Posted on
04.10.24
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Emiliano Bottaioli
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5 minutes
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How to choose the right CMS: Tailoring your website for success

When I started in web development, everything was hard-coded—Content Management Systems (CMSs) didn’t exist. The ease of quick content updates that editors enjoy today was something we could only dream of back then. Ironically, this made things simpler. Then came the era of the CMS, which promised to make things easier but, in reality, offered some fairly horrendous options to work with.

In response, some agencies developed proprietary CMSs to better meet client needs. While this addressed immediate requirements, it eventually led to poor user experiences for content editors, security risks, and high maintenance costs. Meanwhile, the open-source community was pushing forward with CMSs like WordPress, which was initially loved—until its security flaws were revealed.

Over my 19 years at various digital agencies, I’ve supported major brands such as Tesco, Tesco Bank, Sainsbury’s, Balfour Beatty, Anglo American, Paddy Power and Melrose. I’ve worked with virtually every major CMS—WordPress, Drupal, Sitecore, Magnolia, Adobe Experience Manager, Umbraco, Contao, Kentico, Episerver, Squarespace, Umbraco, DatoCMS and more (some of which no longer exist).

New clients often ask, “What’s the best CMS?” or “Can we use this particular CMS?” They expect a straightforward answer, but the reality is, that it depends entirely on your project’s requirements, budget, and long-term goals.

In this article, I highlight some of the key considerations when pondering the best CMS for your next project.

The CMS Dilemma: It’s a bit like buying a car

Choosing a CMS is a lot like buying a car. You weigh the options to ensure it meets your needs and will serve you well for years to come. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Just like you wouldn’t use a Ferrari for your daily commute or an old Fiat 500 for a family of four, each CMS has its ideal use case. The key is evaluating what truly matters for your organisation, your timeline, and of course, your budget. 

License: Enterprise vs. Open-Source

Don’t assume that the most expensive CMS is automatically the best. For example, only around 30% of FTSE 100 companies use enterprise CMSs like Sitecore or Adobe Experience Manager, while the majority opt for open-source solutions like Umbraco (the leading open-source CMS in the FTSE 100).

A graph showing CMS utilisation in the FTSE 100 with Umbraco being the most popular open source CMS.

Open-source CMSs have the advantage of no annual licensing fees, which typically increase with website traffic—a counterintuitive cost when you’ve worked hard to drive that traffic. Rather than spending on hefty licensing fees, that budget could be better invested in marketing activities and tools to strengthen your overall strategy.

Security

Platforms built on ASP.NET, such as Sitecore, Kentico, and Umbraco, leverage Microsoft’s robust security features. These CMSs offer built-in protection against common vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS) and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), allowing developers to focus on building features while Microsoft handles framework security updates.

In contrast, PHP-based CMSs like WordPress and Drupal are secure when set up properly but can become more vulnerable to attacks over time. Their security heavily relies on the developers’ skills and how closely they follow best practices.

Time to Production

Time to production is critical when selecting a CMS. Some systems take longer to build, especially headless CMSs, which typically have longer development cycles than hybrid or traditional CMSs. For instance, a fairly simple and primarily IR-focused corporate website might take three months to launch using Umbraco but 6-7 months with Sitecore. Understanding these timelines will help you make an informed decision based on your project’s urgency.

Features

CMS platforms are constantly competing to outdo and adopt each other’s feature sets. WordPress and Drupal often rely on third-party plugins to fill feature gaps, while Umbraco offers many tools as part of its core package, reducing the need for external add-ons. While any CMS can support a successful website, integrating too many third-party plugins can lead to increased complexity, security vulnerabilities, and maintenance challenges.

On the other hand, platforms like Sitecore and Adobe Experience Manager come packed with an overwhelming array of features—often more than you will ever need—making development and content management more complex. This can make both the development process and user experience unnecessarily complex and less enjoyable for content managers. That being said, if you are running a large e-commerce website, Sitecore might better suit your requirements. 

Authoring, Personalisation, and Workflow

All CMSs allow for content creation and publication, but the ease of use and extent of features like auditing and versioning within a user-friendly interface varies. Enterprise platforms like Sitecore and Adobe once stood out for their advanced personalisation and workflow features. For years, these personalisation and workflow capabilities were key reasons companies chose enterprise CMSs like Sitecore and Adobe over open-source alternatives. However, with Umbraco’s recent updates—including the addition of Umbraco Workflow and the recent acquisition of uMarketing Suite —the gap has closed. Now, Umbraco offers highly customisable workflows and personalisation features, making it a much more cost-effective alternative for businesses needing these advanced tools without the hefty price tag of enterprise systems.

Hosting

Five years ago, self-hosting on your own server or cloud was the only option for CMS platforms. In recent years, many leading CMS providers have started offering fully managed hosting solutions, freeing businesses from the burden of managing security and maintenance. This allows content teams to focus on strategy and creation rather than technical headaches like security management, something they never signed up for in the first place, allowing them to focus solely on content creation and strategy.

Budget

Website budgets vary greatly depending on functionality, size, and complexity. While WordPress is often the cheapest option, you’re typically just building a website. More advanced CMSs, such as Umbraco, act as digital hubs that integrate with other platforms like social media, email marketing, and e-commerce, making them more scalable for long-term growth. If your budget is tight, Wix and Squarespace are even cheaper than WordPress, but these are stop-gap solutions—you’ll likely outgrow them quickly. At the other end of the spectrum, Adobe Experience Manager, though expensive, has made significant advancements and is worth considering if budget is not a constraint.

A circular diagram entitled The Digital Hub with the text website sitting in the middle with marketing activities around like using social media, paid search, email marketing and eCommerce.

A hybrid CMS like Umbraco typically meets budgets in the middle, allowing you to focus now on the website while also providing a content delivery API that can be used to make this the core of your digital hub, enabling greater scalability and flexibility as your needs grow.

In Conclusion

There is no “good” or “bad” CMS—just platforms better suited to specific needs. Umbraco, for example, is flexible enough to meet most requirements while remaining cost-effective. This is why, after so many years of personally working with a range of CMS solutions and, as an agency, offering different CMS solutions, our core go-to platform is now Umbraco.

CMS customer review data showing Umbraco as the most popular CMS

Don’t just take my word for it; check out user reviews on platforms like G2, which aggregates real-world feedback to help you make informed decisions.

Picking the Right Agency Partner for your next CMS build

Once you’ve chosen the right CMS, partnering with an experienced agency is crucial. SampsonMay is a proud Umbraco Gold Partner, with over nine years of experience in designing, developing, and maintaining Umbraco websites for some of the world’s leading companies. Our team stays up to date with the latest certifications and developments within the Umbraco community, ensuring you get the most out of your chosen platform and, as gold partners, we are ahead of the curve on the continuing development roadmap for the biggest and fasted growing Microsoft.NET open-source CMS in the world.

To help assess the best CMS for your next project and discuss your options, we would love to have a conversation – just reach out to us and we will look forward to discussing your needs and how we can help. 

Chart citation: CMS utilisation in FTSE 100 from SampsonMay data. Average go-live time from Umbraco and public data. Digital hub image reference in Umbaco whitepaper authored by Jessica Rowe. CMS customer reviews data from G2.

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