keeping Up
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Agenda
Editorial Experience
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This just isn’t working for me.
Editorial Experience IssuesStumbling blocks to publishing new content
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● Outdated/restrictive/complicated workflows
● Publish to two different sites for desktop and mobile
● Difficult to control presentation
● No or poor media integration
Fixing Editorial Issues
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● Simplify content entry: limit number of content types and fields, have good default values, provide help text.
● Single content source for everything: responsive design, COPE architecture.
● Make it easy to specify presentation and add media, without compromising design and architecture.
● If you must have an approval workflow, keep it simple:
○ Keep review/approval steps to minimum (just one if possible).
○ CMS approval roles should be generic, not tied to org chart.
User Experience
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I just can’t figure you out!
User Experience
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● Poor mobile experience.
○ Slow page loading.
○ Not touch-friendly.
○ Reliance on Flash.
● Can’t find anything!
○ Content poorly placed/organized.
○ Site search returns irrelevant results.
Fixing UX Issues
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● Fixing mobile:
○ Responsive design
○ Page loading: limit extras
○ Large, touch-friendly links and buttons
○ Stash Flash
○ Consider “Mobile First” approach
● Find the content you’re looking for:
○ Organize with taxonomy
○ Site search: good indexing = good results
Digital & Social Marketing
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You’re such a wallflower!
Digital & Social MarketingDoes your CMS facilitate your marketing goals?Potential issues:
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● Can’t measure effectiveness of content campaigns.
● Unable to capture, track, and nurture leads.
● No support for dynamic content.
● Unable to customize social sharing messages and images.
● Poor search engine optimization.
Fixing Digital & Social Marketing Issues
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● Content Marketing & Lead Nurturing:
○ Marketing Automation Platforms.
○ CRM.
● Dynamic Content: couple Marketing Automation with Content Strategy.
● Social Sharing: edit sharing widgets and meta tags to control presentation on social network feeds.
● SEO: well-structured HTML markup; editable meta tags.
Performance & Scalability
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You’re not growing with me.
Performance & Scalability
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● Symptoms:
○ Excessive page load times
○ Deteriorating database performance
● Triggering factors:
○ Increasing site traffic
○ Increasing amount of content/database size
● Possible causes:
○ Architectural capacity limits
○ Poor coding/site building practices
Fixing Performance & Scalability Issues
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● Compression & Optimization
● Separation
● Caching
● Horizontal Scaling
● Offloading Functionality
● Fix Bad Code
Cost
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I spend too much on you!
Elements of Cost
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● Software license fees.
● Implementation.
● Maintenance.
● Hosting/infrastructure.
Reining in Costs
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● Software license fees: go open source.
● Implementation and maintenance:
○ Hire staff, consultants, and service providers who know your chosen CMS platform well and understand your needs.
○ Don’t judge purely on hourly rate.
● Hosting/Infrastructure:
○ DIY will cost you more in time, effort, and headaches.
○ Look at SaaS/PaaS offerings.
Keeping Up
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Wait, don’t leave! I can change!
Keeping Up
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● Never assume your CMS is “done.”
● Use a platform that keeps up with the times.
○ Modular Architecture
○ Room to Evolve
● Open source advantages:
○ Features
○ Security
○ Interoperability https://www.flickr.com/photos/pkub/10522926704
?
So: should your CMS stay, or should it go?
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● Editorial Experience
● User Experience
● Digital & Social Marketing
● Performance & Scalability
● Cost
Make sure your CMS can keep up.
Thank You!Questions?
@Mediacurrent Mediacurrent.com
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