Professional CMS: 10 must-have features
A professional CMS has many features that are essential for the deployment of an Internet or intranet site. The aim of this article is to give you all the CMS best practices you need to adopt when creating a professional website. There are many advantages to using a CMS to create a professional website or e-shop.
No need for extensive computer knowledge or HTML language skills, content managers will help you create a website step by step, from the choice of domain names, to the type of site, web hosting and natural referencing of each web page.
The 10 essential features of a professional CMS
The creation of a website without primary technical knowledge must be accompanied by a professional CMS. Ideal for content management, you won't need any knowledge of HTML code to create a site. Here are the 10 essential features of a content management system!
1. A responsive theme
You need to find a system that allows you to create a responsive site, i.e. one that can be read on any screen size and device (mobile, tablet, laptop, etc.). This is even more important for an e-commerce site, since mobile shopping is booming.
2. The ability to integrate easily into development processes
All trades involved in the design of a showcase or e-commerce site (designer, developer, graphic artist, etc.) must be able to participate in the creation of your site separately. The technology must be industrialized to streamline their work.
3. A tool for web referencing
Your professional CMS must enable you to rank well on Google using SEO tools. Natural referencing is essential if you want your professional website to be visible.
4. A flexible workflow to better adapt to your company's internal organization
You need to be able to define your site's business processes exactly. Who writes? Who validates? Who takes care of the technical side? Content creation software can provide you with a CMS definition of your processes, and the modeling of your business processes to make your internal organization more efficient.
5. Interoperability
To create a professional website, you also need to be able to manage access and modification rights at will, and your professional CMS must be able to link your interfaces intuitively and without access restrictions.
Marketing example: on your site, you've put a contact form online, where potential customers can enter their e-mail address and contact details. For smooth contact management, you can connect your site with your CRM tool.
6. Optimum security to prevent hacking
Data backup is essential, as is the security of your online site: you need to be protected against piracy. These are the two services you need to create your website.
7. A tool that simplifies designers' work
While some platforms, such as Wix or Jimdo, make it easier to create aesthetically pleasing websites, a professional CMS makes it easier for designers to get involved. With the help of a WYSIWYG editor, you can see in real time what your page looks like and where the content fits in.
8. A scalable tool for complex developments
Once the tool has helped you learn how to create a website, the site creation software should also enable you to do more advanced specific development to develop a business application and satisfy all your business needs.
9. Good monitoring tools
The open source solution must have good monitoring tools, or be integrated with external tools. The benefits are manifold, as these tools will enable you to see the number of users online, the most viewed articles, technical failures, and many other important details.
10. SSO mode
The content management system must enable you to log in to all your connected applications once: this is SSO, or " Single Sign On".
The Plone open source CMS: additional benefits for professionals
The Plone open-source CMS solution combines all 10 of the features described above, but goes even further: it meets the specific needs of business professionals. Let's take a look at how to get the most out of Plone CMS, and when it's essential. Here's how.
A professional CMS that adapts to your business, not the other way round
Finding a solution capable of adapting to your sector, your activity and your business can often be a never-ending task. The Plone solution integrates the web into your company's IS (information system). For example, it's easy to adapt a site to an intranet, without the need for specific project tools.
To illustrate, the editor uses the same authentication base for all IT tools, which is very important for companies with multiple IT programs (ERP, CRM, CMS, etc.). For customized publication circuits, you can flexibly specify your own workflows.
The Plone system ahead of the rest
Its undeniable strengths make it easy for you to manage your website:
- the Plone CMS is the most secure, enabling you to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applicable in Europe in May 2018,
- this professional CMS offers powerful scalability, so you can adapt the CMS to your needs as your site grows,
- the proven extensibility of the CMS gives you absolute comfort when you want to extend and interface the CMS for additional uses,
- As far as accessibility is concerned, Plone is particularly standards-compliant, since a Braille-readable site can be deployed with it!
Soon to be the most popular for its resources?
Plone's popularity is growing as many of its capabilities expand. There are 2 outstanding language-related functions.
Multisite management and multilingual management make it possible to deploy a site (and an intranet) in several languages, in different parts of the world.
Another major advance is the CMS's search capabilities : attachments (at the office level) are indexed in full text to offer a more complete search.
A community of experts to help you choose yours
Another strong point: you're opting for free (open source) software with a large community of experts. The great advantage of Plone is that you're working in a well-documented environment, with a dynamic community.
For example, many professionals and companies have chosen Plone CMS for all its capabilities:
- Google,
- FBI, CIA,
- Nokia,
- Cambon Partners,
- etc.
Some companies, such as Cambon Partners, Afdas and the town of Goussainville, have chosen to call on experts identified within the community to master all their requirements and technology needs.
Pilot Systems, in fact, is behind many of the software's evolutions:
- secure, reliable online payment,
- staging system,
- authentication management module,
- PDF generator,
- directory interfacing (LDAP),
- etc.
In addition to its mastery of technology, Pilot Systems offers major expertise in the hosting and application outsourcing of Plone and Python-based solutions. To date, nearly 18,500 sites are hosted by the expert.
Creating a professional website has never been so easy
Choosing a professional CMS for your own website or intranet depends on your expectations and specific business uses. A site editor, for example, should enable you to overcome your HTML and CSS language shortcomings. Relying on a free but reliable web host can open the doors to the Internet for free via a dedicated server.
However, keep your specifications to a minimum: to exploit the full potential of an online CMS, make sure you have a CMS capable of meeting all the possibilities you envisage. You can create a web project on your own: in many cases, to become a professional reference in your sector, you need the support of an expert capable of understanding and integrating your challenges.
Article translated from French