Choosing the Best Web CMS

8/14/2019 Choosing the Best Web CMS

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Choosing the Best Web ContentManagement Solution

A White Paper by Sitecore


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CopyrightCopyright 2009 Sitecore. All Rights Reserved.

Restricted Rights Legend This document may not, in whole or in part, be photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form without prior consent, in

writing, from Sitecore. Information in this document is subject to change without notice anddoes not represent a commitment on the part of Sitecore.

TrademarksSitecore is a registered trademark of Sitecore. All other company and product names aretrademarks of their respective owners.

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Table of ContentsExecutive Summary .................................................................. ......... 4

Introduction ................................................................................. ..... 5Focus on the User Experience ......................................................................................................... .............. 5

Hurdles to Optimizing Web Business Value .............. ................ ................. ................ .............. ..... ...... ..... ..... 5

The Importance of a Web Content Management Solution ............... ................ ................ ................. ... ...... ... 5

Narrowing Down the Number of WCM Choices ................................... . 7Open Source or Commercial ............... ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ............. ...... ...... ... 7

Enterprise Content Management or Web-Specific .............. ................. ................ ................ ......... ...... ..... ..... 7

Java or Microsoft .NET .................... ................ ................ ................. ................ ................ ................ ......... ..... 8

What to Look for in a WCM ........................................................... .... 10Beware the Classic Web Publishing Approach .................................................................................... .... 10

Evaluating a WCM Solution from the Business Perspective ..................................................................... 10

From the IT Perspective ................. ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ...... ...... .... 12

Ensuring a Successful Evaluation Process ..................................... 14Consider Getting Expert Advice ................................................................................................................... 14

Include Your Developers in the Evaluation Process .................................................................................. 14

Conclusion .............................................................. ........................ 16

About Sitecore ...................................................... .......................... 17

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Executive Summary

The evolution of the Web has turned the Internet into a strategic medium for

organizations of nearly every ilk. Healthcare, financial services, entertainment,non-profits, and many others have joined e-commerce in leveraging theInternet channel to generate additional revenue, reduce operational costs,develop a deeper relationship with customers, and broaden the reach of thebrand.

While the business value inherent in this digital medium is well understood,organizations still struggle with how to maximize the impact of their Webefforts. Understanding the need for a dynamic, highly compelling userexperience is quite different than figuring out exactly how to make theseexperiences happen.

Companies that have been hindered by first-generation content managementsolutions, or the lack of a content management system at all, are now lookingfor a next-generation solution that enables truly exceptional, results-drivenWeb experiences.

With the myriad different solutions for Web content management (WCM)available, it can be difficult to select the best one for an organizations needs.As many companies have now learned, getting the WCM decision wrong canresult in a mediocre site delivering results that are below expectations.

In the end, the best WCM is the one that is right for a particular organizationsneeds today and tomorrow. This guide offers insight into the WCM technology

choices available today, discusses some of the requirements both IT andbusiness users should consider when selecting a WCM solution, and includesadvice for ensuring a successful evaluation process.

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Introduction

Focus on the User ExperienceNot only is the Internet the largest marketplace in the world, it has literallytransformed the way people live, work, and play. As of March 31, 2008, therewere 1.4 billion Internet users surfing the Web worldwide. 1

The success of the Web means that taking advantage of the Internet nowrequires far more than publishing static content to a brochure-ware site.

Taking a page from the Apple iPhone playbook, the user experience drivesinterest and demand today. From dynamic multimedia content to support forbrowsing on handheld devices, success on the Web means adapting quickly tochanging user expectations and market conditions.

Hurdles to Optimizing Web Business Value The Internet has evolved and todays Websites need to support this to ensurean optimal user experience. Many sites still dont fully support the differentbrowsers currently available. Some have made no effort to make their sitesaccessible for people with disabilities. Organizations that dont optimize forcustomers or prospects using a smaller form factor than a PC to access theInternet stand to miss out on opportunities to deliver a compelling userexperience to all their customer segments.

Organizations with a clear strategy for the corporate Website(s) need to makesure they are positioned to execute it. Often, the technology they currentlyhave in place keeps companies from realizing their business goals for the Web.

The sites arent updated as often as they should be, are confusing to navigate,dont rank well in search engines, and simply dont offer the type of experience to the visitor that compels them to do business with the companyor remain loyal to the brand.

