Content Management System, or, CMS development, is necessary to create and properly manage digital content for the business website. The software helps you tackle the design, texts, graphics, and codes you see. As you can imagine, CMS is extremely powerful and offers a one-stop solution to most of your requirements.
Thus, the custom CMS development must be done right! This is because it represents the architecture of the online presence, pillar pages, landing pages, etc. However, developing might seem overwhelming as a lot is on the plate. You must abide by the proven web development process to get the job done without much hassle.
Starting with the Concept
The CMS design and development have to start with thorough research. This involves the area of focus, the type of market it will deal with, and most importantly, client preferences. The clients will be the ones to decide on UI/UX style, the technology stack to use, testing to be done, and much more.
Following preferences, one should focus on the market assessment. The analysis is targeted to figure out the trends, and target demographic, and search for important information. This will also provide an idea of whom the clients are up against and the niche they belong to. Upon completion of the entire assessment, scheduling a meeting with the client is necessary.
Creating a Fruitful Plan
Procurement of data and analytics won’t yield good results. It depends on how you use the data to create an efficient and custom CMS for your client. Thus, it is vital to create a good plan. This is where the business analysts come in and they create a mapping of the process that the development and the designing team have to follow.
Coming up with a Strong Brand Guideline
Next comes the creation of brand style guidelines. This process will let the users know about the feel of the CMS. This includes the site’s appearance, colors, images, graphics, and much more.
Commencing with a Story
The CMS website design progresses from story creation. The style guide for the website begins with the organization, the goals, and how it arrived at that mission. It will state the obligations of the clients to their users.
Making a Unique Signature Logo
A CMS site is worth making if it gets the users hooked on the content and interface. And the first thing the users notice is the logo. So, a custom CMS development company has to craft the perfect logo and it has to be on the top of the list in the brand style guideline.
Choosing the Right Color and Fonts
Next comes color management in the process. The hues need to be appealing and solve the brand’s purpose. The same applies to the font size. The fonts have to be picture-perfect so that they intrigue the visiting customers.
Creating a Unique Voice
Conveying the brand voice matters the most, as per the best CMS web development services. It reflects the true values and the goals of the organization. So, the client has to be very particular about it and the CMS development and designing team needs to infuse it into the site.
Focusing on the UI/UX
CMS templates from Drupal or WordPress are cliched. So if you wish to stand out from the rest, then it is better to go for a unique design with innovative UI/UX. In this regard, client-specific information architecture is the way to go.
Front-End and Back End Development
Once the designing aspect has been covered, it is time to focus on the front-end and back-end. In simple words, the developers focus on the functionality of the user interface in the front end.
On the other hand, the CMS website development backend developers will work on the ‘behind-the-scenes’ aspects like coding, building a scalable server, creating a robust API, concurrent application, and more.
Testing and QA of the CMS
It is mandatory to create the CMS test plan and ideas for various test scenarios and cases. Some of the most important tests include functional, integration, usability, and performance testing.
If all goes according to the plan, move on to the next step. However, if you face defects, you have to address them accordingly. These may involve erroneous content workflow, slow page loading, and more.
Conducting User Training and Launching the CMS
Pre-Training: Data Migration
Once the CMS has been tested, it is essential to create a dedicated data migration plan. One has to delve into the content required for the migration process. Following this, it is important to analyze the legacy content for errors and duplication.
Post Data Migration
Once the CMS data migration has been carried out, it is time to move on to the creation of documentation on the CMS. You have to conduct training sessions for CMS users on content creation, publishing, approval, and updating.
Next, one has to perform user acceptance testing acquire user feedback, and make the required CMS modifications. Finally, you have to launch the CMS in the production environment.
Offering After-launch CMS Support
The custom cms development services do not stop after the deployment of the application. They have to address user issues and defects in the CMS. Based on the scaling of the services, the solution has to be adjusted accordingly.
Now, it may seem that it is quite elementary to put together a neat CMS website. However, if you are inexperienced, then it is wise to get a hold of a professional and experienced web development team. The web designers and developers will help you achieve your dream CMS website.
After you have completed the assessment, you will need to schedule a meeting with the client. This meeting is necessary to discuss the results of the assessment and to develop a plan of action moving forward.