There are many excuses people give when asked why their website is not backed by a content management system. Some of these include:

• I’m not technical.
• I don’t have time.
• I might mess it up.
• They pay people to do that.
• We don’t have the budget.

And we don’t believe a single one of them. Here’s why:

I’m not technical.

If you mean that you don’t know how to code, that’s fine. Most people don’t, and a good content management system won’t require you to know that. What it will require you to do is to know how to turn on a computer, get online, login, and get familiar with a button or 2. If you can do that, you can keep a website updated. And because you are reading an online blog, we’re guessing you’re technical enough for a content management system. Honest.

I don’t have time.

You may think there's no way to add an additional task to your already hectic day, but if you're like most of us, there are always a few free minutes here and there during the day when we could slip in a site update. You'd be surprised how quick and easy updating your site can be using a content management system. Also keep in mind that some content management systems let you schedule things to update automatically. You can take a free chunk of time and enter announcements or events for the next month, and then schedule them to be displayed or removed from your site as necessary. So you’ve done a month’s worth of work all at once. You absolutely do not need hours and hours.

I might mess it up.

Yes, you might...but you probably won’t. And even if you do, you can fix it because a good content management system will let you preview your work before you publish it. Or even roll it back if you publish it and then change your mind. Not to mention that the interface you will be using will be designed with your updates in mind...it won’t let you turn the page into a giant blob of green flashing zombies if you are only supposed to be updating a headline. Trust us on this one.

They pay people to do that.

Why yes, yes they do. And sometimes, that might make sense. Like when you have 5,798 products that have to be updated hourly and need to interface with 27 third-party systems. But if you can type up a press release or send out an event invite, then do you really want to pay someone else to copy that press release or that event date to your website when you honestly could do the same thing in less than 10 minutes? Obviously there is great cost-savings involved with handling website updates in-house, but don’t underestimate the value of scheduling. If you are handling the updates you are in control of the timing, and sometimes it’s just not possible for your web development partner to post the announcement of your latest acquisition to your website at 10 a.m. and not.a.minute.before.or.after.

We don’t have the budget.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. A good web development partner will provide you with options to create a website and content management system that fit within your budget. Sometimes that means you reach your goal in phases, so the website starts at a good place and just gets better as budget becomes available. And budget will become available if you are using a content management system because of all of the work that can now be done in-house. Yes, you might either start out with a leaner website or end up spending a bit more than you anticipated in the beginning, but the savings will present themselves practically immediately.

So now that we’ve squashed most of the excuses that exist for not having a content management system, we’d like you to consider the additional benefit of making your website even more attractive to the search engines. The dynamic of search engines changes constantly, but one thing they always love (and currently love A LOT) is fresh, relevant content. Google and the others want to see that you care about your site by keeping it current and interesting. Accomplishing that is SO much easier when you are in control. So you keep the search engines happy while keeping your customers and site visitors happy as well. It’s a win-win.

Let us show you how a content management system can help make your life easier. Just let us know the best way to reach you and we’ll get in touch.