Select A Product Content Management Web
Placed in Website Design | January 31st, 2010
So you want a glimpse of a real Web content management (WCM) receive the product. How do you go when evaluating all the different products and suppliers? What should you look for in a WCM package? Is it better to build your own, buy or use Open Source?
The best way to answer this question is to compare products on an apples to apples. You can do this by developing an evaluation matrix of products to suit your needs. In the first column you can) the list of feature sets (eg security. In the second column to the specific needs (eg integration with Active Directory for authorization and roles) in different categories . The following columns of your products would be to consider each column for each of your desired product. For each product, then you give a score (scale of 1 to 10) to each specific need.
Then you can use a column for the weighting of each specific need, or do the thematic level. For example, flexible workflow can adapt much more important to you than your ability to display. You can then several columns of the weighting calculation cons opinions on a realistic number for each product on each of the specific requirements of the scope of your business. All these amount by product until it reaches a total score of product evaluation.
Of course, you can not forget, client references, check, or if it is an open source product to go digging for some pages that are already the tool.
Here is a list of some topics / specific requirements that apply to you. At least some of these ideas should be your cause as much as what you are looking for in a WCM product and give you a good start on the evaluation matrix products.
Workflow
Support for models of multiple workflow?
Workflow complex (parallel and serial)?
Role / Group integration with the currents?
Ability to reuse of workflow models with different types of content?
Security
If the product integrate with the security architecture?
If you need the security of the content model?
Do you need security for content consumption?
Is there support for roles and groups?
How this is implemented and managed in the product?
Content Model
What are the creation / production, such as cars of an Office application, HTML / downloading files, WYSIWYG, etc.
Are there forced models, content management system to maintain a common structure of content (for example, all contributions of a title, subtitle, body, must, and can reach fields)
Presentation adaptation
Many personalization features of the presentation?
Extensive integration support CSS?
Ability to create presentation templates, which can then be reused for different types of content?
End-user creation of presentation templates, or it needs a developer?
Integration with Search
If this product is its own search engine?
Or will it effectively with the current (or a search engine provided) integration?
Security Integration with the search function (for example, a user can not hit for what he / she has access to see on the screen)
Common document management features
Versioning
Maturity
Metadata
Check-In/Check-Out
Collaborative Authoring
Historical content of the monitoring architecture
If your organization uses web services or a service established, the oriented architecture, you can request product content via Web services can use to enable other programs to present the content.
Portal Integration (supports JSR168 example, support WSRP, etc.
Open and documented API available?
Cost
Acquisition
Maintenance
Technical support staff (see clients) with references
Administration Interface
Stable and yet easy to use?
Full control of the entire content life cycle?
Role / Group Management
All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and marks are the properties of their respective owners.
