
How to Choose the Right Content Management System (CMS)

How to Choose the Right Content Management System (CMS)
Content management systems (CMSs) are the cornerstones of any organization's digital presence. Choosing the right CMS is a crucial decision with several parameters for stakeholders to consider. From its scalability potential, to its security features, and SEO capabilities, making the right decision when choosing a CMS is a highly consequential decision. This piece aims to outline some of the key factors to consider, and features to take into account when making a decision.
What is a CMS
A content management system (CMS) is a software that is used to create and manage content. This software enables users to build websites without needing to code them, working instead in a framework that allows for simple page creation, and asset management. It’s also a collaborative tool that allows teams to work together, building new pages and publishing content.
At TYPO3, we think of our CMS as a toolbox. We provide the features needed for teams to collaborate effectively and deliver their online visitors high-performing digital experiences.
Choosing a CMS is crucial to establishing a strong web presence. Not just a topic confined to IT teams, the choice of the right CMS is a decision that concerns a wide range of stakeholders, from marketing executives, to data teams, and programmers alike. CMS’s mean that non-technical staff can play an active role in maintaining and growing their organization’s online presence.
Why Using a CMS is Important
Websites are a brand’s window to the world. From generating new leads, to effectively communicating the “what” and the “why” of their service offering, a strong web presence ensures businesses stay competitive.
For public sector organizations, using a CMS is an important part of delivering constituents vital information, effectively managing large data sets, and fulfilling their requirements for accessibility on digital platforms.
Choosing the Right CMS
Selecting a CMS that best serves an orgnaization's needs is crucual. Content management systems come with a wide range of features and industry-specific capabilities. When assessing the market for the right content management system, taking a few practical steps can ensure the right choice is made.
Build a Team of Stakeholders
Every successful project starts with a capable team. Identifying the stakeholders in your organization whose work will be most tied to your choice of CMS, and those whose operations depend on the organization’s web presence should be included in the process.
Here are a few steps to take when beginning the early stages of the project:
- Identify Stakeholders: Who will be impacted by the new CMS? Whose input is necessary for its optimal performance and efficient use? Identify the stakeholders who will be able to successfully guide the project.
- Set Objectives: Clearly define milestones and outcomes that should be achieved at different stages in the project. Outline a plan for success including timelines and clear success criteria.
- Define Responsibilities: Who will be responsible for sourcing? Technical implementation? Who keeps other teams in the loop? Be sure to delegate effectively in order to ensure transparency and accountability.
- Feedback Loops: Communication is key. Ensure that your stakeholders are meeting regularly, provide updates on developments and feedback to each other, to ensure that the project remains on track.
Evaluate Market Options
Thorough market research is an important part of choosing the right CMS. There are many options out there, and no two content management systems are the same. While many will offer a similar set of core features, some CMS’s cater to the needs of specific industries (take Shopify, which specializes in e-commerce websites).
While there are smaller CMS’s that cater to one specific use case or industry vertical, and as such offer strong features, they might lag behind in other capabilities that full-service CMS’s excel in.
To understand which CMS is the best fit for your organizations, consider the following features and the role they play in delivering content management solutions.

