The Best CMS Tool – choosing the best website CMS for your clients.

Howdy! Looking for the best cms tool? Read on and see what you think…

We’ve spent alot of time over the last few years putting together content management systems for clients.  And when I say “putting together” I mean various things; skinning existing open source CMSs, building “mini” CMS systems for clients wanting a little bit of bespoke functionality, themeing blogs, integrating forums and much more.

And so far we haven’t found the best CMS tool. Why? Because there’s that much variation in what customers want.

It’s very easy to say things like “Actually, I think that XYZ is the best CMS tool out there because is has these bells and whistles and does all of this amazing techy stuff”.

I say again, it is so so easy to pitch like that to clients and new customers; frankly they’ll more than likely switch off after you’ve given them their coffee (unless they’re geeks like us!).

As an IT trainer and an online marketer / web geek, I’m very used to listening to what people want and how they work, and I think that this is absolutely key; find the best CMS tool for your client’s needs.

What is fit for purpose? What does your client do in their line of work? Do they want full control over a site or do they want to simply update a news item now and then? Do they need an easy gallery mechanism or are they only interested in feeding tech specs about their rapidly changing product line into a page or ten?

There’s so much to consider when choosing the best CMS tool for your clients that getting a great design brief is never more important.

I know, you were expecting a list of the best CMS tools on the market, sorry about that :0)

You also need to consider the demographic of the client; how old they are, how tech savvy they are, how much interest do they have in keeping a website up to date? That may sound odd I know, but from experience training, I have come to realise that the more engaged a person is with a subject, the more they’ll put in to it. Think about it like this: if you love your job then it isn’t a job; it’s a hobby which pays. By the same hand: if your client enjoys techy stuff and loves the web and everything to do with it, then it’s far more likley that he or she will want an all singing, all dancing website. So, consider the best CMS tool for them.

On the other hand, if your client is driven by requirement and not interest, you may find your self heading down the on page edit, no dashboard, functional and simple road. Nothing wrong with that, because that is the best CMS tool for them.

All that said, there are some obvious CMS systems that stand out from the crowd, and each one has it’s hardcore following and community. You’ll likely know about alot of these but take a look anyway because you might find something new:

• WordPress – this and millions of other blogs run on it. Epic. Can also be used as a “non blog” CMS but your clients will need to be a bit more tech savvy to get along with it in that guise. In my opinion…
• mojoPortal – the best open source .net CMS in my eyes. A wealth of features straight out of the box, more than alot of “premium” CMSs. This is still a relative new comer to the CMS market so expect to see lots more from this gem in the future.
• BlogEngine – a brillant .net blogging tool. Not as full featured or community driven as WordPress but a brilliant solution nonetheless.
• Drupal – industry standard PHP CMS. A little tougher to skin than, say, mojoPortal, but very popular.
• DotNetNuke – arguably the cream of the .net CMS crop. Great features and community but can be very heavy for less tech savvy end users and clients.
• Elgg – social network framework. Very good at what it does.

Nice list that isn’t it… :0)

I hope you’ve found this a worthwhile read and would love to know your thoughts. Good luck finding the best CMS tool for your clients and happy content managing!