Contents:
- Choosing the Right CMS for Your Business Website
- Don’t Choose a CMS Based on Popularity Alone
- The Most Popular CMS Platforms
– WordPress
– Shopify
– Wix
– Squarespace
– HubSpot CMS - Key Questions Many Businesses Forget to Ask
– Can I update the website myself?
– Will it support SEO?
– Can it grow with the business?
– How much will it really cost? - Remember: A CMS Doesn’t Guarantee Rankings
- Think Beyond Launch Day
- How Page1st Can Help
Choosing the Right CMS for Your Business Website
Choosing the right Content Management System (CMS) is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make when launching or redesigning your website. You’ve spent weeks (or even months) planning your new website, the design looks great, but now you need to decide on which CMS to use.
For many businesses, the answer is simply, “Whatever the web designer recommends.”
This can be a valid strategy, but while your developer’s expertise is valuable, the platform your website is built on will influence far more than just the initial launch. It affects how easy your website is to update, how well it performs in search engines, how much it costs to maintain, and whether it can grow alongside your business.
If you’re investing in a new website, choosing the right CMS now could save you thousands of pounds and countless headaches over the coming years.
What is a CMS?
A Content Management System (CMS) is the software that powers your website behind the scenes. The most popular CMS is WordPress but there are many options for B2B and B2C websites, including Wix, Magento and Shopify, all of which have their own plus and minus points.
A CMS allows you to:
- Add and edit pages
- Publish blog articles
- Upload images and videos
- Manage products and services
- Update contact details
- Optimise pages for SEO
A good CMS should make these tasks simple, without added developer time and costs.
A poor one can leave you relying on your developer every time you want to change a sentence or upload a new image, increasing costs and the time it takes to make changes.
Don't Choose a CMS Based on Popularity Alone
It’s easy to assume the biggest platform (WordPress) is automatically the best, but in reality, every business has different requirements.
Ask yourself:
- Will you regularly publish blogs?
- Do you plan to sell products online?
- Will several members of staff update the website?
- Are you expecting rapid business growth?
- Do you need bookings, memberships or customer portals?
- Will SEO be a major source of leads?
The answers should influence your decision far more than whichever platform happens to be “in” at the time.
The Most Popular CMS Platforms
WordPress
WordPress powers a huge proportion of websites worldwide, and for good reason. It’s flexible, highly customisable and particularly strong for businesses wanting to grow their online presence through SEO and content marketing.
Ideal for:
- Service businesses
- Professional firms
- Manufacturers
- Local businesses
- Companies investing in long-term SEO
Pros:
- Excellent SEO capabilities
- Thousands of plugins
- Highly scalable
- Large developer community
- Easy content publishing
Things to consider:
- Requires ongoing maintenance and updates
- Plugin quality varies
- Hosting quality matters
Shopify
Shopify is designed primarily for ecommerce, so if selling products online is your main objective, it’s one of the simplest platforms to manage. You may not benefit from this if you have a small product range, or you are in a B2B sector.
Ideal for:
- Retailers
- Online shops
- Product-based businesses
Pros:
- Easy product management
- Secure hosting included
- Reliable checkout process
- Excellent app marketplace
Things to consider:
- Monthly subscription costs
- Less flexibility for complex content-heavy websites
- Some advanced features require paid apps
Wix
Wix has been around a long time, but has seen many improvements in recent years, including an easy drag-and-drop editor. It is suitable for many smaller businesses, both B2B and B2C, ecommerce or otherwise.
Ideal for:
- Start-ups
- Sole traders
- Small service businesses
Pros:
- Beginner-friendly
- Hosting included
- Quick to launch
- No technical knowledge required
Things to consider:
- Can become restrictive as businesses grow
- Limited flexibility compared to WordPress
- Larger websites can become harder to manage
Squarespace
Squarespace is known for its attractive templates and ease of use. It’s particularly popular with creative businesses such as designers, artists and creatives.
Ideal for:
- Designers
- Photographers
- Consultants
- Creative agencies
Pros:
- Professional designs
- Easy editing
- Secure hosting
- Simple maintenance
Things to consider:
- Fewer integrations than WordPress
- Less customisable for complex websites
- Can be limiting for advanced SEO strategies
HubSpot CMS
For businesses heavily focused on lead generation and marketing automation, HubSpot offers an integrated solution, connecting your website up with your lead generation, sales and marketing activities.
Ideal for:
- B2B companies
- Marketing-led businesses
- Companies using CRM automation
Pros:
- CRM integration
- Built-in marketing tools
- Excellent reporting
- Personalisation features
Things to consider:
- Higher ongoing costs
- More suited to larger marketing budgets
Key Questions Many Businesses Forget to Ask
When choosing a CMS, businesses often focus on today’s requirements rather than what you might need later down the line. It’s important to ask the right questions to get the information you need.
Can I update the website myself?
When choosing a CMS, businesses often focus on today’s requirements rather than what you might need later down the line. It’s important to ask the right questions to get the information you need.
Will it support SEO?
Your website should make it easy to:
- Edit page titles and meta descriptions
- Create search-friendly URLs
- Add image alt text
- Optimise page speed
- Manage redirects
- Generate XML sitemaps
- Structure headings correctly
If your CMS makes these difficult, your marketing efforts become much harder.
Can it grow with the business?
Today’s five-page website could become tomorrow’s e-commerce store, resource hub or customer portal. Be sure to choose a platform that won’t need replacing or upgrading after two years.
How much will it really cost?
The cheapest option isn’t always the most affordable. There can be various hidden costs that crop up later, bumping the original costs up significantly.
Consider:
- Hosting
- Licences
- Plugins
- Security
- Maintenance
- Support
- Future development
Remember; A CMS Doesn't Guarantee Rankings
This is one of the biggest misconceptions we hear. You’re not going to get great Google rankings simply for using WordPress or any other big CMS. Search engines care about factors such as:
- High-quality content
- Technical performance
- Website speed
- User experience
- Helpful information
- Internal linking
- Mobile usability
- Website authority
A great CMS simply makes it much easier to achieve these things.
Think Beyond Launch Day
Launching a website isn’t the finish line. Your CMS should support:
- Ongoing SEO
- Content marketing
- Landing pages
- Analytics
- Conversion optimisation
- Accessibility improvements
- Future functionality
How Page1st Can Help
At Page1st, we regularly work with businesses that involve us towards the end of a website project – often after the CMS has already been chosen.
While we can optimise almost any CMS (not all), it’s always better to consider SEO, usability and long-term marketing requirements before development begins.
If you’re planning a new website or relaunch, we can help you evaluate whether your chosen CMS supports your business goals, identify any potential SEO limitations before launch, and make sure your website is built with future growth in mind.
The best CMS isn’t necessarily the most popular one – it’s the one that helps your business attract visitors, generate enquiries and continue evolving long after launch day.
If you would like to chat a little more about your options, get in touch with us here.
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