The digital terrain is evolving, particularly with the advent of modern (headless) CMS, which is why it’s imperative to upgrade your monolithic or outdated CMS. A fragmented approach can lead to silos and disjointed systems, resulting in difficulties with upgrades and compliance issues. Furthermore, inefficient workflows can make it challenging to deliver a seamless user experience across various channels. Fortunately, the digital landscape is changing, particularly with the introduction of modern (hybrid and/or headless) CMS, as opposed to monolithic or legacy CMS. Brands are moving beyond antiquated technologies to adopt modern solutions that meet user expectations and evolving business needs. This post delves deeper into this topic.
What is an outdated CMS?
In simple terms, a CMS is an application that enables users to create, manage, and publish content on the web. The term “outdated” refers to “obsolete, old, and unsupported,” and refers to traditional CMS that may no longer be suitable for current applications. Examples of such CMS include popular software such as WordPress and Drupal. These programs have a monolithic structure that includes the frontend and backend in a single application. They also have limited flexibility and depend on templates and plugins for additional functionality.
How does an outdated CMS threaten your digital experiences?
One major disadvantage of an outdated CMS is its susceptibility to cyberattacks. Attackers can use add-on software like plugins and themes as backdoors to hack into the systems. Some other drawbacks are:
Limited functionality:
As technology advances, so do user expectations, and this often means that older systems struggle to keep up with these changes while still providing users with what they need from an online experience today.
Scalability:
Once you’ve reached your site’s limit on how many pages it can handle, adding new content to your outdated CMS becomes difficult or impossible without a significant investment in hardware upgrades or software licenses.
Fragmented journeys and poor end-user experience:
An outdated CMS often leads to silos and disconnected systems, as it may not be optimized for modern devices or user needs, resulting in a poor end-user experience.
Omnichannel experiences:
An outdated CMS often cannot support the range of channels that users expect today, such as mobile devices or social media. With a hybrid headless CMS approach, you can separate the content from the presentation layer, allowing for greater flexibility in delivering content to different channels.
Lack of support and upgrades:
One of the biggest threats posed by an outdated CMS is the lack of support and upgrades. Many CMS vendors stop supporting older versions.
Approaches to Updating Your Legacy CMS
There are various approaches to updating your outdated CMS platform, and the most suitable one will depend on your organisation’s specific requirements and objectives.
Initially, you need to identify the six primary drivers of modernisation: three from a business perspective (alignment with business goals, business value, and flexibility) and three from an IT perspective (cost-effectiveness, complexity, and risk).
The next step is to assess the modernisation options, and here are seven options arranged by implementation difficulty: encapsulation, rehosting, replatforming, refactoring, rearchitecting, rebuilding, and replacing.
Finally, the third step involves selecting the modernisation approach with the highest impact and value based on the modernisation options’ effect on technology, architecture, functionality, cost, and risk.
Current Trends and Best Practices for CMS Modernisation
Decoupled, headless CMS
Decoupling the frontend and backend of your CMS platform allows you to create custom frontend experiences while retaining the content and data management capabilities of your CMS platform.
Composability
Composable CMS platforms enable you to create custom digital experiences by selecting and integrating pre-built components and services. A composable CMS architecture decouples the frontend and backend code, enabling the development of independent components that can be combined to create an entire website or application. They offer greater modularity, scalability, and resilience compared to monolithic architectures, making it easier to add new functionality without re-architecting the entire system.
Cloud CMS
Shifting your CMS platform to the cloud can offer scalability, flexibility, and security that traditional CMS platforms cannot provide. Cloud-based CMS platforms can be more cost-effective and offer better performance than on-premise solutions.
Integrations
Integrating your CMS platform with other systems and digital channels can provide a more cohesive and personalised customer experience. Modern CMS platforms often provide built-in integrations with popular marketing automation, e-commerce, and CRM platforms.
Technology Backbone (.NET Core)
.NET Core is an open-source framework that enables you to build modern, scalable, and cloud-ready applications. Using .NET Core as the technology backbone of your CMS platform can provide the flexibility and scalability you need to meet your organisation’s digital experience goals.
How to Strategize an Initiative to Update Your Outdated CMS Setup
The first step to strategizing an initiative is to acknowledge the present condition of your website and establish your objectives and goals. Next, you need to select the appropriate modernization approach that fits your requirements. This could involve opting for and transferring to a new CMS platform, upgrading your current platform, or uncoupling your CMS platform. Once you have selected the modernization method, proceed to create a plan for the project. This includes defining the project’s scope, recognizing important milestones and timelines, and determining the resources and finances required to carry out the project. With the plan in place, you can proceed to implement it and provide ongoing support.
Conclusion
Upgrading your outdated CMS is a valuable investment if you prioritize better digital experiences. By doing so, you can attain improved security, more efficient workflows, better compliance, and a seamless user experience across channels.