Content Management Systems Buyer's Guideweb.csulb.edu/committees/webcomm/hannonhill/buyers_guide.pdf · Top Ten CMS Buying Mistakes ... Common tasks like checking for ... Brand integrity

Content Management Systems

Buyer’s Guide

Hannon Hill Corporation

950 East Paces Ferry Road

Suite 3300, Atlanta, GA 30326

www.hannonhill.com

o: 678.904.6900

f: 678.904.6901

CMS Buyer’s Guide 2

© 2010 Hannon Hill Corporation, all rights reserved.

950 East Paces Ferry Road ∙ Suite 3300 ∙ Atlanta, GA 30326 o: 678.904.6900 f: 678.904.6901 w: http://www.hannonhill.com

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction to Content Management Systems ..................................................................................................... 5

What is content management? .............................................................................................................................. 5

Online Information Management ...................................................................................................................... 5

What are the advantages of content management? ............................................................................................. 5

Empower Content............................................................................................................................................... 6

Decrease Costs.................................................................................................................................................... 6

Increase Revenues .............................................................................................................................................. 6

Improve Accountability ...................................................................................................................................... 7

Maintain Consistency ......................................................................................................................................... 7

How does a CMS compare to traditional online information updating? ............................................................... 8

The Bottom Line: Efficiently Manage Online Information ..................................................................................... 9

Improve Communication While Reducing Costs ................................................................................................ 9

CMS Implementation ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Do I need a CMS? .................................................................................................................................................. 10

Internet, Intranet, and Extranet ....................................................................................................................... 10

In-House hosting vs. Outsourcing of a CMS ......................................................................................................... 11

Analysis of Each Method .................................................................................................................................. 11

Steps to Implementing a Successful CMS ............................................................................................................. 12

Plan, Plan, Plan ................................................................................................................................................. 12

Create Measurable Goals ................................................................................................................................. 12

Evaluate Available Options ............................................................................................................................... 12

Decide and Go .................................................................................................................................................. 12

Assess Results ................................................................................................................................................... 13




Twenty Questions to Answer When Buying a CMS .............................................................................................. 14

How is your content currently managed? ........................................................................................................ 14

What do you hope to achieve with a new CMS? .............................................................................................. 14

Technology Considerations .............................................................................................................................. 14

Is a CMS Worth the Cost? ..................................................................................................................................... 15

Sample CMS ROI Calculator .............................................................................................................................. 15

What to Expect During the CMS Sales Process..................................................................................................... 16

Functionality Checklist .......................................................................................................................................... 18

Compatibility .................................................................................................................................................... 18

Security ............................................................................................................................................................. 19

Open Standards Support .................................................................................................................................. 19

Content Editing ................................................................................................................................................. 20

Content Lifecycle .............................................................................................................................................. 21

Automatic Navigation ....................................................................................................................................... 21

Templates ......................................................................................................................................................... 22

Users, Groups, and Roles .................................................................................................................................. 22

Publishing ......................................................................................................................................................... 23

Workflow .......................................................................................................................................................... 23

Anatomy of a CMS ................................................................................................................................................ 24

Content Creation .............................................................................................................................................. 24

Content Publishing ........................................................................................................................................... 25

System Management ........................................................................................................................................ 26

Top Ten CMS Buying Mistakes ............................................................................................................................. 27

Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 27

Top 10 Mistakes .................................................................................................................................................... 27




1. Needing a specific feature, only to learn that it is an additional cost ...................................................... 27

2. IT choosing it without buy-in from the non-technical users .................................................................... 27

3. Not considering future business goals for the organization .................................................................... 27

4. Not understanding access permissions for assets within the system ...................................................... 28

5. Not understanding the level of product support ..................................................................................... 28

6. Not factoring in search engine optimization ............................................................................................ 28

7. Being locked into specific content formats .............................................................................................. 29

8. Being locked into specific pre-defined templates .................................................................................... 29

9. Ignoring Standards Compliance ................................................................................................................ 29

10. Not testing the CMS in your own environment ................................................................................... 29

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................ 29

Partial Client List ................................................................................................................................................... 30

About Hannon Hill ................................................................................................................................................ 31

Contact Us ............................................................................................................................................................ 31

CMS Buyer’s Guide – Introduction to Content Management Systems 5



Introduction to Content Management Systems

What is content management?

Content management refers to the system and processes whereby information is created, managed,

published, and archived. Information typically passes through this lifecycle for a finite period of time. A

content management system (CMS) provides the necessary infrastructure for multiple persons to effectively

contribute content and collaborate throughout these lifecycles.

Online Information Management

With the explosive growth of the Internet, fundamental content management needs have also grown. No

longer can information be published online in a manual process and be left unattended. Online information

must be continually reviewed and updated by content editors so that other content consumers, including

customers and search engines, have access to the most up-to-date version.

The Internet forced subject matter experts to more rapidly maintain and update information for their

constituents. Prior to online communication, information was typically transferred via physical mail and faxes.

