The dangers of Content Managed (CMS) Websites

Today I read an online article about the dangers of relying on a Content Management System (CMS) driven website to present your business to the web world and potential clients therein. It gave me something to think about. My initial view was that the article would be all about online security, hacking attacks and the like but, in fact, it was really about design and content integrity.

The thing is, setting up a content-managed website nowadays is not the huge financial expense that it once was. There are some great off-the-shelf CMS packages out there now such as Jooma!, WordPress and even New Zealand’s SilverStripe. There are a wide range of template designs available, many for free and others at a nominal cost. There are free blog services (yes, even blogspot.com) which are easy to use and can even be configured to connect through individual domain names. So why do we need to hire web designers? What’s to prevent your average small or mid-sized business downloading one of these packages and uploading the contents to a hosting server or opening a blogspot account, setting all the necessary passwords and permissions and publishing their own web content?

While the obstacles of designing and coding a website can be effectively bypassed, there are still definite security concerns when using an off-the-shelf CMS. The very fact that these packages can be downloaded and easily configured means that hackers can also download copies and look for ‘xploits’ – weaknesses in the code that can be exploited to enable the hacker to take control of installed copies of the software. The companies that write the CMS packages are constantly on the watch for this kind of activity and, as is common practice for software companies, release patches and updates to address new security concerns. However if a site is running on an older version CMS it is are potentially at risk. Do the site owners have the technical smarts to upgrade the CMS to the latest version without losing site content? And if they are running third-party extensions to add functionality to their site, are these compromising the integral security of the site? Are these extensions the latest and most secure versions?

Security concerns aside there are also design concerns. Is there a template available that fits in with the company image and branding? Can the company logo be displayed on the site pages, and can it be displayed ‘correctly’ (note: there is much more to this than simply having the logo appear on a page)? Are the colours a match to brand identity? What about typography? How many other individuals in cyberspace are using the same template? How much time is it going to take to do this work (in business nothing is ever ‘free’), and who is available to do it? Could their time be better utilised? And above all, how many design compromises should be made in the interest of having a ‘free’ website design?

It is here, of course, that the web or graphic designer comes into play. An industry professional can design a website that addresses these concerns for a one-off fee, and connect it to an easy-to-use CMS. They will include the company’s brand identity and logo, taking into account design considerations such as clearspace, typography, use of web-safe colour matches to brand colours, and introducing the special touches that embellish and enhance a brand and make the website a unique and logical extension of the brand. They can be contracted to provide site hosting, take care of security and keep the CMS version up to date. And the business owner can take it from there.

There are other considerations, however. The integrity of site content is every bit as important as the integrity of the CMS or the site design. Writing for the web is an art in itself, it is different to other written forms of communication. Web content should be split in to small, easy to read ‘chunks’. It is often less formal than heavyweight corporate documentation. It should be written in the same ‘voice’ - consistent use of language and written style. And, perhaps most importantly, it should contain keywords and phrases that help in search engine queries.

Site owners editing or changing these keywords and phrases can adversely affect search engine results. Careless editing by inexperienced persons can result in uneven or irregular formatting and paragraph spacing. Images might be uploaded that are ‘cheesy’ stock images used elsewhere that are inappropriate to the visual integrity of the site or that are simply too large (in terms of file size and download times) to display well. New site content should always be checked against the rest of the site to ensure that the writing style and language match it is in keeping with published content. Is the meaning of the content still clear or has it been compromised by excessive jargon or stock industry phrases? Is the subject matter clearly, simply and completely explained? And finally, there’s also grammar to be checked and the essential spelling checks to be made.

Any shortcuts in these areas can result in the design and content integrity of the website being compromised, with the initial investment in the site being drastically reduced. The site simply doesn’t perform as well as it should. It loses value as time passes. And eventually it becomes worthless. Worse still, in time it can actually work against it’s owner. Badly-designed and badly-maintained sites diminish the owner’s credibility with potential clients.

That’s not to say that I am opposed to Content-Managed sites at all. In fact CMS systems are a great tool that enables the site owner to keep their site fresh and current – always important when publishing information online. But appropriate care needs to be taken when site owners assume responsibility for site content.

Finally, it always pays to keep the site designer on-side to perform special tasks that might be slightly outside the ordinary. And get them to periodically audit site content as a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ to ensure that everything is still on track!

Don’t have a cow, man!

Have a purple cow!

I’ve just finished reading the book Purple Cow – Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin. At first impression the thinking behind the Purple Cow is obvious – no matter what the economic circumstance your best chance of business success lies in producing a totally remarkable product or service.

