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These days there seems to be as many Web Content Management (WCM) systems as there are programming languages. From Open Source systems to blogging platforms to wiki systems to big vendor Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and portal systems, we are swimming in WCM options. But whatever system you are using or considering there are some key strategies for optimizing your site and content that can spell the difference between a site that successfully drives desired behavior and one that simply exists on the web.
(Note: This article was written with contribution from Fishbowl Solutions WCM experts Mariah Bailey and Steve Fahey.)
Each WCM platform will have its own idiosyncrasies and optimization tricks. But with some careful consideration of the basics, an intentional uptake of technologies that help and regular maintenance, your WCM site will sing. Here are 4 pillars for successful WCM site and content optimization that cross technological and vendor boundaries.
Pillar 1
Don’t wait until your site performance stinks to implement optimization techniques
Unfortunately many organizations find themselves in this position. A site or sites have been around for a while and suddenly the site tanks, users get frustrated, employees grumble and IT scrambles to fix big hairy problem with more executive level attention than is probably warranted.
There are any number of reasons the site tanks. A market shift puts attention on an offering described by the site and traffic spikes against a sub-optimized site. Stale information left on a site is used in a way never intended and opens up a liability for the organization. The reasons are many but the negative results are the same.
A few hours of up front planning and execution can make all the difference. None of the items in this list are new or revolutionary. However, consistent and disciplined practice are vital to ensure you are not caught unawares.
- Caching. Do it. Many WCM systems have built in caching mechanisms. The best systems have the ability to cache whole pages or specific portions of the page. If a page has a high traffic rate, an unanticipated spike or is consumed by other SOA services in the organization, implementing caching for even one minute can make a huge difference to site performance and user satisfaction.
- Content Delivery Network (CDN) loading for common files: Offload commonly used libraries, such as JQuery, to a CDN. When a user views the website, the libraries will be loaded from the geographically closest data center. It should be noted though, that this should be used primarily in an externally facing or public web scenario. For intranets and domain-contained content delivery CDNs can have a net negative performance impact.
Remember that sites often evolve over time to add in new and ever-richer content. As these incremental changes stack up substantial performance impacts can be realized, often only after a critical tipping point. Therefore, having a disciplined approach to performance and infrastructure and conforming incremental changes and additions to this approach can save headaches in the future.
Pillar 2
Re-use rather than re-store or re-create
The primary advantage that organizations gain through incorporating WCM in their enterprise information management (EIM) strategy is the ability to repurpose existing information. Research has consistently demonstrated a material cost incurred when employees search for information and spend time re-creating information that already exists.
When WCM is included in a larger EIM strategy, content owners are able to leverage the web distribution channel without having to re-create content. This has the follow-on effect of minimizing or even eliminating synchronization efforts to keep multiple copies of the same item up to date. It also means that when a change to the content is affected, it ramifies throughout all the distribution channels including WCM channels without additional work.
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