Important CMS Features to Consider
Ease of Use
One of the benefits of a well-functioning CMS is that it should be easy to use, especially for non-technical team members. Creating new pages, saving and managing media assets, and enabling specific features, should be easy for your team to learn, and not require extensive time investment.
There are many ways that CMS’s deliver usability in their backend functionality. TYPO3, for example, works with a page-tree architecture that enables pages to easily be created and moved across different sections of the website through its easy to use backend.
Accessibility
Accessibility is becoming an increasingly important part of web experiences, and with new legal requirements being introduced to ensure websites deliver accessible content to visitors with special needs, this is a topic that can’t be overlooked.
Legislation such as the EU Accessibility Act now mandates certain standards websites need to maintain. In choosing a CMS, ensuring that it contains robust accessibility related features is an important part of the sourcing process.
Content Delivery Speed
Delivering content to visitors as quickly as possible is essential for a website’s performance. More than that, your website’s content delivery speed affects its organic search ranking, meaning that speed equals visibility.
That’s why, when assessing different CMS options, seek out performance data related to average content delivery time, and how their architecture enables optimal content delivery speeds.
Scalability
As your organization grows, your CMS should be able to grow with it. CMS’s that excel in scalability are an important asset for any business. TYPO3 is renowned for its scalability, enabled by its page-tree architecture and modular design. Additionally, it’s well-suited for multibrand organizations who seek to manage multiple independent outputs through a common backend.
TYPO3 websites can handle over one million content items across various media formats. This enables the CMS to serve as the backbone for growing organizations across different industries.
Integrations
Make sure your CMS can be integrated to your existing tech stack. This is a crucial step in ensuring content and data can be seamlessly transferred from your CMS’s backend to any third party tools that your teams use.
Several CMS’s offer extensive integrations with popular softwares. Additionally, CMS’s like TYPO3 come out of the box ready with a range of extensions for specific functions.
SEO-Friendliness
Choosing the right CMS plays an important role in your website’s organic search visibility. A CMS with a robust SEO feature offering, including meta tag management, SEO-friendly URL configuration options, and tag management are some of the capabilities to look out for.
Additionally, multilingual SEO features for localized pages, a mobile-friendly website, and fast content delivery speeds also play a key role in ensuring your website appears near the top of search results.
Security Features
Key security features to look out for when it comes to choosing the right CMS for your website include strict access controls and user permissions. These features ensure that only authorized individuals can access specific pages and sections of the backend.
Additionally, password security features lessen the risk of security breaches, ensuring that your team can focus on creating content and optimizing the website.
Additional Considerations
Open source vs. Proprietary
Digital autonomy, the ability to have control over one's own digital assets, including data, content, and applications, is an important factor when it comes to choosing the right CMS. Relying on third party technology can become a challenge and even a potential security risk. Open source CMS’s like TYPO3 and others commit to digital and data sovereignty, meaning that aside from not having to pay any licensing fees to use their product, the data produced and saved on any organization’s website will always be owned by the organization itself.
Working with a Web Development Agency
For many small businesses, installing a CMS can be done relatively easily. Proprietary solutions offer a simple installation and setup process that freelancers and smaller organizations can benefit from, however for enterprise-level businesses and large scale organizations, including those in the public sector, a more robust and capable content management system is needed.
In such cases, working with a web development agency is often recommended. These agencies provide technical expertise, and consult their clients on how to implement their CMS in a way that will produce the best results.
From optimizing projects for higher performance, to including specific extensions and unique features that allow their customers’ businesses to scale, agencies are an integral part of establishing a well-performing website.
Community Support
Finding a CMS with an active community of developers constantly working to improve the CMS is also a major advantage. Open source CMS’s like TYPO3 evolve through their community’s contributions to the project, from improving the code, adding security features, and spotting bugs.
Predictable update cycles also play a role in maintaining a website’s performance in the long-term.

How to Buy TYPO3 CMS
TYPO3 is an open source enterprise CMS that supports organizations in their digital transformation. With a robust feature offering, including a backend ideally suited for collaborative projects, and a supremely functional pagetree architecture for efficient page building and multibrand management, TYPO3 has been the CMS of choice for leading state and private sector organizations worldwide.
With a number of partner agencies who deliver specialized web development services, from consulting to handling implementation and providing maintenance, TYPO3 partners enable customers to make the most of their CMS.
Conclusion
Choosing the right CMS for your organization is a complex process that requires input from a wide range of stakeholders, both internal and external. Understanding what your organization’s objectives are, and which features to prioritize when choosing a CMS will help you identify solutions that are best suited to your needs.
Robust feature offerings, accessibility, SEO and mobile-friendliness, and digital sovereignty are just a few of the important features to consider when selecting a content management system. Working with an agency can also be an important asset when assessing your choices.
Are you looking to use TYPO3 for your organization's next web development project? TYPO3 works with a range of expert agencies and freelancers committed to improving the digital presence of their clients.