If you're running an ecommerce website, you know how important it is to have high-quality, well-written content. After all, your website's content is what sells your products and services. But creating and managing all that content can be a challenge. 

That's where a content management system (CMS) comes in. At 1SecondCopy, we see the difference these systems make for our ecommerce clients, who use them to easily streamline, organize, and enhance their content marketing efforts.

If you aren’t already using a CMS, you’re probably spending way too much time on the nuts and bolts of website management–and missing out on some great opportunities to grow your business!

What is a CMS?

A content management system is a software application that helps you create, edit, manage, and publish content. A CMS can be used for anything from a simple blog to a complex ecommerce website. Increasingly, using a CMS is seen as integral to a strong content marketing strategy.

Usually, a CMS features a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, which allows you to create and manage your site’s pages, menus, and appearance without any need for coding. A good content management system will also offer tools for improving your website’s search engine optimization, URLs, and social media presence. 

Along with helping you manage your site’s written and graphic content, many content management systems for ecommerce websites can help you streamline back-end processes such as inventory management and payment integration. 

Most platforms are designed for those without specialized computer skills and feature intuitive, user-friendly interfaces. This means you can start building your store right away, without worrying about coding or design. 

Save time and money

A CMS can help you save time and money by eliminating the need to hire a web designer or developer to make changes to your website. You can easily make changes yourself without any technical knowledge or graphic design skills required.

Even if you do have those skills, a CMS will drastically cut down the amount of time you spend working on your site. You can add, delete, or edit elements or whole pages in a snap.

With the freedom to adjust your site quickly and easily, you’ll become more responsive to new insights, resulting in a more strategic and effective website.

Generate new leads

A content management system can help you generate new leads for your ecommerce website by optimizing your website content for search engines.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving your site to make it more visible in search engine results pages, attracting new visitors who are looking for the products or services you offer. You can do this by optimizing your website’s title, description, and content.

A good CMS will provide a simple interface for making these adjustments and guide you on how to do them well.

In addition, many content management systems come with a built-in blogging platform, which can be a great way to drive traffic to your website and generate new leads.  

Posting new blog content regularly helps you achieve better SEO by giving you more opportunities to use relevant keywords. Just as importantly, high-quality content that positions your brand as an industry insider or innovator will help you to generate interest and trust among potential customers.

Organize your content

If you're selling products on your website, you'll need to keep track of a lot of information, such as product descriptions, images, pricing, and so on. As your business grows, keeping everything accurate, up-to-date, and in line with your brand strategy may become a challenge.

A CMS will help you keep all this information organized and easy to find by creating a central repository for all your content.

In addition, many content management systems come with built-in features such as editorial calendars and workflow tools, making it far easier to keep oversight of your content production and publication flow.

Analytics and learning

Many content management systems include analytics tools. They can help you gather and interpret website traffic and conversion data. 

You’ll learn about the pathways your customers take through your website. How much time are they spending on each page? What are they entering into your “search” bar? Which banners and links are they clicking? Are they finding what they expect or hitting the “back” button?

This kind of knowledge is immensely powerful in helping you fine-tune your ecommerce website and improve the overall user experience. 

You can use a content management system to develop customer profiles by keeping track of your customers' contact information, preferences, and purchase history. This information can be used to create targeted marketing campaigns that get the right people shopping on your site.

Generally, the analytics tools featured in content management systems are simple to use. A good CMS will provide not only the numbers but guidance on how to interpret them. No data science knowledge required!

How to choose a CMS

Deciding on a content management system for your ecommerce website might make you feel overwhelmed–there are so many options available that it can be difficult to know where to start.

Before delving into the jungle, take a step back and consider your needs. What kind of functionality would give you the most value? What sort of features are important to you? Once you have a good understanding of your needs, you’ll be able to narrow down your options.

Now that you know what you’re actually looking for, it’s time to start reading up on the different options. Look for reviews and compare features.

If your needs are fairly basic, you might be perfectly happy with one of the many free or inexpensive CMS platforms currently available, such as WordPress or Joomla. If you’re looking for highly specialized or sophisticated features, you may need to pay a little more. 

When considering your budget, make sure you think about the long term and reflect on the opportunities and threats your business is likely to face. A reliable and well-equipped CMS will likely help you avoid expenses (and stress) down the road.

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, it’s time to take a test drive. Most content management systems offer free trials, so you can try out the features and see if they meet your needs. This is a great way to get a feel for how the system works and see if it’s the right fit.

Final thoughts: get started with a CMS

If you’ve never worked with a CMS before, adopting one may seem like a big change. You might be wondering if the learning curve is worth it. The answer is a resounding yes!

A content management system is an ecommerce website’s best friend. Not only will it save you resources and hassle in the long run, but it will also allow you to create a more professional, cohesive, and impactful site.