The document outlines a crash course on content management systems (CMS) presented by Andy McIlwain, detailing what a CMS is and why it's important. It emphasizes the necessity of defining requirements and stakeholders before choosing a CMS and compares various CMS platforms, highlighting their pros and cons. Key considerations include functionality, design, content management, system requirements, and available support.

1. CMS CRASH
COURSE
Andy McIlwain @
Net Tuesday Toronto
July 8, 2014

2. Agenda
1. Introductions
2. What’s a CMS? Why should you care?
3. Choosing a CMS
4. Comparing Popular Platforms
5. Discussion

3. Who is this guy?
Andy McIlwain
• Content @ SIDEKICK (www.sidekick.pro)
• Organizer, WordCamp Toronto 2014
• Web “Generalist”
Connect
• The Twitter: @andymci
• Email: andy@sidekick.pro

4. What’s a CMS?
• Content Management System
• Layer between code and user.
• Manage sites without being a developer.
Website that
Visitors See
Underlying
Code & Technology
Your CMS

5. Why should you care?
• Reduce IT/developer involvement.
• Be responsive. Get things done faster.
e.g. Breaking news and you need to update the site quickly.
• Easier training & onboarding.

6. Choosing a CMS
Shopping for a CMS is like shopping
for groceries. It’s better when you
have a list of what to look for.
Image Credit: Situ Herrera

7. Remember: Your CMS is a tool.
It’s just means to an end.
• Don’t get distracted by features.
• Some CMSes better suited to certain tasks.
• There’s always a learning curve.

8. Define your requirements first.
Image credit: Freepik

9. Functional Requirements
• What should users be able to do?
• E.g. Make a purchase, create an account,
submit a contact form, make a donation.
• Create a functional requirements list.

10. Design Requirements
• The “Look and Feel” of your site.
• Usually handled by CMS themes (a.k.a.
templates, styles, skins…)
• Create a design requirements list.

11. Content Requirements
• The type of content (written, media) that will
be managed by the CMS.
• Blogging? Press releases? Restricted
content?
• Create a sitemap that outlines all major
pages or sections of your site.

12. Time & Money Requirements
• What’s the timeline? What’re the
milestones?
• What needs to be done now vs. later?
• What’s the available budget?
– Encompasses setup, customization, training,
support, etc.

13. People / Stakeholders
Image Credit: Freepik

14. Who is leading the project?
• What’s their understanding of the project?
– Technical? Non-technical?
• What’s their experience with CMSes?
• Are they comfortable coordinating between
stakeholders?
– Developers, Administration, Executives,
Constituents, etc…

15. Who is implementing the CMS?
• Who’s putting the pieces together, and what
knowledge do they have?
– What’s their experience? Are they comfortable to
deliver on the requirements?
• In-house isn’t always the right solution.
• Look at your requirements, consider all the
options available.

16. Who will be working with the CMS?
• Primary, day-to-day users.
• Have they used a system like this before?
• Will they need additional support?
• Will you need to train people quickly?

17. Things To Investigate
Before You Commit
Image credit: Icomoon

18. Learning Curve
• How complex is the tool?
– Look for discussions and reviews.
• Are there lessons online?
• How usable is the software?
– Can you play with a demo?
– Useful site: http://www.opensourcecms.com/

19. Documentation
• What’s available from the vendor?
• What’s available from 3rd parties?
• Is it understandable? Up-to-date?
• How well-written is it? Any visual examples?

20. System Requirements
• Do you host yourself or with the vendor?
• Are there specific environment
requirements?
– E.g. PHP, Rails, Node, ASP.NET …

21. Licensing
• Open Source vs. Proprietary
– Are you “locked in” with a sole-source product?
• What’s the cost?
• What are your rights as a user?

22. Market
• Are there developers already?
What’s their going rate?
– Less Popular = More Specialization = More Lock-
In
– More Popular = Greater variance in rates, but
also a variance in quality.
• Are extensions (plugins) or themes
available? What’s the average cost?
– E.g. WordPress has 1000s of themes available,
whereas Drupal does not.

23. Comparing CMS Options
Image Credit: Icons8

24. Pros
• Relatively easy to learn.
• Ample documentation.
• Works on vast majority of
hosting providers.
• 100% GPL license.
• Large market of themes,
plugins, and developers.
• Actively updated, lots of
custom functionality
through plugins.
Cons
• User experience geared
towards publishing
content. Experience is
lacking in other areas.
• Not well suited (IMO) to
more complex
functionality.
WordPress
Download @
www.WordPress.org

25. Drupal
Pros
• Free & open source.
• Works on most hosting
providers.
• Built with complex sites in
mind, e.g. whitehouse.gov
• Active community of
developers.
• Good-sized market of
themes and extensions.
• Very stable.
Cons
• Steep learning curve.
• More intensive hosting
requirements.
• Projects typically longer,
more expensive.
Download @
www.Drupal.org

26. Joomla!
Pros
• Free, open source.
• Works on majority of
hosting providers.
• Themes and extensions
available.
Cons
• Development is relatively
inactive compared to other
CMS platforms.
• Small market of
developers, extensions.
Download @
www.Joomla.org

27. Tendenci
Pros
• Catered specifically to non-
profit organizations.
• Free & open source. (Need
to use “Developers” link on
the home page.)
Cons
• Requires hosting provider
that supports Python.
• Smaller CMS means small
market of experts.
• Written in Python. Popular,
but less popular than PHP.
More information @
http://tendenci.com/

28. GetSimple CMS
Pros
• Free & Open Source
• Lightweight – Very small
installation, no database.
• Works on majority of
hosting providers.
Cons
• Limited plugins to add
more functionality.
• Limited support.
Download @
http://get-simple.info/

29. ExpressionEngine
Pros
• Free version available to
experiment with.
• Active community of
developers + backed by an
established company.
• Works with most hosting
providers.
Cons
• Costs!
• Per-Site License ($299++)
• Support ($49/mo++)
• No Refunds
Info/Purchase @
http://ellislab.com/expressionengine/

30. To Recap…
• Start with your requirements.
• Identify your stakeholders.
• Research each platform before you decide.

31. Thank You!
(Discussion)