With these forms of communication, lag times were often significant and distribution costs high. The Internet

lowered communication costs tremendously, while providing instant access to a larger audience. Prior to the

Internet, it was acceptable to publish new information on a quarterly basis, whereas now important

information is expected to be immediately available online.

Web content management systems were developed to meet the needs of organizations with a growing online

presence. A CMS typically offers:

• Easy content creation and editing for non-technical content contributors

• Access rights for security

• Structured workflow processes for content approvals

• Archival and versioning of content

• Templates for consistent output

• Content check-in/check-out services for distributed users

What are the advantages of content management?

A CMS provides many advantages over traditional methods, particularly when distributed teams of users are

responsible for coordinating and contributing to different content repositories.




Empower Content

Empowering content involves making better use of information and putting control in the hands of content

owners.

• Content Ownership

Using a CMS, business users can update their online information quickly and efficiently without

technical intervention. Having full content ownership expands the opportunities for subject matter

experts to make their information available to their specific audiences.

• Content Accessibility

A CMS can repurpose content into multiple formats, and helps ensure disability compliance is met.

Content repurposing takes a single source of information and applies the necessary changes to

automatically generate various outputs including standard HTML, lite HTML, printer friendly HTML,

handheld WML, PDF, and XML. In addition, the content is checked for compliance to make sure certain

conditions are met for persons with disabilities such as blindness or epilepsy.

Decrease Costs

A CMS significantly lowers costs associated with managing information online. Manual technical steps in the

process are eliminated and the “webmaster bottleneck” is eradicated.

• Content Creation

Content creation is less costly as business users can directly contribute information online without

going through an intermediary. An IT specialist is no longer required to reconfigure content from one

program to a suitable online format. Removing steps in the process frees up expensive technical

persons for more specialized tasks.

• Content Management

Managing information is less costly as content is maintained by business users and standard processes

are automated. Common tasks like checking for dead links and archiving old pages are done

transparently by the CMS. Other tedious tasks like generating navigational menus and enforcing

information architectures do not require technical labor when using a CMS.

• Content Publishing

Content publishing is less costly as information is scheduled in advance to be published at a specific

date and time. Associated images and files for content are published by the CMS, reducing the

technical burden of finding the necessary assets. The CMS is also capable of expiring content at a

predefined time.

Increase Revenues

A CMS provides new ways to increase revenues. With lower time-to-market for content and the

empowerment of business users, new opportunities are available on which to capitalize.




• Time Sensitive Opportunities

New opportunities arise when information is published online in a matter of minutes as compared to

hours or days. A good example exists in media publishing. Breaking a news story ahead of the

competition brings a first-mover advantage, drawing additional visits to the site and increased income

from sponsors. A CMS improves the speed to publishing for content online.

• Fresh Content Encourages Return Customers

Would you rather visit a site that is updated once a year or a site that is updated once a week? A

frequently updated site is going to have fresher content which will encourage customers to return,

resulting in increased revenue opportunities.

Improve Accountability

Accountability at both the user and content level is important when managing information online. With

effective accountability measures in place, management is free to focus on more pressing issues.

• Audit Trail

The audit trail, available at both the user and content level, provides a snapshot of the history of

content changes. With detailed records available, a CMS institutes full accountability and helps

motivate employees to complete work in a timely manner.

• Version Control

Version control is the automatic backing up of content as changes are made. With version control in

place, business users are given peace of mind that errant actions will not lose information. In addition,

the versioning mechanism allows for full compliance with legal and government regulations.

Maintain Consistency

Content published on a site is often displayed in an inconsistent manner, confusing the site visitor. Rather than

force a visitor to relearn the navigation menus and layout several times for one site, a site should enforce

display standards that maintain consistency throughout.

• Presentation Consistency

Content should be presented within pre-defined templates whenever possible. Templates provide a

mechanism for maintaining a consistent look and feel, thereby creating a professional image of

uniformity for the site visitor.

• Brand Integrity

Brand integrity is enforced with a CMS by limiting available logos and layout design in a manner

consistent with corporate policies. Too often a user, in a non-malicious manner, publishes graphics

and content outside the corporate brand policies.




How does a CMS compare to traditional online information

updating?

A CMS represents a revolutionary way to manage information online when compared to traditional methods.

The business processes and necessary personnel are streamlined considerably as many of the technical team

members are no longer needed for day-to-day online information updating.

With a CMS vs. Without a CMS

With a CMS Without a CMS

New Page

Creation

A new page is created based on a

pre-defined default. All navigation

links are automatically updated and a

full audit trail is available.

A new page is created as a copy of an

existing one. The site map and context

navigation links must be updated by

hand and standards enforced in an ad-

hoc manner.

Content

Consistency

Templates are separated from page

content, strictly maintaining

consistency throughout the site.

Display consistency is enforced by the

CMS.

Content and template are inextricably

tied together, making it difficult to

update changes site-wide. Display

consistency is determined by the

developers.

Workflow

Processes

Workflows are built to mirror

designated business processes. The

CMS workflow engine records an

audit with comments on each step.

Upon final approval, content is

automatically published online.

