18 November 2011
Many website development companies think that their work is complete once they have made a website live. In fact, this should be only the beginning

Many website development companies think that their work is complete once they have made a website live. In fact, this should be only the beginning.

A website needs to be treated as evolutionary. It should adapt to changing conditions based on user habits, search engine changes, and even changes within the company. A regular point of contention between businesses and website developers is the time involved in making what appears to be a simple change. A good website development company will provide their clients with intuitive tools to help them maintain their website and publish content.

Basic websites are often implemented using popular blogging platforms such as Wordpress. These platforms allow the customer to edit and publish content to their website. For websites that require more complicated functions such as membership areas and e-commerce, Content Management Systems (CMS) are more appropriate. With such a large variety to choose from - from popular ones such as Joomla and Drupal to bespoke CMS’s used by individual development companies - it can become overwhelming deciding which one you should use. Here are 5 items to consider when choosing a CMS:

Intuitive - Is it easy to use and understand?

Flexible - Are you able to update all the text and images on your site?

Multiple templates - Does the system allow you to create new pages using a variety of templates?

Support – It is important to have access to learning materials or direct line support when you need it.

Know its limitations - Every CMS has its advantages and disadvantages, it is important however, that your CMS doesn’t hold your website back.

Whilst a CMS allows easy editing of your website, there will also be changes which may need to be implemented by your developers directly. This highlights the importance of a good relationship with your website developer. It is important that you pick someone whom is recommended not just for their technical prowess, but also for their good relationship with their current customers. In such a saturated market, referrals account for the majority of a development company’s work - so do not be put off contacting a company that has been recommend to you.

With a strong CMS and a good website developer relationship you'll be in a good position to ensure that your website is appealing to people as well as giving search engines such as Google more reason to list you higher in their results.