1. Easily update and add content  

How frequently do you (or should you) update the copy and content on your website?  With a CMS you can easily make changes to copy, add images, post blogs, edit or add new pages and post announcements such as press releases, job openings or event information.  Why is this important?  As a primary marketing tool for most companies, your website should feature fresh, accurate content.  Also, for search engine optimization purposes, it is important that your content reflect your key search terms and phrases and that you continually generate key word rich content.  

2. Make changes on the spot!  

Remember that time one of your clients found an embarrassing error or typo on your site?  Remember how long it took for the error to be corrected?  With a CMS, you can immediately correct typos or incorrect information and post last minute event information (such as cancellations, reminders, etc).  Since most content management systems are web-based, you can make changes from any computer, any place as long as you have internet access.  I've even made edits while driving...wait…we don't recommend working on your computer while driving.  

3. Allow multiple people within your organization to contribute to your website.  

So Bob wants to rewrite the copy on your website, Stan wants to be able to blog, your customers want to be able to comment on Stan's blog, Helga wants to incorporate an image gallery to showcase your work, Pete wants to include client case studies and Mary wants to be able to approve everything before it is published.  Perfect.  Most CMSs allow you to set up user groups, set permission levels for the various user groups and develop content, copy and functionality approval processes so that nothing gets published to your live website without approval.  A CMS enables software engineers, designers, copy writers and content developers to contribute to your website in a streamlined, controllable manner.  

4. Reduce support costs and eliminate lag time  

Not only can changes be made easily, frequently and immediately, they can be made in-house which means you no longer have to pay your web development company to make the changes for you!  What's more, you no longer have to wait on your web development company to make the time to make the changes for you!  

5. Simply support SEO efforts  

Most CMSs allow you to easily add page titles, page descriptions and key terms as you create or edit the pages within your site.  They also support search engine friendly URL's which allow search engines to find and index your site's pages.  

6. No need to know code  

Need I say more?  You can experience all of the benefits outlined above even if you don't know code.  If you choose a solid CMS, it will likely boast a user-friendly administrative interface for creating new pages, uploading files, editing members, etc.  Copy and content edits are made using a WYSIWYG editor- “what you see is what you get”.  In fact, I generally tell clients that if you can edit a word document, you can create and edit a web page using a CMS.   And hey, let's face it.  I'm no technical genius so if I can do it, you can do it!  

To learn more about choosing or using a content management system, contact me!