Workflow is typically done via email in

an ad-hoc fashion. Emails are sent to

different persons in the organization

and upon subsequent approvals,

manually published online.

Publishing Times Content is published immediately

once necessary approvals have been

made.

Content is published when the

webmaster has available time, which

could take several days and incur

reconfiguration errors.

Legal Compliance Compliance is enforced by the system

maintaining records of content

changes and content publication.

Compliance is left up to the team

members. Changes to the content must

be manually backed up and a log kept

of when content was published.




The Bottom Line: Efficiently Manage Online Information

A CMS represents a major departure from traditional methods. Not only are business processes altered, but

more business users and fewer technical personnel are involved in day-to-day content management

operations. Content bottlenecks are removed, while content backups are automatically generated. A CMS

changes the way online information is managed.

Improve Communication While Reducing Costs

The two most important advantages that a CMS offers are the functionality to help business users improve

communication and the reduced costs of overall content maintenance and publication. Improved

communication occurs at several different levels:

• Faster response to customer demands

• Improved content accessibility for employees

• Enhanced content distribution for partners

Similarly, costs are reduced in several areas:

• No intervention by technical staff for content creation and editing

• Automatic content repurposing

• Navigation structures updated without technical intervention

• Information accessibility standards enforced transparently

A CMS allows business users to manage their own online content efficiently.

CMS Buyer’s Guide – CMS Implementation 10



CMS Implementation

Do I need a CMS?

Content Management Systems are trendy, but that’s not a good reason to get one. Before planning your

implementation, make sure you understand how a CMS works and what business problems it can and can’t

solve. A CMS can be used in many ways within a company. Typically, a CMS is used to facilitate online

information management. A CMS also works as a document management system for maintaining versions and

audits of files, in addition to being a method for online collaboration and content creation.

Of particular use with a CMS is the ability to publish new and frequently updated information. Examples of

information published on a regular basis include:

• Press releases

• Newsletters

• Event calendar

• Special offers

• Product updates

• Service changes

Internet, Intranet, and Extranet

The need for a CMS grows on a daily basis: customers clamor for more information, distributed employees

need centralized information, and partners want the latest marketing materials. Many organizations have

multiple public-facing internet sites, in addition to intranet and extranet sites – each with differing

requirements. Having a centralized system to manage these disparate sites benefits all members of an

organization – particularly if content can be reused across multiple sites.

Internet

The Internet serves as an organization’s single most important gateway to the

world. With a CMS, turnaround time from content creation to content publication

is significantly reduced when compared to manual processes.

Intranet

The intranet for an organization acts as the central portal of all corporate

information. With a CMS, the capacity for content growth is limitless as navigation

structures are automatic, metadata is stored, and content is managed by subject

experts.

Extranet

The extranet for an organization delivers timely information through a password-

protected mechanism for related partners and clients. With a CMS, strong controls

and audit trails ensure full accountability for all external publications.




In-House hosting vs. Outsourcing of a CMS

An important decision when choosing a CMS is whether to manage a system internally or to have a system

managed externally by a third party. Both mechanisms have their pros and cons and each should be carefully

understood before a decision is made. The two most common issues that are deciding factors include:

• Technology management capacity by current IT staff

• Past experience with outsourcing technology solutions

Analysis of Each Method

In-House Outsourced

Status Quo Organization is comfortable

managing software and hardware

systems in-house. Current processes

and people are usually already in

place.

Outsourced technology functions are non-

existent or minimal, thus making it difficult for

management approval.

Annual Fees Lower as more costs have been paid

up front. The annual fees are for

support and software upgrades.

More significant as the fees represent costs for

“renting” the software, hardware, and support

personnel.

Upfront Costs More substantial as the license fees

must be paid in advance, in addition

to hardware costs.

Typically a flat monthly fee that includes license

fees and hardware fees, along with technical

personnel management costs.

Integration More flexible, as a CMS behind a

firewall will be able to talk to other

back-end systems.

Limited, as the CMS will require special

configuration to communicate with other

organization software programs.

Deployment

Time

Variable, depending on the

coordination of the organization’s IT

department with the team

responsible for purchasing the CMS.

Often shorter as personnel have expertise

repeatedly doing the same process.




Steps to Implementing a Successful CMS

Plan, Plan, Plan

1. Plan the requirements for the CMS

2. Plan the timeline for the project

3. Plan the members of the team assigned to choose and manage the CMS

Create Measurable Goals

4. How long does it take for a routine page update without a CMS? How long would you like it to take

with a CMS?

5. How long does it take to create a new page online and update relevant navigation links without a

CMS? How long would you like it to take with a CMS?

6. How long does it take to have office documents such as PDFs and spreadsheets published online

without a CMS? How long would you like it to take with a CMS?

7. How long does it take to make a page available in alternative formats such as printer friendly

without a CMS? How long would you like it to take with a CMS?