The Importance of a Web Content Management Solution

Imagine delivering the most useful content and features to your visitorsdynamically giving them exactly what they need and when they need it. Andwhat if you could continually use your visitors online feedback and click paths

to test, measure, and update your Website and drive marketing results? You can do all this and more with the right Web content management solution. The WCM selection is crucial to the success of the Website and is not simplyan enabling technology. The correct WCM solution will enable you to respondrapidly to changing consumer needs and market conditions. Making the right

1 www.internetworldstats.com

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choice ensures that your organization has a solid foundation from which toleverage its Web presence. It is essential to choose wisely.

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Key Decisions to Narrow the Fieldof Potential Solutions

Open source versus commercialWCM

Enterprise content management(ECM) versus Web contentmanagement (WCM)

Based on Java or Microsoft .NET

Narrowing Down the Number of WCM Choices The need to create and manage Web content hasgiven rise to literally hundreds of different solutionsacross a variety of categories. To create a moremanageable list of potential solutions for yourorganization, you can narrow the field by makingsome key decisions up front.

Open Source or Commercial Deciding whether you prefer going with opensource or commercial software will immediatelyreduce the number of different solutions for you toconsider.

If your organization has little experience with opensource, there are several key considerations tokeep in mind. First and foremost, understand that open source isntsynonymous with free. While there are no license fees per se, there may besupport fees in order to achieve the level of availability you need. In addition,development and maintenance costs can be substantially greater with opensource than with commercial software.

You also need to consider whether youre willing to forego commercial-gradesupport, training, and enhancements.

The final decision point is really based on the value of your Website to your

business. Organizations that consider their Website to be a strategiccomponent of the business will understand that open source may not deliverthe performance, security, reliability, and functionality needed to sustain ahigh-quality, compelling customer experience.

Enterprise Content Management or Web-SpecificEnterprise content management can be a boon to organizations boostingproductivity, reducing manual processes, and speeding access to criticaldocuments. But whats ideal for the internal needs of the organization is notnecessarily the best solution for the public-facing Website.

The problem is that although many ECM solutions deliver basic Web publishingcapabilities, they are primarily structured around managing documents. Sounless your Website is a static, brochure-ware site, ECM solutions wont beable to offer the capabilities available in a structured content solution. Astructured content WCM solution e nables non-linear navigation and fine-grained control of individual pieces of content all necessary to deliver a

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dynamic, optimized site that enables optimal flexibility and scalability withoutthe complexity inherent in page-oriented ECMs.

Unlike ECM solutions, a Web content management system is specificallydesigned to deliver an optimal user experience to the Website visitor. Theideal WCM is a valuable tool for marketing, enabling rapid iterations as marketconditions change, accelerating time-to-market, optimizing the site for searchengine rankings, and offering tight integration with Web marketing analyticsand tools all capabilities generally lacking in out-of-the-box ECM solutions.

Java or Microsoft .NET Another area of importance when considering a WCM solution is whether ornot your IT organization has standardized on Java or Microsoft technology.Microsoft solutions use a framework called .NET, which can be considered amore modern version of the initial Java technology which was developedprimarily for Unix systems.

While some organizations run both Java and .NET solutions, others have acommitted policy or significant investment in one or the other foundationaltechnologies. If your organization has standardized on one or the othertechnologies, youll need to choose from WCMs that support the particulartechnology used in your shop.

Beware of WCM solutions that attempt to straddle this line of demarcation.Often those products accommodating both Java and .NET result in eitherproduct deficiencies or far greater overhead for organizations running them.For instance, solutions that support both Java and .NET may require yourorganization to install both technologies in order to implement the fullcapabilities of the product potentially adding to your software costs andmaintenance overhead. To keep operations streamlined and trainingrequirements reasonable, its preferable to choose a vendor with a productfully implemented in either Java or .NET, not both.

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Figure 1: Enterprise Market Share for .NET Versus Java 2

2 Popularity of .NET is Grinding Javas Market Share, Finds Info-Tech Research Group, Reuters ,November 28, 2007. The research from Info-Tech included enterprises of all sizes and acrossindustries.

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What to Look for in a WCM

Beware the Classic Web Publishing ApproachUp until the last few years, the approach to Web publishing was still primarilycentered around linear, document-oriented concepts. Page-oriented WCMsolutions were adequate for the typical brochure-ware sites where contentseldom changed. But as Web sites evolved and began to focus on the userexperience, the need for more rapid revisions to branding, structure, content,and the user interface became imperative.

To support the requirements of todays Websites, organizations need a WCMthat is fundamentally different than page- and document-oriented solutions.

The WCM needs to be architected to deliver the enterprise-scale flexibility,scalability, and adaptability required of dynamic Websites. To do this, the WCM

must be based upon a structured content approach managing content asdiscrete content components. The result is a highly granular and flexiblesystem.