But there’s a lot more to the Purple Cow than that. In today’s mass media and information overload it takes a lot more to get you or your business noticed than a simple ad design, an appropriate logo and strapline or catchy jingle. As Godin succinctly says, it’s “no longer good enough to be good enough” when very good is an everyday occurrence and seldom rates a mention. Hanging out your shingle and running an advertisement in mainstream media is no longer a path to success. Today the most successful businesses are exceptional, remarkable or simply amazing. And that’s where Purple Cow thinking comes in. The book is full of examples where companies have discovered their particular ‘Purple Cow’ and gone on to enjoy the rewards.

A Purple Cow sets you apart from other players. It’s a dynamic point of difference, an ‘out of left field’ approach, a special service or a remarkable product that nobody else offers – yet. And all really successful companies have at least one ‘Purple Cow’. In fact many of the most successful Purple Cow companies are often embarking on finding their next Purple Cow to stay at the forefront of the game. Once you have your particular Purple Cow, your competitors are going to want one too!

Unfortunately the book is not a manual on creating a Purple Cow. There is no plan to follow. There are no rules. A genuine Purple Cow is something that is remarkable in just the right way, at the right time. Hindsight is a wonderful thing – it’s easy to look at a successful business and see their Purple Cow, but without the benefit of hindsight the Purple Cow is a lot harder to spot.

There is, however, a methodology to developing a Purple Cow. Go for the edges. The marketing checklist has been spoken of for years and includes such things as product, pricing, promotion, positioning, publicity and packaging. Review the checklist as it applies to your product to mark out where the edges are. Then test which edge is the most likely to deliver the marketing and financial results that you seek.

Purple Cow thinking is best summed up by the two word headline of Apple Computer’s famous 1997 “Think Different” campaign.

For more information on Purple Cow thinking visit the Purple Cow website www.apurplecow.com or the author’s website www.sethgodin.com.

In the current economic climate, it’s the remarkable companies that are going to survive and prosper. So read the book and think about what your particular Purple Cow might be. And when you’re ready to take it to market, we’d be happy to help!

Today’s entry is brought to you by the letters ‘A’, ‘C’ and ‘C’...

I can’t understand what all the fuss is about! Today’s Dominion Post informs us that, due to a massive budget blowout, the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) will be cutting back on claimant entitlements. The Opposition say that this is a Government plot to privatise ACC, which will result in increased levies with some people no longer being covered for injuries due to accidents.

Firstly, I have never had a successful ACC claim in my working life. Despite paying ever-increasing levies, it always seems that I am never covered whenever I have an injury that makes it difficult, if not impossible to work. So what am I paying levies for?

Secondly, I still haven't forgotten the last time the ACC ran out of money and the then-Government had to quickly draft a law enabling them to have a quick whip-round New Zealand businesses to top up ACC coffers. As a business owner, I was suddenly wondering ‘where did this extra invoice come from’?

Interestingly enough around 15 years ago the National Government opened the Accident Compensation field to insurance companies which were then able to compete with ACC by offering similar insurance products. And guess what? It wasn't the end of the world! Those that elected to change nothing remained with ACC, and everybody still had the same type of accident cover. And suddenly ACC levies on Employers and Earners dropped to a more reasonable level. When a subsequent Labour Government repealed this legislation ACC levies went through the roof and they haven't looked back.

And this burgeoning bureaucratic monopoly is what we need to preserve? Yeah, right!

'Times are hard...'

Recession. There, I've said it. It's been a long time coming and some say it's well overdue. Never mind that the first signs were evident this time last year, when some were saying that if we ignored the markets and paid no mind to the media it would somehow go away. It's here, and we're going to have to deal with it!

Some of the suggestions to come out of the economic forum last Friday were a bit loopy. I was particularly intrigued by the one about constructing a cycleway to run the length of the country. Not that I have anything against cycling per se but just how is that supposed to help New Zealand's economic future? I much preferred the suggestion of a nine-working-day fortnight, with the 10th day being used for upskilling and training the workforce.

There's no denying that we're all feeling the effects of a sluggish economy. In our business demand has dropped significantly from previous years. So we're investing in training. Any downtime is used to gain new skills so that as the economic cycle follows its course we will be ready to offer existing and new clients new products and services.

So stop fretting and start learning. You'll be much better placed to carry on when the brakes come off the economy. Remember, what doesn't kill you always makes you stronger!