Choosing a CMS for a website is like picking the means of travelling – some are more affordable, but less efficient, others come at a price, but are worth the money in terms of productivity. In general, a content management system purpose is to ease the life of people working with a specific website and allow doing routine things faster, better and more effectively.
This, however, is true only in case when a CMS for the website is chosen correctly – according to its goal and specific requirements. Otherwise, a CMS may become an obstacle rather than help for the site progress. Imagine travelling over the ocean on a bike, or flying a plane in the forest – something like that happens when a site uses an unsuitable CMS.
So, in today’s post, we’re going to dwell on the most common mistakes people tend to make when selecting the platform for their online “home” between WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.
1. Everybody else uses a CMS, I need it too!
(Picking a CMS without a clear view of the website goal or specific requirements)
Often, people would start a website just to keep up with the competitors, friends, major trend etc and don’t have a vivid idea about what it should do, look like and how it should function. They decide on using a CMS not because of the need for it, but rather because everybody else does. Typically, they end up with a popular platform based on a recommendation or rating. Only then do they realize this is not what’s needed. To avoid a situation like this, the best idea would be to list your objectives and think about things are most crucial for you in a CMS before going with a particular solution.
2. Free – works for me!
(Selecting a CMS based on the license cost)
No doubt, acquiring a content management system that is both wildly popular and so easily accessible at no cost is tempting. WordPress, Joomla and Drupal are excellent examples. But… when picking a CMS you should taлe into account many other things needing investments, like site hosting, maintenance and design, developer fee etc, which can cost a lot – even more than a commercial hosted CMS, where many of these things are already taken care of. So, before going for a free platform, make sure you know how much it will really cost – and do research all possible free variants.
3. Why waste time for testing?
(Implementing a CMS without trying it out first)
A common mistake that users can seriously regret later on is starting out with a CMS without giving it a thorough test drive first. Yes, time is money, and we’re often in a hurry, but stop and think for a minute. You’re choosing the most important tool for your website that’s going to influence its entire work – maybe it won’t be a bad idea to test it first? WordPress, for example, can attract with its ease of use, Drupal is complex, but captivates by the flexibility, Joomla is something in between.
4. Open source CMS – big community ready to help
(Relying on community forums for help with CMS issues)
Joomla, WordPress and Drupal are the biggest open source CMS players on the market. They do have sizeable communities with many dedicated users. But you would be mistaken to rely on them for help in case of any issues, especially if you have little to no experience in working with content management system previously. None of the three abovementioned CMSs has technical support, and waiting till someone will answer your question on the forum may be long and ineffective.
Best one ≠ the right one
Among users, there’s a constant search for ‘the best CMS” out there. WordPress, Joomla and Drupal are the most frequent candidates and winners of similar competitions. Naturally, the tag “best” or “#1” works like a magnet for newbies who decide they absolutely should use this, “best” solution. However, each of the CMSs has its strengths and weaknesses, and the one suitable for one project would be a total failure for another. So, remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and the best tool is the right tool for the job.
Now that you’re armed with the knowledge of most common misconceptions on the matter of CMS selection, you’ll definitely pick the platform that will suit all your requirements as you’re not limited by Joomla, WordPress and Drupal only. There exist a lot of solutions tailored for all possible tasks, so after a short research you’ll surely hit the spot.
In case you are willing to change your existing CMS – aisite is always here to handle your migration in no time.
