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9 Best Practices for Implementing a CMS
9/26/2007
A large part of the complexity of these systems, he explained, is that they're designed for massive transaction processing, which frequently requires that every element be maintained in a back-end database. That in turn can become a major bottleneck to performance. "It requires more hardware and firepower to make those systems equal to what traditionally works great and what has worked great for [most] of the universities out there," he said.
Where transactions do need to take place--for example, as part of an online bookstore--Merker suggested carving that piece out from the rest of the website.
Also, colleges and universities offer a greater diversity of users potentially touching the website--students, faculty, staff, some skilled, some not so skilled--than other organizations. To find a system of the right fit, advised Merker, check dedicated sites or discussion boards that cater to a higher ed community, attend conferences, and talk with colleagues at other schools. He said he believes a short list can be pulled together in a matter of days or weeks.
3. Only standards help ensure long-term sustainability.
Almost every CMS is going to offer its own set of cool bells, whistles, and widgets that you'll probably consider implementing as part of your solution, because they seem like quick answers to common problems. Merker said he discourages their use as much as possible for the sake of long-term CMS flexibility. Instead, he recommended following standards-based approaches.
As an example, a vendor might offer a process by which a printer-friendly page is created at that same time that the page is being created for viewing on screen. The problem, said Merker, is that "you end up with two separate pages that need to be managed over time." A better long-term approach might be to use cascading style sheets (CSS) and a CSS script that will replace the screen style with the printed-page style on demand. As changes are warranted with time, they can simply be made to the CSS template or script.
Two other important standards cited by Merker: the Extensible Markup Language (XML) and the eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL). "Faculty directories, course curriculum--it's all being output by databases in the form of XML, whether it's coming out of a large course catalog system like Datatel or Blackboard," said Merker. "These are files that are output in an XML format, which can [then] be effectively used by designing an XSL file and embedding it in a web page automatically without having to touch the CMS beyond the initial template design."
4. Keep your pilot project short.
While Merker said he considers a "bake-off" a "great thing," he also advised that you keep them as short as possible. "We've seen a lot of pilot projects that last a year," he said. "In the end [the people participating] get involved perhaps in another project that sidetracks them or they lose their ambition or funding."
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