Content management systems streamline the process of web design tasks such as blog posts, creating pages, editing page layouts, navigation menus, and adding metadata.
These platforms provide powerful connections between the underlying code of the website and the people who work on them on a daily basis such as writers and editors.
The good thing about the CMS environment is that there are so many platforms to choose from.
But that’s also a problem: there are so many to choose from. They all have different features and different weaknesses depending on the platform but also what each business is looking for in a CMS. 
So what are the factors involved when it comes to making a decision when considering a content management system?
Consider FLUPS – Friendliness towards SEO, Lifetime cost, Usability, Portability, and Security.
Friendliness towards SEO
Part of the digital experience for websites is SEO because you want to attract the right people to your website. While some content management systems are designed for simplicity, they tend not to be configurable and can be bad for SEO performance.
There are many out-of-the-box content management systems that don’t even allow you to carry out pretty basic functions such as modifying HTML, never mind the more advanced functions such as adding schema markup. Systems like Squarespace and Wix currently fall into this category.
SEO strategies require you to have control over URLs and edit meta – creating 301 redirects and adding alt tags to images. Consider this when deciding on a CMS.
Lifetime cost
Because every CMS platform comes with its own specificities, there are different limitations in what a website can do. It also sets different levels of difficulty in implementing changes. And with each of these changes comes higher and higher costs for the company.
So account for these costs when deciding on a content management system, which include tech support and sourcing of devs, adding new pages, technical functionalities and capabilities, and integration with other tools and plugins.
Usability
A content management system’s arsenal of capabilities would be entirely wasted if the people that are using it don’t quite understand how to make the most of them.
Crucially, a content management system should be able to be used by the lowest common denominator, which is essentially someone with very little knowledge of web dev.
And if a content management system is easy to use it means it is also faster when it comes to uploading content and editing content.
An intuitive interface accelerates this process if users can easily navigate their way around the platform. 
Portability
Throughout the life of a website, you may need to replatform it to another content management system or its hosting provider. There can be plenty of reasons for a website needing to be replatformed – it no longer fits the needs of the website, or due to scaling you need greater capabilities that the current CMS has simply doesn’t have, or even that your CMS developer is no longer around.
And replatforming content management systems isn’t the cheapest thing in the world.
Security
Of course, you will want your content management system to be highly secure so that it’s not vulnerable to cyberattacks. This is particularly true if your business deals with consumer data – and even more so if you deal with sensitive consumer data!
Content management systems with strong security include features such as 2-factor authentication, strict user permissions, and firewalls.
The search for a secure content management system may even lead to a business getting their own devs to maintain security issues or partner with an expert team to help them.