Evaluate Available Options

8. Understand the difference between browser-based programs and client-installed applications

9. Understand what is meant by an enterprise application vs. a client application

10. Understand the level of product sophistication required for your organization

11. Ask for several product demonstrations from vendors, both from a business user’s view and from a

technical, administrative perspective

12. Test an existing page and template in the potential CMS to check that everything works according to

expectations

Decide and Go

13. Decide on a solution and embrace it

14. Set up templates and integrate the most critical content first

15. Integrate more static content as needed

16. Develop workflow processes mirroring current ad-hoc methods

17. Train business users and request feedback

18. Publish content online




19. Provide feedback to all parties involved

20. Establish organizational best practices from knowledge gained

Assess Results

21. Analyze the measurable goals

22. Examine the change in online publishing activity

23. Inspect CMS usage among content contributors

24. Understand the amount of time now required by technical staff to support online publishing

25. Assess the results of the CMS implementation

Successfully implementing a CMS is a time-intensive process involving different team members and

organizations. As with most substantial projects, the potential rewards outweigh the risks. Some of the

rewards of using a CMS include:

• Faster publishing of new content

• Fewer errors and higher levels of quality

• Less intervention by technical staff

• Distributed content collaboration

CMS Buyer’s Guide – Twenty Questions to Answer when Buying a CMS 14



Twenty Questions to Answer When Buying a CMS

The following twenty questions will help you evaluate how your organization currently operates, and how it

could operate more efficiently with a CMS in place. These questions are meant to guide your thoughts and

help you plan for a successful CMS implementation.

How is your content currently managed?

1. How many websites does your organization manage (Internet, intranet, extranet)?

2. How many pages of online content do you currently manage?

3. Who in your organization currently manages/updates content?

4. How do you currently update your information online?

5. What types of content will be updated frequently (e.g. press releases)?

6. What types of content will be updated infrequently (e.g. contact info)?

7. What is not working about your current method of managing content?

What do you hope to achieve with a new CMS?

8. Who in your organization will use the CMS?

9. What would your workflow steps look like for publishing content?

10. What is the projected timeline for purchasing a CMS?

11. What are some of the short-term goals to be achieved with a CMS?

12. What are some of the long-term goals to be achieved with a CMS?

Technology Considerations

13. What type of client computing environment do you have (Windows, Mac, etc)?

14. What type of server computing environment do you have (Windows, Linux, etc)?

15. Are your websites hosted in-house or are they outsourced to a hosting company?

16. Do you have web programmers in-house, or do you use an outside firm?

17. Do you have other web applications that should interface with the CMS?

18. Where are your business users located (single office, distributed offices, home)?

19. How are your pages laid out? Are you happy with the look of the websites?

20. How are your websites organized in terms of sections and sub-sections?

Once you have answered these questions, you should have a feel for how a CMS will work inside your

organization, and give you a better understanding of the issues involved.

CMS Buyer’s Guide – Is A CMS Worth the Cost? 15



Is a CMS Worth the Cost?

At first glance, a content management system looks like a costly proposition. But the right CMS will also save

your organization a lot of money that could be redirected elsewhere. This sample Return on Investment

Calculator breaks down the cost of managing a website without a CMS, in comparison with the cost of

purchasing a CMS.

Sample CMS ROI Calculator

For this example, we’ve included some typical numbers. To calculate your own return on investment, please download

this document in an editable MS Excel format: http://www.hannonhill.com/downloads/cms_roi_calculator.xls t

Variable Factors

How many departments, divisions, and subsidiaries are in your organization? 10

How many pages of content does each one create per month? 10

How many pages of existing content does each one update per month? 10

How many documents does each one publish per month? 10

How many times are the navigation menus manually updated per month? 15

In how many formats is the content published (printer friendly, WML, etc)? 2

How much does it cost per hour for web developers/consultants? $75.00

Time Assumptions Without a CMS

How many extra minutes are required to put a new page online? 20

How many extra minutes are required to update an existing page? 10

How many extra minutes are required to publish and link to a file? 5

How many extra minutes are required to update navigation menus? 10

Monthly Costs Without a CMS

Create Content $2,500.00

Update Content $1,250.00

Publish Documents $625.00

Update Navigation Menus $187.50

Reformat Content $2,281.25

Monthly Total $6,843.75

Total Costs and Savings

CMS Cost First Year $50,000.00

CMS Cost Subsequent Years $8,000.00

Total Yearly Costs Without a CMS $82,125.00

First Year Savings $32,125.00

Subsequent Yearly Savings $74,125.00

Return on Investment

One Year 85%

Two Year 242%

Three Year 340%

CMS Buyer’s Guide – What to Expect during the CMS Sales Process 16



What to Expect During the CMS Sales Process

Buying a CMS should be straightforward and based on continuous feedback between vendor and client. Once

you’ve decided you need a CMS, however, the actual task of selecting and purchasing can appear very daunting.

The following sample timeline will help you to formulate a practical plan for your own CMS purchase. While time

frames may vary, understanding the steps involved will help you know what to expect when purchasing a CMS.

