Getting the most from your CMS
Do you understand the ins and outs of your Content Management System (CMS)? For example, are you aware that our CMS is completely bespoke and built by our team of talented developers? We explain how you can get the most from your CMS.
The Sky’s the Limit
The tictoc CMS is completely bespoke, meaning that each website that we design and build is specific to client needs. Unlike other websites such as Wordpress or Squarespace we are not limited to what we can do, combining our creative brains together to think outside the box and devise and deliver results that may not be achievable within another system.
Our agile way of working means that we work from back to front. You come to us with a desired need for your website and we find the best possible way to achieve this that fits within your objectives.
The beauty about having a completely bespoke CMS? The opportunity for innovation is vast! Leading FISH probe manufacturer, Oxford Gene Technology (Cytocell), approached the tictoc team with an idea to create a specific chromosome search tool on their website that allows users to easily search for a range of specific chromosomes. Cytocell’s database allowed our development team to use this existing data to create a completely bespoke interface that combined specific probes with their departments.
It Pays to Update
What do we mean when we say keep your website updated? Using up to date functionality, keeping your content fresh and fixing any broken links can massively impact site speed, UX and overall site performance so it is important to keep on top of these. Our CMS has often been described by users as ‘one of the easiest to use and navigate around’ which makes updating or changing content an easier and less stressful experience than most.
Updates can fall into two categories: content updates and site updates.
Content updates refer to updates made within the CMS that the client is able to do themselves. Examples include;
- Content changes e.g., images, links and page content
- SEO content eg, meta descriptions and page titles
- Adding pages and articles
Once your website is live, we do not leave you to fend for yourself with regard to how you manage the CMS. CMS training is provided as standard, where our Project Management team will familiarise you with how the system works and how you can manage your system efficiently.
On the other hand, we refer to site updates as areas within the CMS that may be hardcoded or require the expertise of a developer to resolve/update/change;
- Hard-coded changes and updates
- Changes/additions to page design
- New functionality
- Page templates
- Updating user journeys
Working together as part of a wider team, our experts within development and design provide solutions based on individual client requirements. Working within a bespoke CMS system allows for creative solutions and new ideas to be implemented that may never have been thought of before.
Don’t be Hasty
Sometimes eagerness takes over and we get a little bit too excited to press that ‘publish’ or ‘save’ button - it happens! If you are not 100% sure that this is the final draft of your content, then hold back before you push your content live. Why? It may be difficult to retrieve the previous version and you may end up losing other changes that you want to keep.
There are solutions that our CMS system is able to do with regard to retrieval of previous version changes.
- Rolling forward the publish date - the publish date for articles can be altered to a version after the original date. Examples of where this would be useful include a situation regarding a time sensitive event or news story where the information cannot be released before a specific date.
- Rolling back the website as a whole - converting your website back to a previous version will undo all of the changes made after the chosen date. So if more than one change has been made after this time, it is worth evaluating whether or not to make this rollback.
Stay in Touch
Don’t struggle or wonder ‘what if?’ in silence - our Account Management team are able to advise on a solution that suits you and your needs. Is there something that you want to include/remove from your current website but you are unsure as to how to do this or the potential implications of making this change? Making your Account Manager aware of your query takes the burden from you and releases it to our team of experts who can help to resolve this problem quickly and in the most suitable way.
Understanding your CMS is key to making the correct decisions with regard to changes and updates. Our Project Management team conduct CMS training sessions for every website that we build which allows you to be familiar with how your website works and what functionality is available. We would always recommend introducing the CMS to new members of your team and if you need assistance conveying this information, our team are on hand to help!
Looking Forward
User feedback is important to us. Based on users of our CMS, we are always looking for the best ways to constantly improve our user experience across our CMS and this means that we are always looking to update our systems in line with user needs. Our new version of our Kontented CMS is on the way - so watch this space!
In the meantime if you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today.