Further, organizations need a WCM solution that can be a strategic businesstool for marketing while delivering a highly efficient and effective technologyfoundation for developers. To that end, the following criteria can help youunderstand key WCM requirements for both the business/marketing user andIT.

Evaluating a WCM Solution from the BusinessPerspective

For the business user and decision maker, its critical to recognize that theWCM decision is far more than an IT technology choice. Often, the decision isrelegated to IT without the integral participation of the business users.

To ensure that the current and future business objectives for the Website canbe achieved, there are several critical aspects of a potential WCM solutionbusiness users and decision makers should consider:

Ease of Use The WCM solution needs to be intuitive for both thecontent owner and occasional content providers to use. This meanseveryone from power editors to casual content providers should be ableto add/change/revise online content quickly, while maintaining completecontrol of the online brand. The solution should let users edit content righton the page, without having to know HTML or even be technically savvy.

Control Putting control of the Website into the hands of marketing orother content owners, without requiring programming expertise, is thecentral goal of the WCM. Many solutions allow only page-oriented contentchanges to be made by users, but dont put the branding, navigation, and

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other components of the user experience into the hands of the Websiteowners. Ensure the WCM you select empowers your business users to beable to make rapid changes without programming.

Integrated Marketing Capabilities A Web marketing-oriented WCMsolution should integrate on-line marketing capabilities such as searchengine optimization, campaign tools, segmentation, and analytics toenable marketing to fully control and optimize the Website experience.

o Search optimization tools The WCM solution should integrateSEO with the publishing process so keyword-rich content andmeta-data, search friendly URLs, and other SEO tactics areconsistently and automatically implemented.

o E-mail marketing programs By integrating with third-party e-mail campaign applications, the WCM can coordinate the workflowfor effective, responsive campaign management.

o Website monitoring and analysis tools Ensure the solutionyou select includes analytics capabilities to leverage the closerelationship between the CMS and visitors browsing history. Alsothe WCM should be easily integrated with third-party analyticstechnologies such as WebTrends to enable you to take informedactions.

o Segmentation capabilities A marketing-oriented WCMsolution should enable you to personalize each visitors experiencewith relevant content and features.

Integration with business applications Insist on support andexperience integrating any and all of your line of business applicationssuch as CRM and ERP systems.

Flexibility The WCM needs to enable a dynamic experience for the userregardless of language or device or type of content. Look for a solution

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Figure 2: WCM with Integrated Marketing Capabilities


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that supports multiple languages and optimizes for different device typeswithout the need for re-rendering the site for each variation.

From the IT Perspective

While marketing and other business users should focus on the usability,power, control, and flexibility of the WCM solution, developers and IT shouldevaluate solutions based on the underlying infrastructure, development tools,and capabilities. In addition to determining whether the solution should bebased on Java or .NET, your organization should consider these criticalaspects:

Architecture Page-oriented WCM solutions will require additionaldevelopment efforts in order to support the needs of marketing. Look for amarketing-oriented WCM that takes a structured content approach andseparates the content from the presentation. Specifically, the WCMshould dynamically create each Web page by assembling each piece of data or content for that page. This means that the content presented onone page can easily be reused and redisplayed on dozens of other pages,and that content can be displayed in a different way or combination of ways, as appropriate. This can be text, images, video, tables, or othercontent format. In this way, the content is separated from thepresentation for ultimate flexibility and scalability.

Development Tools, Controls, and Capabilities Look for a WCM thatstreamlines development and maintenance with easy-to-use tools,controls, and capabilities. Seamless integration with tools such as VisualStudio enables developers to make best use of their existing skills.

Built-in Support for:o SEO optimization A truly marketing-oriented WCM will optimize

automatically for SEO tactics, including generating SEO-friendlyURLs, avoiding redirects, and delivering inline SEO tools.

o Accessibility Choose a solution that supports internationalaccessibility standards . In the U.S. alone, over 41 million peoplehave a disability. 3 A high-profile lawsuit against the retail chain

Target in the U.S. underlines the importance of supportingaccessibility. The class action lawsuit, brought by the NationalFederation for the Blind, involved accessibility complaints with

Target.com. The lawsuit was settled on August 28, 2008 for $6million. 4

3 2006 American Community Survey,http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/users_guide/index.htm4 Target to pay $6 million to settle site accessibility suit, David Chartier, ars technica , August 28,2008

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o Security The WCM solution should provide permissionmanagement to grant rights to users, groups and roles. It shouldalso support external authentication and authorization systemswithout requiring extensive coding and integration efforts.

o Multiple sites, languages, and devices Select a WCMsolution th a t supports any number of domains mapping to different Webproperties, as well as flexible sharing of content and code between logical sites.Ensure that the solution enables many-to-many language support to avoid creationof extensive new data structures whensupporting multiple languages.

o Navigation Pick a solution that provides

automated functions such as navigationand breadcrumb tools that simplify newpage, section, or site creation. Ideally, thesolution should enable IT to give as muchor as little control and flexibility to siteeditors as you wish.