Week 1

(Goals)

• Answer CMS evaluation questions

• Determine project goals and objectives

• Set a project leader

• Assign responsibilities to different team members

Week 2

(Evaluation)

• Choose CMS products to evaluate

• Receive high-level business demonstration of products

• Narrow CMS choices

• Re-evaluate goals and features based on presentations

Week 3

(Technical Demo)

• Receive technical demonstration with proof statements

• Ask final vendor questions

• Install CMS on local machine (if applicable)

Week 4

(Infrastructure)

• Review program license agreement

• Complete purchase of CMS

• Set up CMS software and hardware

Week 5

(Planning)

• Plan the information architecture (the interrelation of information)

• Organize the appropriate users, groups, and roles

• Decide on the templates and page designs

• Create workflows for different content editing and publishing processes

Week 6

(Implementation)

• Integrate the templates with appropriate regions

• Automatically import existing content

• Create placeholders for new content

• Publish content to designated servers

• Test output in appropriate web browsers and devices

CMS Buyer’s Guide – What to Expect during the CMS Sales Process 17



Week 7

(Training)

• Develop training for specific business scenarios

• Deliver standard content management training for content contributors,

approvers, publishers, and administrators

• Receive training for specific business scenarios

• Begin using the application

Week 8

(Feedback)

• Provide feedback to vendor based on experience

• Offer suggestions for improvements

• Set up open communication for continuing dialog

CMS Buyer’s Guide – Functionality Checklist 18



Functionality Checklist

There are many CMS products on the market, and selecting on can be a challenge. The following is an easy

way to compare different products in terms of functionality. We’ve checked off the features available with

Cascade Server, and left space for you to review competing products.

Compatibility

Item Description Cascade CMS1 CMS2

Browser-Based Full program functionality available from a standard

web browser without plug-ins or downloads �

Supported Browsers Support for Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox when

using the CMS �

Supported Browsers for

Content Output

Resulting Content compatible with all standard browsers

�

Supported Client

Operating Systems

Support for Windows, Mac, and Linux when using the

CMS �

Supported Server

Operating Systems

Support for Windows, Mac, and Linux on the CMS

server �

Supported Web Servers Support for Apache, Microsoft IIS, iPlanet, and Lotus

Domino for published content �

CMS Implementation Support for the CMS to be implemented as a server-

installed application or as an outsourced managed

hosted solution

�

Server Side Scripting

Languages

Support for server-side scripting languages including

ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, JSP, Perl, SSI, and Python �

Supported Databases Support for standard SQL compliant databases with an

ODBC interface including MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server,

and MSDE

�




Security


Encrypted Client/Server

Interaction

Support for SSL (secure sockets layer) 128-bit

encryption with the CMS �

Encrypted User

Passwords in Database

Passwords encrypted in the database to prevent access

to the CMS through a compromised database �

User Authentication

with Sessions/Cookies

After a user is authenticated, a cookie with only a

session value is stored in the browser preventing

malicious users from accessing private information in

the cookie

�

Content Audit All changes to content in the system are logged to the

specific user including their date/time, type of content,

and content action

�

Login and Logout Audit Every time a user logs into or out of the CMS, the IP

address is logged in the database �

Open Standards Support


XML Data Support for XML data in stored and published content �

XSL Transformations Support for XSL when transforming and repurposing

content into different formats �

Unicode Storage Support for Unicode content providing multi-language

content management �

Cascading Style Sheets

(CSS)

Support for CSS-based design within the CMS �

SMTP for Email Support for sending email through a standard SMTP

server (example emails include workflow notifications

and content expiration messages)

�

XHTML Output Standards-based XHTML output of information �




Content Editing


Browser-Based Word

Processor

Inline WYSIWYG browser-based word processor for

HTML/XHTML content input �

Spell Checker Spell checker with user dictionaries for adding custom

words �

Link Checker Check for broken or dead links and notify the user �

Disability Checker Check that proper table summaries and alternate values

for images are specified to meet the standards for

section 508 compliance for web standards for people

with disabilities

�

Separate Content and

Presentation

Ability to separate pure content from presentation

elements allowing the business user to focus on specific

information

�

Insert Image and

Hyperlink

Support for inserting an image and a hyperlink in

content �

Image/File Upload Support for uploading images and files from a web

browser straight into the CMS �

Metadata Support for Dublin Core standard metadata items like

title, summary, and keywords of content �

Microsoft Word

Integration

Support for copy-and-paste from Microsoft Word into

the word processor, maintaining the formatting and

optimizing the resulting HTML/XHTML

�

Third-Party HTML Ability to copy-and-paste HTML from third-party

programs like Dreamweaver and FrontPage �

Unicode Characters Support Eastern and Western languages in the word

processor �

Library Services Ability to check-out and check-in content, thereby

locking content to a specific user �

Custom Forms Support creation of custom forms in the CMS with

content validated via JavaScript �




Content Lifecycle


Standard Content

Creation

Ability to set-up predefined content defaults, allowing

the business user to create new content based on an

existing standard (common examples include press

releases, newsletters, products, and services)

