What is a cloud CMS, and why should you switch to it?

When choosing a content management system (CMS), businesses of all sizes and specializations need to ask themselves first: should we keep an on-premise CMS solution or switch to a cloud-based platform? And can a CMS in cloud meet the demands of our customers?

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What is a cloud CMS?

A cloud CMS is a content management solution that allows companies, organizations, and teams to store data within a cloud-based environment. You can create content from anywhere, at any time, in collaboration with your team members or alone. This way, the process of creating, approving, and publishing content speeds up rapidly.

Advantages of cloud CMSs

There is no need to download and install the software on your server, update it, or secure your server and sensitive data. It’s the cloud provider’s responsibility to keep an eye on the security. Moreover, unlike traditional CMSs, a cloud content management system doesn’t require hosting. As a result, you don’t have to spend your time or money on that—a cloud content management platform does all the work for you.

8 benefits of switching to a cloud-based platform

Speed

While on-premise software will take some time to set up, a cloud-based CMS solution will surprise you with its speed, including the creation of new features. It will be up and running in a few hours or days. When talking about speed, content authors save time when they don’t need to think about how their content will appear on different platforms. You can reuse the same content as often as you want.

Smoother collaboration

Cloud CMS platforms allow your team to easily work on the same project together from anywhere at any time. Without having to worry about how the content will look on each platform or device, project managers and editors can save extra time. Content creation is faster, and content can be reused. Moreover, they aren’t dependent on developers.

Enhanced security

A cloud-based headless CMS lets you focus more on managing content rather than managing servers or worrying about security threats. Various kinds of cyber attacks have been on the rise, including phishing, data theft, hacking, or malware. With a cloud-based headless CMS, your data is stored across multiple servers on the cloud where the cloud providers are taking care of the security.

Automatic updates

Unlike a traditional CMS, a cloud-based content management system doesn’t require maintenance tasks such as software updates. These can be very costly and time-consuming—you need to purchase the update, install them, and ensure everything works properly. With a cloud-based content management solution, you always have access to the latest version without downloading and installing upgrades yourself.

Better integration

You can integrate a cloud-hosted CMS with all the other tools you use to make your life easier and save time. In the same way, you can integrate tools like MailChimp, Zoho CRM, and Slack; you can also integrate your headless CMS with services like Google Analytics and Twitter. There's no need to spend hours setting up the right analytics for your website; you can connect it to your headless CMS and get on with other things.

Internet of Things (IoT) abilities

The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way we live. It's allowing us to connect devices to the internet in ways that weren't possible previously. Businesses can reach audiences through multiple channels—mobile apps, wearables, or even smart home devices. A cloud-based CMS empowers content creators to reach possible customers anywhere, at any time.

Easier scalability

Cloud hosting offers several features and benefits—the ability to scale a website as needed without incurring any additional costs. Simply put, a cloud-based CMS is designed to scale automatically as more visitors arrive at the site. The result is the ability to handle a large number of simultaneous requests with little or no downtime.

Benefits for developers

A cloud-based headless CMS is an open-source software service that allows developers to easily integrate content delivery into their applications. It is a good option for those building custom web applications using modern front-end frameworks like React. It lets them keep the content management separate from the presentation layer.

3 things to consider when choosing a cloud-based CMS

What are the most crucial aspects to consider when choosing a cloud-based CMS?

1. Enterprise architecture

When choosing an enterprise SaaS CMS, make sure the vendor provides access to APIs, multi-site management for enterprise businesses and several integration options for enterprises. Access to APIs will enable your developers to integrate with third-party systems, and with multi-site management, you will be able to take care of various websites or multiple brands, just as you need. Lastly, a wide range of integration options allows you to work seamlessly with the platforms you need.

2. What training will you need?

Cloud-based CMSs promise easy integrations for all enterprises. When picking the right solution for you, make sure you opt for a CMS that offers specific features to help your marketing and developer team get started immediately.

3. Will you need to pay extra money for updates?

Not every cloud-based CMS vendor includes the price of updates in the monthly cost, so make sure about it before you decide. To avoid any surprises or unexpected expenses, it is essential to clarify the update policy and pricing with the CMS vendor before finalizing a decision. It’s also worth considering the frequency and significance of updates provided to make a well-informed decision.

Conclusion

Cloud-based content management systems (CMS) provide a convenient and efficient way to manage the content of your website, blog, or online store from a single dashboard. However, before taking the plunge, you should consider your budget amount, the business objectives for the future, and whether your team will be able to adapt to a different solution. Nonetheless, switching to a cloud CMS platform brings several benefits, including higher speed, smoother collaboration, enhanced security, automatic updates, and much more.

A headless CMS loved by customers and recognized by experts

Named a Challenger in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for WCM 2016–2019 & Representative Vendor in the 2020 Gartner Market Guide for WCM

Named a Strong Performer in the Forrester Wave for WCM 2018

Named a Leader in the Headless CMS Grid & voted #12 Best Content Management Product for 2022 on G2

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