Is Your CMS the Right Fit?

Credit unions have to ask themselves if the Content Management System (CMS) they’re using is one that’s the right fit for them long term. Modern organizations need the ability to add or change content on the fly, and this means a high demand for a CMS that is easy to use, flexible and secure. From rate updates to blog posts, credit unions are demanding more control over the content on their websites without having to go through vendors and wait for updates.

Too many choices?

However, the market is currently overloaded with CMS platforms. Popular platforms like WordPress, Joomla and Drupal support websites across all industries, but are they the right fit for credit unions? While there are a number of CMS’s purpose-built for financial institutions, choosing the right one depends on a credit union’s specific requirements.

Tips for finding the right fit

Questions credit unions should ask internally:

• What are the primary goals for the website?
• What kind of content will be available?
• Who are the primary stakeholders involved (marketing, IT, etc.)?

Questions credit unions should ask regarding their CMS:

• How easy is the CMS to install?
• Who else in the industry uses the CMS?
• Does it have the features the credit union requires?
• Is there reliable and speedy support?
• What security features come with the platform?
• Is the CMS scalable?

When it comes to finding a CMS, organizations want to have their cake and eat it too. Companies are looking for an intuitive and easy-to-learn system that at the same time offers a wealth of functionality. Access to updating source code is very important, especially when it comes to editing at a page level.

What to avoid

Credit unions need to be aware of potential problems that could slow down load time and page speed, such as too much Adobe Flash, too many redirects, large graphics or graphics that have been scaled in HTML. They also should be aware of any robots.txt files or malware that could be on the site.

Although the CMS search process may feel intimidating at the start, a good search and selection process begins with knowing your credit union’s needs. From there, a helpful checklist of desired features will help weed out too simple and too complex systems, hopefully leaving you with one that’s just right.