�

Version Control Automatically create retrievable backups of content

with the ability to purge old backups �

Track Content Changes Track changes between content updates with highlights

of content differences �

Content Search and

Retrieval

Ability to do a full-text search of content and metadata

in the system �

System Information

About Content

System stores relevant information about the content

including name, folder, creation time, creation user,

time last modified, user last modified by, workflow

status, lock status, last published time, and user last

published by

�

Schedule Content Start

and End Date

Support for scheduling a specific start and end

(expiration) date and time for content �

Content Expiration

Notice

Emails automatically triggered at specified intervals

notifying a user when content is about to end (expire) �

Automatic Navigation


Sitemap Generation Support for a complete sitemap to be generated

automatically �

Context Sensitive

Navigation

Support for navigation menus to be automatically

generated based on the current folder of the page �

JavaScript Navigation Ability to have custom JavaScript and DHTML pop-up

menus created automatically �

Previous and Next Page Support for links to be automatically generated to the

previous and next page as ordered in the system folder �

Available Page Formats Support for automatically generating links to the

available page formats (most common example is a link

to the “Printer Friendly Version”)

�




Templates


Flexible Templates Support for creating any type of template with no

limitations �

Separate Content from

Template

Support for separating the content portions of a page out

of the template �

Definable Regions Ability to define regions in a template whereby content

can be plugged in through a visual interface �

Visual Layout Support for a visual layout of the template with different

regions and page content differentiated �

Template

Development

Templates can be made with industry standard tools like

Macromedia Dreamweaver and Adobe GoLive �

Standard Content

Output

Support for templates to generate HTML, XML, WML, and

PDF content �

Users, Groups, and Roles


User Management User management system that scales for organizations

of all sizes �

Group Management Group management system designed to organize users

according to their department and content access area �

Access Rights Configurable content access rights designed to prevent

unauthorized access – including no access to content,

read access to content, and write access to content

�

Roles for Permissions Roles-based system supporting common scenarios such

as content contributors, content approvers, content

publishers, and content administrators

�

User Reporting Ability to report what users recently logged in, what IP

address users logged-in from, and what date/time users

logged out

�

LDAP Integration Support for users to be authenticated against an LDAP-

based system including Microsoft Active Directory and

Sun Directory Services

�




Publishing


Multi-Server Publishing Ability to publish the same content to multiple servers

for load-balanced and mirrored server environments �

Multiple Domain

Names

Support for managing content for multiple domain

names from a single content repository (e.g. support

site1.com, site2.com, www.site3.com, www2.site3.com)

�

Publishing Protocols Ability to publish content through FTP, SFTP, VPN,

mapped network drive, local file system, and an

aggregate ZIP file

�

Publishing Formats Support for publishing content in standard formats

including XHTML, XML, WML, and PDF �

Publish Reports Ability to generate a publishing report detailing what

content was published, length of the publishing process,

and any issues that need to be addressed

�

Workflow


Configurable Workflow Ability to create custom workflows in XML for a

structured business process with no limit to the number

of steps

�

Email Triggers Support for email triggers at each step in the workflow

process to notify the next applicable user �

Step Publishing Ability to have content published automatically at a

specific step with user approval �

Extensible Triggers Support for developing custom triggers to talk to legacy

systems or third-party applications �

Dashboard User-specific dashboard outlining the current workflows

and completed workflows �

Ad-hoc Modification Support for users to modify the person responsible for

each workflow step in an ad-hoc manner �

Workflow Filters Ability to filter certain steps based on a specific group or

role of user �

CMS Buyer’s Guide – Anatomy of a CMS 24



Anatomy of a CMS

The following screenshots demonstrate, using Cascade Server as a model, the typical features you can expect

from a quality CMS.

Content Creation

CMS Buyer’s Guide – Top 25



Content Publishing

CMS Buyer’s Guide – Top 26



System Management

CMS Buyer’s Guide – Top Ten CMS Buying Mistakes 27



Top Ten CMS Buying Mistakes

Introduction

You’ve finally convinced your organization that it’s time to upgrade to a CMS. Now it’s up to you to select the

right one. Considering the sheer number of CMS offerings out there and the various combinations of features

they provide, it’s no wonder why buyers find themselves overwhelmed in the selection process. For many

customers, the universal method of price comparison seems like the only reliable way to differentiate between

one CMS and another. While price is no doubt important, it can become a pitfall that blinds you to other factors

that will ultimately affect you financially.

Top 10 Mistakes

To help you make an informed buying decision, the following is a short list, in no particular order, of ten major

mistakes that buyers commonly make during the process of choosing a CMS.

1. Needing a specific feature, only to learn that it is an additional cost

Many content management systems offer great features, and their companies are happy to demo them for

you during the normal sales cycle. You can easily imagine all of the benefits these features will offer your

organization, but the vendor didn’t clarify that these wonderful features are only available at an additional

cost. Much like a person who test-drives a vehicle with power locks and air conditioning, you don’t want to

drive the car off of the lot and realize that your locks are manual and there’s no AC and that those features

can only be installed by the dealership for an additional cost. Choosing your CMS wisely means that you

understand everything that you’re paying for. Most likely, you’re working within a budget; add-ons and

extra expenses should never come as a post-purchase surprise.

