What are you buying in a CMS?
- User management (permissions and workflow)
- Editor software to interact with content
- A database to house the content
- Some way to stage/version control content
- A way to pull content into templates or skins
- (Usually) A tool for building form … that usually just email you
Sweeping declaration
No matter which Content Management System you choose, it’s the wrong one.
Trade-offs
- Developers, designers and users have very different needs.
- Too much custom design means content data can’t be repurposed as easily for RSS feeds, native mobile applications, etc.
- Too little custom design will infuriate users.
- Too much designer control of output may limit what developers can do in the site.
- Every function of a CMS is already handled by a variety of systems. How you combine these suites of software requires a strategy.