Using an open source content management system (CMS) will give you extraordinary freedom to manage marketing programs on your website and significant value in terms of efficiency and cost savings.
Most commercial websites use a content management system to enable site owners to add and maintain content (copy, headers, forms, images, etc.) using simple editing tools. These tools are great – they operate similarly to a word processor, require no advanced HTML or programming skills, and help organize the extensive amount of content found in a typical website.
However, many of these websites depend on a proprietary, commercial CMS such as Autonomy’s Interwoven or Microsoft’s CMS. Not only are such systems expensive, but they can be difficult to maintain without paid support from their vendors, and add-on options can be limited. Open source systems, however, are inexpensive – there are no ongoing/annual licensing fees and no cost increases when the number of users or sites increases, features are added, or as the product is updated.
Therefore, companies both large and small are increasingly migrating to free open source CMS platforms. The open source movement has led to the development of many CMS solutions that rival their proprietary counterparts in terms of features and functionality while providing easier, faster deployment and significant cost savings. The cost savings may be obvious, but what is less obvious is the potential increase in maintainability and extensibility. These systems allow for daily content changes, instant corrections, easy link management, access from any location with an internet connection and different levels of user access.
Most commercial CMS’s require clients to lock into limited, expensive support either directly from the vendor or through a small number of authorized providers. The more popular open source content management systems have a large community of vendors and expert service providers, a wide array of freely available plug-ins, and extensive online documentation and discussion that can help answer technical questions. Open source CMS’s even offer more options for hosting – many hosting providers provide packages that pre-install various open-source CMS systems, and nearly all providers offer low-cost hosting that can support their installation.
It basically boils down to who you want to deal with for site development: the software vendor, or an independent agency (like RBM). When the agency is doing site development, customization and maintenance, it makes sense to be tightly coupled with creative/design, SEO, and other marketing aspects. In this case, the agency should use a system which allows for more immediate control, rather than having to rely on yet another company behind the scenes.
RBM developed and deployed a fully redesigned site for Medidata using Drupal, efficiently migrating over 500 pages of content in three different languages. RBM has deployed and maintains several sites using OpenCms, including Academy of Art University and i365, and deployed a redesigned site for DriveSavers Data Recovery using WordPress.
Our experience with open source CMS solutions has proven that marketers looking to gain control over their website content—without spending a bundle or always calling on the IT department—can make good use of an open source CMS. You may want to open your arms to an open source CMS.
