8 features your CMS absolutely needs.

Intuitive Dashboard 

The core of any CMS is the administration dashboard. Any CMS should be able to manage all content creation and distribution tasks from a dashboard. These tasks include scheduling content, monitoring threats, tracking user activity, installing modules and plugins, and analyzing performance, including reviews. 

Responsive Themes 

When evaluating different CMS platforms, it's important to examine the range of themes each offers. Themes are essential for creating a consistent look and feel for your website.  

Content Editing and Publishing Tools 

The less work it takes to add content to your site, the more work you can put into improving the quality of that content. Therefore, you need a robust content editor to easily create and publish different types of content, from blog posts with custom layouts to landing pages with embedded resources.  Ideally, you should be able to add images, videos, CTAs, forms, etc. and rearrange these elements within the publishing interface. Also, you should be able to preview the page before publishing it.  

You can read about what a Content Management System is here.

Version Control and Backups 

Consider a CMS that allows you to store and track your work along with editing and publishing features. You may find yourself in a situation where you need to revert to an older version of your content, and it's great that a CMS makes it so easy. Also, how does the CMS handle backups? Are they automatic, or do I have to create them manually? Are backups a native feature, or do I need to install an extension? Instead of waiting for a data loss event, damaged website, or hack, it's best to find it now. In all of these cases, you should have an extra copy of your website on hand. 

Publish control 

Multiple people may contribute content to your website, regardless of the business size. You may have a writer who is solely responsible for creating drafts, an editor who reviews drafts, and an administrator who is responsible for planning and publishing drafts. For this reason, publishing control is essential in any CMS. Assigning different roles and access levels in the CMS helps set up workflows for creating, approving, and sharing different creative assets.  

Built-in SEO Tools 

A CMS with built-in SEO tools can help optimize your content for search and increase your chances of ranking on search engine result pages. First, you need to make sure your platform is SEO friendly. Are you using proper HTML markups? SEO-friendly permalinks? Responsive design elements? These are all basic practices that every page should follow to rank well in search engines.  

Content Staging 

When websites are online, they rarely look the same. Whether you're launching a new product or completely redesigning your website, there are many situations where you need to make significant changes. Ideally, instead of making these changes to your live site, test them to make sure your visitors experience a better experience before rolling them out. For this reason, you would need a CMS that allows you to stage and preview your content. 

Security  

By maximizing the security of your website, you protect data, your visitors and your brand reputation. When evaluating different content management systems, consider the features built into the platform and the costs your team will need to meet your security standards. 

Every CMS is unique, but there are some core features to look out for when choosing a platform for your business. A platform that combines an easy-to-use dashboard, built-in SEO tools and advanced security configurations allows you to construct and develop a website that engages and delights your visitors.  

If you are still curious about content management systems, you might want to read about our partner Contentful and their headless CMS system.