Contents

What is a CMS?

Ten key steps:

1. Find the right CMS platform

2. Find the right supplier

3. UX/UI design

4. Templates, components and integration design

5. Development

6. Website Migration

7. Testing

8. Launch

9. Training

10. Maintenance

What is CMS?

CMS (Content Management System) is a tool that helps users create, manage and modify website content, usually without in-depth technical knowledge. As digital transformation accelerates, updating and upgrading corporate websites has become an indispensable task. Choosing the right CMS is the first step towards successful transformation.

In the market, WordPress is known for its flexibility and community support; Magnolia is good at managing content across the entire network and flexible expansion; and Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) focuses on high-performance and personalised enterprise-level solutions.

1. Find the right CMS platform

There are several key factors to consider when choosing a CMS platform:

• Ease of use: Ensure the interface is user-friendly and allows non-technical staff to get started quickly.

• Scalability: Can the platform flexibly support the future growth needs of the business? For example, support for multiple languages, multiple websites or multiple business modules.

• Integration capabilities: Ensure the platform can seamlessly connect to existing business systems such as CRM, ERP and digital marketing tools.

• Security: Ensure the platform is secure by providing data encryption, user rights management and backup mechanisms.

• Budget: Assess the total cost, including initial acquisition and ongoing maintenance.

• Technology stack: Check whether the platform supports your existing technology environment, such as Java, PHP or .

• NET. Multi-site, multi-language support: Ensure the flexibility to manage content for sites in different countries or regions.

• Deployment model: Choose between cloud, on-premise or hybrid deployment, depending on your needs, to balance flexibility and control.

• Access speed: If your business covers the whole world, it is particularly important to choose a platform that supports a global content delivery network (CDN).

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2. Find the right provider

Choosing the right vendor is key to the success of a CMS project, and customers need to make a comprehensive assessment based on a variety of factors. If you are interested in multiple solutions, you can contact the relevant vendors to discuss further, to understand their technical expertise and the feasibility of their solutions, and to assess their UX/UI design capabilities and implementation and delivery experience. When considering price, you should ensure that the quotation is transparent and within budget. In addition, whether the vendor has a strong local support team to respond quickly to technical needs is also an important indicator.

Here is a list of key points to consider when selecting a vendor:

• Company background: Ensure that the vendor has a stable financial situation and a good reputation in the market.

• Professional qualifications: Verify whether they have relevant technical certifications or partner qualifications, such as official certifications from Adobe and Magnolia.

• Relevant case experience: Check the vendor’s successful cases in similar projects to assess their expertise in the industry.

• Experience of the core team: Ensure the technical expertise and project delivery capabilities of the project team.

• Communication: Choose a vendor that listens and responds quickly to your needs.

• Local support: Having a local team on hand means faster problem solving and on-site service.

• Proposal: Check that the vendor’s proposal accurately responds to your business needs and project goals.

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3. UX/UI Design

Design time is at the heart of creating a great website, and clients need to be involved and work closely with the design team.

Here are the main steps in the design process:

• Customer interviews: Communicate brand concepts and requirements with the design team to ensure that the design direction is aligned with business goals.

• IA (Sitemap) design: Establish the website structure to optimise the content hierarchy and navigation experience.

• Wireframe design: Provide page wireframes to ensure the usability of layout and functions.

• UI and UX design: Develop visual styles and user interaction designs to enhance user satisfaction.

• Revision and finalisation: Optimise the design based on feedback, finalise the results and move on to the next stage.

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4. Templates, components and integration design

Based on the UX/UI design determined in step 3, the next step is to translate it into specific technical specifications.

Focus:

• Template design: Based on the UX/UI page design, extract shared structures (such as the homepage and article pages), unify the style and improve efficiency.

• Component development: Refine interactive functions into independent modules (such as navigation bars and forms) to ensure reusability and flexibility.

• Integration solutions: Define the interaction with business systems (e.g. ERP, CRM) to ensure smooth data synchronization and support multi-terminal integration.

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5. Development

Develop templates, components and integrations based on technical design documents.

This can be subdivided into:

• Template development: Implement the basic framework and content structure of the website.

• Component development: Create functional modules such as forms and media libraries to support the dynamic requirements of the website.

• Integration development: Connection to existing business systems (such as ERP and CRM) to achieve data synchronization and functional collaboration.

