Exploring Enterprise Choices for Custom Web Development

The process of assessing and choosing the most suitable option for a custom web development endeavor is a significant decision, carrying substantial consequences. However, in today’s landscape filled with numerous technology providers, platforms, and agency partners, making this decision can often become an overwhelming task.

This article aims to navigate you through the evaluation process, delve into the array of options available, and assist you in selecting the ideal technology platform for your unique web development project.

Modern enterprises heavily rely on technology to function effectively. With a myriad of websites spanning various countries, a large workforce, and a substantial customer base, technology serves as the lifeblood of your organization.

Sophisticated technology is essential to support mission-critical digital assets such as your website, mobile applications, employee portals, communication channels, and various other systems. Many businesses also employ technology to streamline processes or create tools tailored to their unique needs, like internal training platforms or specialized departmental tools.

In light of these considerations, it’s crucial to identify a platform that can cater to your specific requirements and enable you to accomplish your strategic goals.

Contemporary enterprise systems demand dynamism, scalability, and user-friendliness, often necessitating the path of a custom development project to ensure that your business attains precisely what it needs in terms of functionality and capability.

A content management system (CMS) stands as the most prevalent technology platform for executing these projects, with nearly 63% of all websites on the internet currently relying on a CMS. A CMS is a software type used to construct websites and similar systems, allowing you to easily generate, modify, and publish digital content across a variety of online channels and devices. Nevertheless, determining the best CMS, especially for your unique custom development project, can be a daunting challenge.

Let’s delve into the scenarios where opting for a CMS is a wise decision for executing a development project and subsequently guide you through the next steps, empowering you to make informed choices for your business throughout the process.

Challenges Faced by Enterprises in the Realm of Technology

There exist numerous scenarios where a marketing team might find it challenging to pinpoint the right technology platform for a project:

1. Niche Projects: When the project entails delivering something highly specialized, such as constructing a new website or an internal system from the ground up.
2. Integration Needs: If the project requires building a website on a new platform that must seamlessly integrate with internal systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, PowerBi, and other backend applications.
3. Legacy System Replacement: In cases where current systems, like a website built on a CMS like Drupal, can no longer meet the organization’s requirements, necessitating the search for a new platform and migration of existing content.

A CMS presents an ideal solution in each of these scenarios, among others. Nevertheless, within the vast landscape of technology options, identifying the right CMS is no easy task, making it challenging for most enterprise marketers to even begin.

Let’s explore how you can approach this evaluation process in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Approaching an Enterprise Web Development Project

First and foremost, it’s essential to periodically evaluate whether your CMS remains fit for its intended purpose, even when you do not have an immediate need for something new. Given the rapid evolution of modern technology, the expectations of your users—both employees and customers—are continually evolving. It’s imperative to stay abreast of these changes and ensure that your technology can still meet the evolving demands.

Returning to the main task at hand, before delving into various CMS options, you should strive to precisely define your needs:

1. Project Purpose: Clearly define the objective of your project.
2. Objectives: List the specific goals you intend to achieve.
3. Project Scope: Describe the project’s extent and what you aim to build.
4. Budget: Determine the financial resources available for the project.
5. Integration Requirements: Identify the existing technologies that need to be seamlessly integrated.
6. Functionality Needs: Enumerate the desired features and capabilities.
7. In-House Expertise: Evaluate the skills and expertise available within your organization.

It’s imperative to create a well-defined brief and a comprehensive set of requirements to present to potential solution providers and agencies. Without these, it can be challenging to ascertain whether the platforms under evaluation can truly deliver what you need.

Once you have this clarity, you can decide on the most suitable approach for your project. This could entail:

1. **Sticking with your existing platform and updating or expanding upon it.
2. **Purchasing a custom, purpose-built ‘out of the box’ platform or software.
3. **Engaging with an agency to adopt a new platform and/or develop something custom.

It’s noteworthy that most web development projects for large businesses come with complex requirements that are challenging to fulfill without strategic guidance and ongoing support from an experienced partner. An agency partner will work closely with you to comprehend your strategic objectives and requirements, offering platform-specific skills, tools, and expertise to achieve those goals. We’ll delve into this in more depth later in this article.

Defining Your Project Requirements

As previously mentioned, having specific objectives for your project and clear requirements is crucial to ensure the partner or agency you collaborate with comprehends your brief and can deliver the precise final product you seek.

