This document discusses best practices for implementing and using a content management system (CMS). It begins with defining what a CMS is and providing examples of when an organization might need one. It then presents a case study of the Centre for Social and Creative Media and their experience using a CMS. The document concludes by providing recommendations for improving an existing CMS, such as culling outdated content, reworking content for improved usability, and revising documentation and staff training. References are also included at the end.

1. Content management system
best practices
Thadreina Abady and Keira Burlinson
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2. Agenda
1) What exactly is a CMS?
2) When to implement a CMS (and
do you really want one?)
3) The Centre of Social and Creative
Media [case study]
4) Recommendations
NOT a comparison of CMS platforms
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3. “A content management system is merely a tool.”
(CMS Wisdom Report, 2010, p.5)
Haggler, 2012.

4. Do you:
• Regularly update your
content (Polgar, 2010)
• Have multiple audiences
̶ Disabilities (Kim, 2006)
Do you need a CMS?
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54/sizes/o/

5. Image Courtesy Marcin Wichary under a CC licence at
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8/sizes/l/
What can a CMS do?
• Provide a broader distribution
of content, and increased
content sharing (Flagg, 2013)
• Improved information accuracy
and flexibility (Han, 2004)
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es/l/
“Designers can design, writers can write, editors can edit, and technology folks can
manage the CMS and support its users” (Kim, 2006)
• Produce consistent content
• Better quality control
• Deliver content faster
• Produce more searchable content

6. Proceed with caution
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n/photostream/
• Usability
• Decentralised authorship
• Open source CMS
• Security
• Accessibility

7. The alternatives
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If your organisation has:
• Little need to update content
• Little content
• Little time
• Stubborn staff
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8. CMS is not magic
• A CMS cannot turn poorly trained
authors into “writing for the web”
masters
• A CMS will not be able to detect
nor prevent your website from
becoming bloated
• A CMS cannot inject personality
into your website
• A CMS cannot give your
organisation a sense of
community
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zes/o/

9. Best practices: Back-end
• Content is the focus
• Train staff in the basics (ISITE Design, 2010)
• Define a clear vision
• Identify roles and responsibilities
• Develop guiding principles
• Define policies and standards
• Socialise and promote CMS (Hanley, as cited by ISITE Design, 2010)
• All content must have a named owner (Australian Government, 2009)

10. Best practices: Presentation layer
• Suitability
– Content availability
– Content organisation (Polgar, 2010)
• Usability
– Intuitive grouping of content
– Navigation (Polgar, 2010)
• Accessibility
– Web accessibility standards (W3C)
– Metadata
• Aesthetics

11. The case study
Before making recommendations, consider the following:
• How often is content expected to be updated?
• How much content is there to manage?
• What is the capability of the personnel?
• Is the organisation trying to serve multiple target groups?
• Will the content be distributed via other channels?
• What or how will the target audience be using and accessing
the content?
(Dilmare, 2013)

12. “Content is pitched at business and organisational needs instead of how users
can interact with their CMS, there is really not much to interact with.”
(CSCM team member)

17. Immediate
• Cull all out-dated and non-
useful content
• Re-work content to remove
large sections of prose
• Provide online access to
publications etc.
• Introduce more navigation
and access points between
pages
Long-term
• Revise, refresh or
implement a writing style
guide
• Arrange re-training sessions
• Clearly define roles and
responsibilities
• Consider customising CMS
for different target groups
• Integrate CMS with social
media
Recommendations

18. References
Australian Government, Office of Information Management. (2009). Implementing a content management system. Retrieved from the
Australian Government website http://www.finance.gov.au/agimo-archive/better-practice-checklists/docs/BPC10.pdf
Beveridge, D. (2006). Why you need a content management system. Nonprofit World, 24, 16-19. Retrieved June 13, 2013 from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/221257605?accountid=13380
Byrne, T. (2009). Assessing open source web content management, EContent, 32(2), 32-36. Retrieved June 13, 2013 from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/213817104?accountid=13380
Canavan, T. (2011). CMS security handbook: the comprehensive guide for WordPress, Joomla!, Drupal, and Plone. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley
Pub.
Centre for Social and Creative Media. (2012). Homepage. Retrieved from http://cscm-uog.org/wp/
Centre for Social and Creative Media. (2012). Outputs. Retrieved from http://cscm-uog.org/wp/?page_id=15
Centre for Social and Creative Media. (2012). Projects. Retrieved from http://cscm-uog.org/wp/?page_id=11
Centre for Social and Creative Media. (2012). Teaching. Retrieved from http://cscm-uog.org/wp/?page_id=13
Day, N. (2007). Achieving user satisfaction in content management systems. Lancaster University, Lancester. Retrieved from
http://www.njday.com/files/achieving-user-satisfaction-in-content-management-systems
Dimare, J. (2013, April 03). So you say you want a content management system…[Web log post]. Retrieved June 01, 2013 from
http://www.cmsmyth.com/2013/04/so-you-say-you-want-a-content-management-system/
Flagg, R. (2013, April 01). Business case for a CMS [Web log post]. Retrieved June 01, 2013 from http://www.howto.gov/web-
content/technology/content-management-systems/business-case-for-cms
Haggler, T. (February 1, 2012). Your CMS is not your web site [Web log post]. Retrieved June 14, 2013 from
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/your-cms-not-your-web-site
Han, Y. (2004). Digital content management: The search for a content management system. Library Hi Tech, 22(4), 355-365. doi:
10.1108/07378830410570467

19. References
ISITE Design. (2010). CMS wisdom report: Volume 1. Retrieved June 02, 2013 from
http://www.isitedesign.com/sites/default/files/cms_wisdom_vol1.pdf
Kim, G. (2006). Content management systems as “silver bullets”. Online, 30(4), 54-56. Retrieved June 13, 2013 from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/199929500?accountid=13380
Newman, B. (2011, March 08). How CMS works [Web log post]. Retrieved June 14, 2013 from http://www.inqbation.com/how-cms-
works/
Razo, R. (n.d.) Should your website use a CMS? [Web log post]. Retrieved June 01, 2013 from http://www.richardrazo.com/blog-should-
you-use-a-cms.php
Polgar, J. (2010). Do You Need Content Management System? In Information Management Resources Association (Ed.), Electronic
Services: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications (pp. 599-604). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi: 10.4018/978-1-61520-967-5.ch036
Silverman, M. (2007, August 27). Making the business case for web content management: First, admit you have a problem [Web log
post]. Retrieved June 01, 2013 from http://thecontentwrangler.com/2007/08/27/the_business_case_for_content_management/
W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Retrieved June 14, 2013 from http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-WCAG20-20081211/

20. Bibliography
http://www.howto.gov/web-content/manage/content-strategy
http://www.finance.gov.au/agimo-archive/better-practice-checklists/implementing-a-cms.html
http://www.cmsmyth.com/2008/12/should-you-throw-out-the-cms-or-just-the-implementation/
http://www.cmsmyth.com/2010/06/your-website-is-not-a-project/
http://www.slideshare.net/Idealware/cms-ntc13
http://www.howto.gov/web-content/technology/content-management-systems/preparing-content-to-move-to-a-cms
http://idealware.org/articles/top-ten-mistakes-when-selecting-cms
http://www.slideshare.net/prashantdubey/cms-evaluation-recommendation-report-v03-presentation
http://boagworld.com/dev/10-problems-your-content-management-system-will-not-solve-and-how-to-overcome-them/