Content Management Systems (CMS)

Improving the federal government’s ability to deliver digital information anytime, anywhere, on any device—via open content—is a key goal of the Digital Government Strategy. A content management system (CMS) can help your agency move to an open content model, making it easier for people to find, share, use, and re-use your information.

GSA’s Center for Digital Services Innovation has developed this CMS toolkit that provides the following resources for agencies:

Business Case for a CMS

Moving to a CMS requires a significant investment in time and resources. Read the business case, and see how other agencies have used a CMS to improve business operations.

Choosing a CMS

You’ll want to consider many factors when selecting a CMS, and it’s important to get it right, because most agencies stay with the same CMS for several years.

Decide if You Need a CMS—can you create open content without one?
Evaluate Types of CMS—weigh the pros and cons of open-source and commercial CMS tools, and which CMS tools other agencies use
Identify Resource Needs—learn what’s required to obtain, implement, and sustain a CMS
Document Requirements—document the features and functionality of each CMS to narrow down your list
Select the Right CMS Tool—test out top contenders, decide which tool best meets your needs, write a Statement of Work for contract help with migration
Is One CMS Enough?—determine if one CMS can meet all your content management needs; for example, can you use the same CMS to manage your website and your blog?
Common Pitfalls—avoid common mistakes, such as not developing a content strategy

Preparing Your Content for a CMS

The more work you can do up-front to clean up and streamline your content, the easier your migration will be.

Develop a Content Strategy—analyze search and other behaviors
Conduct a Content Inventory—take stock of all your content
Clean Up Old Content—eliminate ROT (redundant, outdated, or trivial content)
Identify Content Structure—determine content types and metadata, and identify any CMS changes needed to support structured content

Migrating to a CMS

You’ve done all your prep work, now it’s time to migrate. Make the process run smoothly to minimize disruption to your content owners and visitors.

Plan Your Migration—identify role and responsibilities, and keep stakeholders informed
Migration Models—will you do a manual or automated migration, or a combination?
Migrate Your Content—do a test run, move your content to the new CMS, consider a beta site, manage broken links, test everything once it’s moved
Launch—launch your new CMS/site