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6. Website Migration

The method of content migration can be selected according to specific needs.

For example

• Manual migration: Suitable for small amounts of content or data that requires manual adjustment.
• Automatic migration: Use an ETL tool and develop automatic migration of existing data structures to improve efficiency.
• Hybrid migration: The most suitable method is selected according to the specific data type and requirements, which can handle complex data structures and improve efficiency. For example, use an automated migration tool for standardized content, and manual migration for special formats or content that requires additional processing.

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7. Testing

Testing is a critical step to ensure that the website functions and performance meet the target.

The vendor should provide the following testing services:

• Functional testing: Verify that each component and function is operating normally.
• Performance testing: Ensure the website remains stable under high traffic conditions.
• Security testing: Check for potential vulnerabilities to ensure data and system security.
• Integration testing: Verify the integration of the website with other systems (such as CRM and ERP).
• User testing: Optimise the user experience through feedback from actual users.

Testing should comprehensively cover all functions and scenarios to ensure website stability and user satisfaction.

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8. Launch

Go-live is a critical project implementation milestone, and a detailed deployment plan (Deployment Plan) needs to be prepared in advance.

It includes the following key points:

• Rollout Procedure: Plan specific go-live steps, such as data migration, server configuration, and DNS switching, to ensure an orderly and controllable process.
• Rollback Procedure: Pre-define contingency plans for when problems arise, so that you can quickly return to a stable state and minimise the impact.
• Close monitoring: During the go-live period, the system’s performance and data consistency need to be monitored in real time to identify potential problems in advance.

The focus is on

• seamless transition: ensuring that business is not interrupted and that data is complete and consistent.
• Quick response: in the event of a problem, the rollback plan can be implemented immediately to avoid further impact.
• Stable operation: ensuring the stability of the website after go-live to provide users with the best experience.

A detailed deployment plan is the cornerstone of a successful go-live.

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9. Training

After the website goes live, professional training needs to be provided for relevant personnel.

For example

• Editor (content creator): training: teach content creation and management skills to ensure that the business department can use the CMS efficiently.
• System administrator training: focus on system maintenance, data backup and permission management to ensure that the technical team can effectively manage the system.

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10. Maintenance

During the operation and maintenance phase, it is important to clarify the service level agreement (SLA) plan and the problem handling process. The vendor needs to ensure the response time for solving problems.

The common problems are as follows:

• User problems: involving user misoperation or usage questions, the vendor needs to provide education or response.
• Vendor code or configuration problems: the vendor is responsible for fixing the related problems.
• Product problems: the vendor needs to contact the original manufacturer to fix or upgrade.

The supplier should ensure that the problem resolution process is clear and transparent, provide effective support, and ensure the continuous and stable operation of the website. The service details can be formulated according to customer requirements.

Generally, the service details are as follows:

• CRITICAL (Priority 1): The problem causes extremely serious disruptions to the production system, affecting or potentially affecting the entire user base. Tasks that should be performed immediately cannot be performed due to a complete system crash or disruption of key functions of the production system. Data integrity is compromised, and the service request needs to be handled immediately because the problem may result in financial losses. Initial response time: ≤ 4 hours, contact frequency: daily.
• IMPORTANT (Priority 2): The problem causes interruptions to normal operations, but does not affect the operation of the production system, or there may be a slight decrease in performance. Errors are attributed to software failures or incorrect behavior. The problem will affect the pilot or proof of concept deadline in the development environment. Initial response time: ≤ 2 business days, contact frequency: daily.
• MINOR (Priority 3): The problem causes little or no disruption to normal operations (no business impact). Problems include ‘how to’ questions, queries about APIs and integrations, installation and configuration, enhancement requests or documentation issues. Initial response time: ≤ 3 working days, contact frequency: weekly.

Vendors should adjust these response times to meet customer expectations and business needs based on specific customer requirements and agreements.

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From CMS platform selection to content migration, website testing, and operation and maintenance, every step is critical to the successful operation of a website. Whether you choose the flexible and easy-to-use WordPress, the Magnolia that emphasizes brand consistency, or the Adobe Experience Manager that focuses on high performance and personalization, the right CMS platform and professional support are the cornerstones of digital transformation.

For more information or professional advice, please contact us to help you achieve your website operation and upgrade goals!