How to Choose Top CMS Platform for Your Australian Business?

What should you look for when choosing a CMS platform for Australian businesses?

There are many options to choose from when selecting the top CMS platforms for your website. Here are important factors to consider:

Business impacts

When choosing top CMS platforms for the Australian market, your decision will have a significant impact on your business. CMS platforms can be broadly categorized into two types: ‘Development platforms’ and ‘Solution platforms’.

Development platforms are like blank canvases, allowing you to build anything you want from scratch. Solution platforms, on the other hand, come pre-built and can be customized to meet your specific needs. Most SaaS platforms fall under the category of solution platforms.

It’s important to consider the responsibilities associated with each type of platform. With a development platform, you’ll need either internal staff or external technical expertise. Developing your website on these platforms involves many steps, including detailed functional requirements and lengthy development cycles.

In contrast, solution platforms require less development effort. Your business will need to configure the platform to suit your needs, but most of the heavy lifting is already done. Adoption is generally faster with solution platforms, as they are designed to be user-friendly and come with extensive documentation and support.

Watch more: Top 15 Website CMS Platforms for Australian Businesses

Ongoing requirements

Building a website for your business can be challenging. Managing stakeholders, meeting business requirements, and ensuring your vendor delivers on their promises are just a few of the issues that can arise.

However, the build should be seen as the beginning of your digital journey. The real work starts once the site is launched, as you need to validate the assumptions made during the discovery phase.

Integrated analytics provide a foundation for your insights, allowing for A/B testing of content and user journeys. This leads to website updates, content changes, and the creation of landing pages for specific campaigns. Understanding how the top CMS platforms handle continuous change should be a key factor in your decision-making process.

Technology integration

Your CMS can’t operate in isolation, your CMS must integrate seamlessly with your other marketing, sales, communication, and project management tools. 

Especially in the Australian market, where technology influences every aspect of your business, highly digitally engaged companies earn 60 percent more revenue per employee and grow 28 percent faster than those with poor digital engagement.

Start by conducting a technology audit. Identify the tools and technologies you use for the following functions:

• Marketing automation
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Project management
• Forms management
• Email/social media marketing
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• Customer support

Most of these tools will either feed data into or pull data from your CMS. For example, a blog post might include gated content or a lead magnet, which connects to your lead acquisition tool. This tool then integrates with your marketing automation and email marketing systems.

Once a lead is qualified, it should be fed into your CRM, which should also connect to your marketing automation tool for further nurturing. These dependencies influence your CMS choice. The better integrated your CMS is with your other marketing and sales tools, the smoother your marketing operations will be.

Additionally, consider any upcoming upgrades or migrations in your technology stack. If you plan significant changes within the next six months, choose top CMS platforms that will be compatible with these future developments.

Watch more: 12 Best CMS for eCommerce: Key Benefits for Australian Retailers

Security

Security is a critical consideration when choosing top CMS platforms In Australia. Australian networks faced numerous cyber threats, with over 1,100 incidents responded to by ASD, alongside nearly 94,000 reports to law enforcement via ReportCyber, averaging one every 6 minutes.

That is why you need a platform with cyber security solutions that will protect your content and customer data from current and future threats. Here are four key aspects to consider:

• Security Features: Does the CMS include built-in security features like two-step authentication? If not, are there plugins and third-party integrations available to enhance security?
• Development Pace: Do the developers release updates and security fixes promptly? This is especially important for open-source software.
• Infrastructure Requirements: Does the CMS support infrastructure-level upgrades to improve security?
• Plugin/Module Environment: Are the plugins and modules you commonly use secure? Do their developers regularly update them with security fixes?

Security can be a double-edged sword. The more popular a CMS, the more it is targeted by attackers. However, its popularity also means that developers are quicker to respond to security threats. For instance, investing in robust security measures is essential with tens of millions of brute force attacks against a popular CMS like WordPress daily.

Customization

The top CMS platforms aren’t necessarily those that provide everything you need right out of the box but those that allow you to customize the platform to suit your specific needs.

Some platforms restrict code access, forcing you to use them as they are. These platforms often offer front-end templates that, while visually appealing, are difficult to customize. You need the flexibility to tweak both the UI and UX of the back-end content authoring experience for your team and the end-user experience, giving you complete control over the customer journey.

Consider the following questions:

• Can I freely customize the look and feel of my website, or are there restrictions?
• Can the backend be tailored to simplify the interface, hide functionality, or match my brand?
• Will adding the features I need be prohibitively expensive?
• Does the vendor offer comprehensive documentation?
• What are the additional costs for support and custom development from the vendor or their agency partners?

Conclusion

If you are struggling to choose the top CMS platforms for your website, let SmartOSC, a top website development agency specializing in digital commerce services, help you make the right choice! Your demands, goals, and budget can be taken into account, as our expert group will help you make the optimal CMS platform decision. 

SmartOSC will assist you in building a website that engages your audience and accomplishes your goals, whether you require a straightforward blog or an intricate e-commerce site. To get started and take the first step toward a prosperous online presence, get in touch with us right away!