2. IT choosing it without buy-in from the non-technical users

For many organizations, the decision about purchasing a content management system is deferred to the IT

staff. Although it would certainly seem to naturally fall under their jurisdiction, the IT staff are not the only

ones affected by such a major purchase, and this can pose a problem. Since the IT department personnel

tend to be much more technical than the average user, they can unintentionally end up buying a system that

only they are able to understand. If you’ve purchased a CMS that’s not user-friendly enough for non-

technical users, you’re losing out on one of the major reasons for the purchase: a good system is supposed

to place more control into the hands of the non-technical users who are responsible for creating the

content. Allowing the non-technical users a chance to evaluate the system helps to ensure that the

purchased CMS will be adopted by the content creators, therefore, reducing the bottleneck with the IT

department that most likely brought on your decision to buy a CMS in the first place.

3. Not considering future business goals for the organization

Buying a CMS is a big purchase; it’s not something your organization is going to want to do twice, so it’s

important to choose one that will expand according to your future needs. You will find certain CMS’s that

are designed for very specific purposes, and it’s those specific functions at which they arguably excel. A

great example is a CMS that is designed specifically for article-based content, which could include editorials




to press releases. The CMS is outstanding at providing an interface that allows users to create new articles

at the drop of a hat, but the ease of use comes at the expense of restrictions on other functionality. Doing a

little strategic planning before your purchase could prevent your organization from getting stuck with a CMS

that won’t meet its future needs. A good content management system should allow for the implementation

of new initiatives as business goals change and evolve; furthermore, a system should be built upon a

framework that provides flexibility.

4. Not understanding access permissions for assets within the system

Access permissions are a very important and basic part of any well-designed content management system.

If no safeguards are put into place, there are many ways that a non-technical user can break the design of a

template or enter in content that would not be approved by management. Likewise, users from different

departments that are allowed to make updates to their respective areas of the site should be limited in the

access that they have. For example, marketing shouldn’t be able to update pages from human resources

and vice versa. Be sure to inquire about and understand the types and levels of access permissions that the

content management system you are evaluating offers. The more granular control that you have over

system areas, assets, and individual regions of a document, the better suited your CMS will be for your

organization.

5. Not understanding the level of product support

One of the most frustrating experiences a customer can have with their CMS is when something goes wrong,

and there is no one available to support it. Some content management systems—particularly free open-

source solutions and discount CMS offerings—are sold without technical support or training to back it up.

Even the most well-designed CMS solutions still have an intrinsic level of complexity to them, and being able

to call in the experts from time to time is an important safeguard to have. Be sure you take the time to

evaluate the level of support and willingness to help of the company offering the CMS.

6. Not factoring in search engine optimization

Organizations looking to buy a CMS to manage Internet sites usually appreciate the role that a sound online

presence will play in their success. Large sums of money are invested in to the creation of a professional

Internet site and a system to manage its content. The fact is, however that neither of these expenses will

mean much if online consumers are unable to find their site due to poor search engine optimization. Most

CMS products offer some form of search engine optimization (SEO) through the use of metadata for each

page that is produced. However, many systems on the market still do not produce one of the more

important requirements of SEO: in that the page URLs they produce are not easily found by the search

engine spider bots that literally crawl around the Internet and document the pages that they find. These

unfriendly URLs are resource locators that contain page processing parameters in the string (i.e.

http://www.mysite.com/?id=36). Spider bots responsible for identifying pages typically do not process

anything after the “?” character, causing only the top-level page to be identified to the search engine. The

major problem with this is that there could be hundreds of pages in a database being called through that

variable query string that will go unnoticed by the search engine spider. Content management systems

based on the common “pull” architecture make heavy use of these types of parameters in URLs. Systems

based on a “push” architecture are designed for SEO due to the fact that those hundreds of pages would be

published to the web server as friendly URLs (i.e. http://www.mysite.com/specific-article.html). Pay close




attention to the URLs of the site for the company that makes the CMS that you are interested in to

understand their SEO strategy.

7. Being locked into specific content formats

While the Internet has made HTML pages the most prevalent source for online information, these pages are

still limited to traditional desktop-style machines that have the luxury of an installed web browser that can

handle the bandwidth and processor-driven dynamic HTML effects. Although the majority of the users

access their content via their desktop web browsers now, trends indicate that more mobile devices that do

not handle HTML very well or at all are gaining increased acceptance as alternative means of accessing

online information. Content management systems need to have the ability to allow the user to enter

content in once and be able to repurpose or repackage that content into several different formats in

addition to traditional HTML. Consequently, a system is more suitable for content management when it has

the ability to support existing alternative formats as well as extend itself to support others that have not

been created yet.

8. Being locked into specific pre-defined templates

Many lower-end CMS products require you to use pre-built page templates provided with the system. While

sample templates may be useful in some cases, if you do not have the option to design your own templates,

you may find your organization is unreasonably cornered into restricted design options that are not always

suitable for the type of content you are looking to publish. Likewise, the ability to maintain a unique look

and feel to your site (essential for consumer brand recognition) is also lost. A CMS needs to be able to

support any type of design layout.