Scalability and Performance Be sure tounderstand the performance and scalability implications of the WCMsolution. Its important from both the perspective of IT maintenanceoverhead and total cost of ownership to choose a solution that cansupport deployment of multiple Web sites on a single system.

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Ensuring a Successful Evaluation Process

Consider Getting Expert AdviceIf your budget allows, or if you already retain their services in yourorganization, ask an analyst with a leading firm such as Gartner, Forrester, orButler to provide insight into WCM vendors. As renowned advisory services fortechnology and its implementation, these firms can help you understandwhich solutions are appropriate for your business requirements.

Your organization may want to consider retaining the services of a specialtyadvisor one with specific expertise in WCM software and implementations.Consultants and Websites specializing in Website content managementinclude: the Gilbane Group, CMS Wire, CMS Matrix, and CMS Watch. Some of the Websites offer valuable information at no cost, while others offer reports to

purchase or vendor selection services on a fee basis.Include Your Developers in the Evaluation Process

Before you make a final decision, ensure your development team has theopportunity to become familiar with the WCM software. Steps to consider aspart of the technical evaluation include: Demonstrations: The entire team, including marketing, content editors,

and developers, should participate in comprehensive demonstrations. Whilethe initial meeting may be mixed, allow different groups ample time tohave their own sessions with the vendor where they can ask questions, attheir level, that address their business or technical requirements.

Installation: Request the WCM vendor install a clean/out-of-the-boxversion of its product for your development team. Demo systems are highlyconfigured and dont necessarily give you a clear view of the complexity of the product. With a clean installation, your organization can see how easyor difficult it is to get started right out of the box.

Test Website: Ask the WCM vendor to build a very simple Website fromscratch for your development team. This will reveal what functionality shipswith the product, as distinct from customizations that may have beenincluded in the demo system.

Vendor Training: Strongly consider sending your developers to the WCMvendors technical training class. They will gain a clearer perspective of theproducts capabilities and shortcomings, potentially saving yourorganization significant time and money in the long run. The WCM vendorshould be willing to provide free training prior to purchase.

Developer Community: Determine if there is a vibrant developercommunity that your team can tap into. The community, as well as support

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from the WCM vendor, is important in getting started and growing yourWebsite capabilities successfully.

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Conclusion To truly understand the importance of the WCM decision, ask yourself what itwould be worth to your company to rank two places above a competitor onGoogle? What would it be worth to get to market weeks faster whenresponding to changing market conditions? And what if you could convert 50%or more of the visitors to your site?

Your choice of a WCM tool plays a central role in the ultimate success of yourInternet strategy. It is a decision that requires participation from the businessstakeholders, content owners, IT management, and developers.

The right solution can help you achieve your business goals from generatingadditional revenue to making customer service more responsive, fromimproving brand awareness to driving customer loyalty.

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About SitecoreSitecores Web Content Management System (CMS) and portal softwaresolutions enable companies to deliver compelling Web experiences. Sitecoresaward-winning CMS software makes it easy for businesses to create and keepup-to-date dynamic, full featured Web sites of all types. Sitecores industry-leading flexibility and scalability allow companies to better leverage theircontent to improve customer experience and drive business growth.

Thousands of public and private organizations, including national governmentsand Fortune 500 companies utilize Sitecore solutions for their Web sites. Theseorganizations have created and now manage over 5,000 dynamic Web siteswith Sitecore including Microsoft, Sara Lee, Siemens, Toshiba, Omni Hotels,Computer Associates, WebTrends and Atlanta Falcons.

As a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner, Sitecore works closely with Microsoft in

the development and improvement of both products and services. Sitecoressolid architecture and dedication to the .NET framework and Service OrientedArchitecture principals provide companies with virtually unlimiteddevelopment and integration opportunities. Microsoft named Sitecore ISVpartner of the year in 2004, based on the impressive success of Sitecoressoftware for many significant mutual clients.

For more information about Sitecore CMS, visit www.sitecore.net .

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Choosing the Best Web CMS

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