This is the first of what may become a series of CMS myths to be tackled (briefly) in this blog.

CMS Myth #1: Installing a CMS must be hard

In the beginning, content management systems were used to solve leading-edge problems. The web was new, and uncharted territories were being explored. Naturally, a lot of custom development and consulting went into deploying CMS solutions in this environment.

Nowadays, however, many organisations have pretty simple needs. They want to publish a website, containing mostly static content with a handful of extra features (such as secure login, online events calendar).

If you fall into this category, then you can reasonably expect CMS products to install out-of-the-box. That’s not to say you won’t need some vendor assistance during the initial project, you will. What you won’t have to do, though, is customise the product.

What you will have to do:

• implement the unique appearance of your site (this should involve taking existing HTML page layouts, and adapting them to fit the CMS)
• configure the system (this should be non-technical, point-and-click)
• setup the servers that the CMS will sit on (unless it’s a hosted solution)

What you shouldn’t need to do:

• do any coding or development to configure the product
• develop authoring interfaces
• develop the publishing system
• write code to connect CMS components
• hire technical staff to implement or maintain the CMS (the vendor should be able to do the initial setup, and then walk away)
• obtain technical or programming skills to do day-to-day administration

For most organisations, implementing the software should take hours or days, not months or years. Of course, there is much else that needs to be done, beyond just installing the software. (These other activities are the ones that will ensure the project is successful.)

Installing the CMS software can be easy. It should be easy. If isn’t easy, ask why.

Make sure you aren’t paying for services to deliver solutions that are simply offered out-of-the-box by a different product…

Of course, if you have specialised, complex or unique requirements, customisation and professional services will be required. As time goes on, however, the number of situations that fall into this category are shrinking, as the marketplace matures.