9. Ignoring Standards Compliance

A CMS may offer some great features, but if it’s not written according to universal standards, you may have

trouble integrating it in to existing systems. A platform-agnostic CMS that’s built on universal standards

should run in any network environment, send and consume data to and from other applications such as

portals, and integrate with standard protocols such as LDAP. Web Services or an open API will allow even

greater flexibility and customization. It’s also essential that content managed by your CMS is compliant with

the latest web standards for accessibility.

10. Not testing the CMS in your own environment

Doing research, watching demos, and asking questions are important steps, but nothing beats actually

testing out potential CMS’s in your own environment. A trial license will help you find answers to questions

you didn’t know you had, and give you a much more realistic understanding of what to expect.

Conclusion

The right content management system should really strengthen your business or organization. Choosing the

wrong one, however, could end up being ineffective and financially unsound. The above is by no means a

comprehensive list of items to be wary of when making the decision to purchase a content management system.

It should, however, provide a solid foundation to formulate sound judgment in determining the CMS that is right

for your organization.

CMS Buyer’s Guide – About Hannon Hill Corporation 30



Partial Client List

Education (125+ Higher-Ed Clients)

Belmont University

Bowdoin College

Brandeis University

Campbell University

Carnegie Mellon University

Clemson University

College of William and Mary

Cornell College

CSU- San Marcos

CSU-Chico

Duke University

Earlham College

Eastern University

Eckerd College

Gardner-Webb University

Gonzaga University

Harding University

Heinz School of Public Policy

Hofstra University

McMurry University

Reed College

The Juilliard School

UC Hastings College of the Law

UC-Irvine

University of Alaska - Southeast

University of Detroit Mercy

University of Houston

University of Maryland – AGNR

University of Miami School of

Business

University of Missouri (Mizzou)

University of Richmond

University of Texas at Arlington

Vassar College

Government and Non-Profits

City of Irving, TX

County of Charleston, SC

Delaware Dept. of Education

US Department of Justice

Federation of American Scientists

Henderson (NV) Libraries

NV State Office of Employment

Working Today – Freelancers

Union

YMCA

Technology

Adaptive Microsystems

Beacon Technologies

China Mobile

Computer Sciences Corporation

FileMaker.com

Iona Technologies

MediaGrif

PGP Corporation

Servigistics, Inc

Silverpop, Inc

The North Highland Co.

General

Brand Atlanta

British Petroleum

Costco Travel

Cummins Marine

European Investment Bank

IT World Canada

Milliman

Okemo Mountain Resort

Perillo Tours

SCOREGolf

Strang Communications

Universal Air Travel Plan

Waste Connections

Healthcare

American Thoracic Society

MCG Health System

Noland Health

ProHealth Care

St. Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta

Texas A&M Health Science Center

University of Utah Healthcare




About Hannon Hill

Founded in 2001, Hannon Hill is a leading provider of powerful web content management

software. The award-winning Cascade Server application provides advanced solutions for online

information management and has been a recipient of the ‘Best of Show Award’, from Internet

World Magazine. Most recently, Hannon Hill was recognized by Inc. Magazine placing 247th

amongst the prestigious Inc. 500, representing the top 500 fastest-growing private companies in

the nation. Hannon Hill continues to accelerate its customers’ online success.

Located in the high-tech capital of the South, Atlanta, GA, Hannon Hill continues to deliver high-quality content

management solutions. Its products enable users to easily update their websites through an easy-to-use web interface.

Hannon Hill's content management solutions allow users to maintain up-to-date, accurate, and meaningful website content

while decreasing associated costs.

Hannon Hill’s WCM solutions provide core content management capabilities for management of online information. Our

solutions have been implemented in all types of industries, including higher education, health care, real estate, energy,

hospitality, and publishing. We provide a comprehensive tool set that provides all the necessary modules to manage the

complete content lifecycle.

Hannon Hill is now in its ninth year of operation. Product sales and overall revenue have increased steadily in each year of

operation. Currently, approximately 60% of our revenue is generated from software licenses, 10% from maintenance

contracts and 30% from professional services associated with integration and training.

Most of our annual revenue is re-invested in product development. The majority of our business is generated through

strong client references and by offering numerous informational resources; we do not conduct expensive advertising and

marketing campaigns. Our customer acquisition costs remain well below average, enabling us to focus above average

resources on research and development.

Hannon Hill is large enough to be completely financially secure, yet small enough to ensure a high degree of personal

attention. We pride ourselves on superior customer service and satisfaction, and believe this approach is the best way to

ensure our continued long-term viability.

Contact Us

To learn more about content management and Cascade Server, please contact us at Hannon Hill. We’re happy

to set up a demo or talk with you about your organization’s specific content management needs.

Hannon Hill Corporation Tel: 800.407.3540

950 East Paces Ferry Rd Tel: 678.904.6900

Suite 2440, 24th Floor Fax: 678.904.6901

Atlanta, GA 30326 Online: www.hannonhill.com