A Practical Guide to CMS Selection
Choosing a content management system based on content types, editorial workflows, integrations, hosting and long-term costs.
Dana Whitfield
Where most projects go wrong
The usual mistakes:
- Choosing on feature lists alone
- Ignoring editor experience
- Underestimating migration effort
- Platforms nobody on the team can maintain
What good looks like instead
- Start from content models and workflows
- Involve editors in evaluation
- Test key tasks in shortlisted platforms
- Check accessibility of the editing interface
- Compare total cost over several years
Why it matters
The wrong CMS frustrates editors and developers for years, and replacing it later is expensive.
The specs that matter
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Types | traditional, headless and hybrid CMS platforms |
| Editors | authoring experience affects content quality |
| Integrations | with commerce, marketing and analytics tools |
| Costs | licensing, hosting, development and maintenance |
Knowing when to hand it over
Tip: Bring in help when replacing a CMS or planning a headless architecture.
Where this comes from
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative — Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) overview
- WordPress Developer Resources — Block editor handbook
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
Working on something like this?
We take on Content Strategy work for teams who want it done once, properly. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it. Start a project.
Where to go next
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