When outlining these requirements, there are certain capabilities and characteristics that most enterprise-grade platforms should possess to meet expectations. Here are elements you should ensure your new platform, and the agency you work with, can provide for your business:

1. Custom Development: Ability to create bespoke solutions.
2. Customization: Flexibility in design, features, and functionality.
3. Migration Capabilities: Seamless transition from legacy systems to the new platform.
4. Scalability: Ability to grow to accommodate evolving needs.
5. Security: A secure infrastructure to protect your digital assets.
6. Performance: Ensuring reliable performance even during peak traffic.
7. Integration: Capability to integrate with backend systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, PowerBi, and more.
8. User-Friendly Interface: Easy-to-use both for administrators and end-users.
9. Editing Efficiency: Quick and straightforward content editing.
10. Multi-Site Development: Support for multiple languages and diverse geographical locations.
11. Responsive Design: Adaptable for various devices and channels, providing an omni-channel customer experience.

Your Enterprise CMS Options

1. Drupal:Drupal is a favored choice among enterprises for its high level of security. It’s especially suitable when your team possesses technical resources with strong coding skills, as it caters well to those experienced in content management. However, Drupal can be challenging to set up and lacks simplicity, which can lead to higher agency costs. Additionally, it has certain limitations in terms of customization. It’s important to note that the commonly used version, Drupal 7, is approaching its end-of-life, prompting many users to migrate to more user-friendly platforms like WordPress.
2. Sitecore:Sitecore is a robust CMS that offers a wide array of capabilities. It stands out as a “digital experience platform” that encompasses the qualities discussed earlier. However, Sitecore’s cost can be a barrier, as it involves licensing fees, and certain advanced capabilities may necessitate higher-tier licenses. Sitecore operates with complex workflows, which might not align with the agility of smaller teams.
3. Umbraco:Umbraco is renowned for its scalability, making it an excellent choice for large organizations managing a high volume of pages. It is similar to Drupal in terms of being more suitable for users with advanced content management and development skills. This complexity can result in higher costs, either through more expensive agency engagements or the need to hire in-house expertise.
4. WordPress:WordPress powers nearly 45% of the world’s websites. It is admired for its affordability, flexibility, dynamism, and ease of use. There’s a misconception that WordPress is not robust or scalable enough for large businesses, but this is far from the truth. Some of the world’s most prominent brands, such as Nike and Bloomberg, utilize WordPress for their CMS. We’ll delve into the advantages of WordPress in more detail in the following section.

Choosing the Best Option

It’s important to bear in mind that every web development project is unique, and each platform has its strengths. Your decision should hinge on the solution that aligns best with your goals, requirements, budget, and other relevant factors.

One common thread running through all these platforms is that they become significantly more user-friendly and offer greater return on investment when supported by an experienced specialist partner. An agency with expertise specific to the chosen platform will ensure that your business extracts maximum value and leverages it strategically to realize its full potential.

Business Advantages and Opportunities with WordPress

WordPress stands as an excellent choice for businesses, and its advantages are particularly pertinent to large enterprises. Here are the qualities that make WordPress especially beneficial:

1. Scalability and Agility:WordPress is highly scalable, capable of accommodating the size and complexity of your website and the volume of traffic without any hassle. It can grow alongside your business, adapting to meet your evolving needs, making it an ideal choice for enterprises.
2. Low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Strong ROI:Among the options, WordPress boasts the lowest TCO. Unlike other platforms, it doesn’t require the addition of features or extensive work to manage updates. Additionally, its flexibility and rich feature set ensure a strong return on investment.
3. Flexibility and Customization:WordPress is perfect for bespoke development projects due to its high degree of customization. You can leverage its flexibility to incorporate unique features and functionalities into your website or create a completely unique system.
4. Fast Time-to-Market:Thanks to its user-friendly nature, WordPress allows for swift project delivery. However, achieving this may necessitate support from a skilled agency.
5. Integration:WordPress easily integrates with other systems like HubSpot and Salesforce. This ensures minimal disruption, whether you are migrating to WordPress or initiating a new development project.
6. Usability:In the back-end, WordPress is known for its user-friendliness. It serves as a highly accessible CMS, enabling quick onboarding and sharing responsibilities among your team members.
7. Performance:WordPress delivers enterprise-grade performance, speed, and ease of use when building websites on the platform. This ensures high user adoption and retention, ultimately contributing to the project’s success and greater ROI.
8. Long-Term Value:Partnering with WordPress offers long-term benefits, especially when supported by a specialist partner. WordPress adapts as your requirements change, providing lasting value to your business.

In Conclusion

Both Craft and WordPress are robust CMS options in their own right, capable of serving most businesses. However, it’s undeniable that WordPress is a more approachable platform for the average user.

When making this evaluation, remember that your choice should align with your specific circumstances and requirements. Each business and web development project is unique, so carefully consider your objectives, budget, available skills, and other relevant factors to determine the ideal CMS to meet your needs.