In Part One of this series, I talked about the importance of great design and content – as well as what a content management system is. In this second part, I want to share the advantages (pros) and disadvantages (cons) of using a CMS platform.

THE PROS

1. Quality through templates

The natural structure of a CMS assures that quality is maintained. Most CMS’s use a format where a master administrator controls the “look” of the site including the fonts, colors, navigational structure, content, and special widgets such as site-wide search engines, online giving, or flash banners.

The administrator also has many other options including the ability to set an approval process before a content item can be published or “made live” to the site. This keeps all aspects of the website up to church standards.

Additionally, most companies that offer a CMS platform can provide you with professional design services to “skin” out your site with a custom look or offer an array of pre-designed templates they plug-in and modify to your needs.

2. Functionality

While the quality of your design layout is improved using a solid CMS, the functionality of your site also increases! An example would be a media upload editor, which optimizes media files as they are uploaded to a server, can help increase quality by helping to assure images load quickly and are sized properly. Publish dates assure that updated content gets published at a specified time, though perhaps written weeks earlier. Using time-out date features, contributors to the site can set their content items to expire to assure that no out-of-date content is left on the site.

3. Ease of Use – No Web Development Knowledge Necessary

Almost anyone can edit their website content using a web-based “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editor built into the CMS. Adding event information or a news article is as simple as using a word processor. Other features such as those listed below, also can be simple to use after a thorough training session.

4. Features & Plug-ins

One of the greatest advantages of using a quality CMS is the ability to choose a variety of features or plug-ins to use on your site including:

• Discussion or collaboration modules
• Seamless blog integration
• E-Newsletters
• Flash or Rotating Banners
• E-Invitations
• Online Giving or E-Commerce
• Audio, Video, and Podcasting

Many systems already come with these “bonus” features so there is no need to purchase different components like what was required in the past.

THE CONS

There are a few disadvantages to using a CMS however. While these are far outweighed by the advantages, fairness demands that we consider a few.

1. Restrictive For Web Designers

Though CMS’s add an element of control for those who are not web savvy, they can be restricting to administrators who have a deep understanding of website design and limit the creative options.

2. The Price

CMS platforms can either be purchased outright and set up on an internal server or “leased” from the CMS provider through a monthly / yearly fee. The first option usually lacks tech support, updates, or training. It requires more involvement and can be more of a hassle or expense. Leasing is a better option because you can get customer support or training but it is way more expensive than a typical monthly hosting plan.

3. Learning Curve

A few systems are fairly easy to learn and many others are more complicated. If the administrator or team member has some knowledge of computer technology and are web savvy, the learning curve will be quicker than a non-techie or non-trained person. Either situation will require a fair amount of training but it is much better than learning all the ins and outs of web design. My advice is to choose a company that provides on-site or online training along with good documentation and manuals.

All things considered, the benefits to a church using a content management system and having a well-designed site far outweigh these minor disadvantages. In part three of this series, we’ll look at how to choose a CMS for your church.

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Chuck Scoggins is Creative Communications Director at Calvary Church in St. Peters, MO and President of 374 Designs. His latest project is Serve15 and you can email him at chuck@374designs.com.