Do you need a Content Management System?
Do you want to be able to edit your own website? Is a content management system the answer?
You certainly need to be in control of your own website. After all, your website may be the most important tool you have for contact with your customers.
When dealing with lead generating websites, many web development companies that I encounter seem to place most importance on some sort of a content management system as the answer to editing your website. They often cost several thousand dollars.
The question is, will a several thousand dollar investment in a content management system generate leads for your company?
Of course not. Because they do not address the most important parts of a lead generation website, which are:
- Search engine optimisation and marketing to ensure that people find your websiteÂ
- Copywriting to ensure that your visitors know exactly how you solve their problems and to persuade visitors to call or fill in a form
- Usability to ensure that they can
- Measurement to make sure it’s all working.
Selling a content management system is often based on the premise that you will be able to edit your own website. However, you could always edit your website with a simple tool like Microsoft FrontPage or one of the hundreds of other tools available.
Any decent web developer can have you editing your own website without compromising the delivery of your site. You’ll be way ahead if you save your money and invest it into copywriting and SEO.
Aside from the unnecessary cost, there can be several disadvantages to using a content management system. A content management system can:
- Add a level of complexity to your website
- Make your URLs complicated
- Be restrictive and detrimental to Search Engine Optimisation
- Restrict the design flexibility of your websiteÂ
- Require specific training.
However, there are circumstances when you absolutely need a content management system, such as:
- Managing an online shop or eCommerce system
- When work flow management is required
- When several people in the company contribute regularly to the website
- When specific functionality is required, like document management.
Don’t be fooled by “product floggers” who want to sell you a content management system as the answer to your lead generation website. Your primary consideration needs to be, “How will my website generate leads?”
About the author: As the owner of a web marketing business, I’ve spent the last 7 years studying ways to boost the conversion rates of my clients’ websites. Today, our best websites convert up to 20% of visits into leads and 50% of leads to sales. The target for our clients is a minimum 5% conversion rate on visits to leads which is staggeringly more than the typical website at 0.1%.
Bitemark specialises in designing, building, writing, managing and marketing websites with high conversion rates.
