Let's face it - we have websites to help us make more money. If your website does not increase your revenue or lower your expenses, such as customer service, then there is not much need for you to keep it. At the same time, every organization needs a website in order to be seen as credible. Imagine your impression if you were looking to buy a product or work with an organization and you found out they did not have a website; chances are you would not be buying that product or working with that organization.
If you are still with me then you will likely agree that marketing is a key function of your website. In order for your marketing to be effective it needs to be timely and relevant to your audience. In order for your content to be timely and relevant you need to be adding and updating your website content on a regular basis. Enter a Content Management System (CMS).
Marketing your organization online is a process which rewards the swift and penalizes the idle. If your organization can not afford to have a skilled marketing professional and website developer on staff, then your website needs to be configured on a CMS.
A CMS allows you to easily add content to your website, modify existing content and provide your audience with timely and relevant information that causes them to connect with you and your organization - without having to pay a developer $150+/hour every time you want to make a change to your website. A CMS allows you to maintain your website without needing to know how to program in HTML, Java, Flash or the like. Virtually anyone who can create an email can add and maintain content on a CMS based website.
Most business owners and managers have no idea how to make changes or additions to their website. This means that most websites remain static and do not do a good job at marketing your organization. If your organization is not doing an effective job of marketing online then you are not converting your audience into customers. When you do not convert your audience to customers you are wasting your investment in your website.
There are several CMS systems available to organizations. Some CMS systems cost as much as $10,000 or more, other CMS systems are available as open-source and are absolutely free (i.e. Joomla! and Wordpress). Regardless of the CMS platform you choose you will likely need to invest some of your marketing dollars with a skilled web design firm to get your website setup and configured properly (this initial design, setup and configuration is generally no more expensive, and often less expensive, than paying a web developer to create a new site for you). The value of a CMS platform is ease of ongoing use and search engine optimization. Additionally, most CMS platforms have a plethora of plug-in modules that you can use to perform virtually any function needed. Using these plugins almost always saves you money as you are not paying for a developer to program new functionality for your website.
A CMS allows you to create additional web pages, modify existing website content, easily integrate photos and video, add new products, services and specials to your website - things that are always changing and are often not added to your website due to cost concerns. A CMS also allows you to create custom landing pages that pertain to specific marketing efforts and greatly increase your ability to convert your site visitors to customers.
So, finally - the five reasons you should be using a CMS for your website:
- You can easily add, edit and maintain your content
- You can quickly and inexpensively add functionality through plugin modules
- You can increase your search engine rankings (regular and more searchable content)
- You save money
- You connect with your audience more effectively and make more money
You can have a static, boring website that is generally a waste of your time and money or you can have a dynamic and remarkable website that allows you to connect with your audience. Which would you rather have?
Want to find out how a CMS can benefit your organization? Contact us today at 616.457.0300 or by email.
