Why Your Business Needs a CMS Website

It wasn’t long ago that a webmaster was required to make edits to your website. Today, there are a myriad of choices available for hospitality properties. If you are thinking of a new website or a website redesign, a content management system or “CMS” website could be the best thing that’s ever happened to your business.

This second blog in the RezStream website series will discuss the overall advantages of having a hotel content management system website. We will also point out the differences between using a template CMS website or having a custom-built CMS website.

Four Key Reasons to Invest in a CMS Website

  1. Editing Web Content is EASY
    Any CMS allows you to easily add and edit text, data, blogs, videos and photographs. After your upfront training on how to utilize the CMS product is completed, you will be able to make routine changes to your website. Specified authorized users can make updates to the site at any time.
  2. Saving Time Saves Money
    Waiting for a professional to make additions or edits to your website used to be a frustrating and costly endeavor, often with slow turnaround times. Without needing a third party company or webmaster to make routine adjustments to your web pages, you can update data on your site as often as you want. This helps you stay ahead of your competition while saving bundles of money.
  3. SEO Friendly
    With changes happening almost daily at Google, a CMS website helps you stay current with today’s trends. Search engines love websites that continue to grow. One of the quickest ways to achieve this is by adding and managing multiple pages. New pages offer more SEO opportunities for the search engines.

    There is no denying the importance of social media. Social sharing icons can be located on every page of your CMS website, which streamlines the process of social media linking and sharing. The back-end of a CMS website is database-driven and designed specifically to facilitate optimization, by being able to add title tags, meta tags and description tags. In comparison, static websites require webmasters to deal with complicated design coding.
  4. Web Analytics
    Monitor the success of your CMS website by easily implementing website tracking. Tracking allows you to examine the behavior of visitors to your website, where traffic is coming from, the actions of visitors once on your website, and how many of those visitors are converting by making online bookings. With this vital information, it is easy to adjust (and test) different marketing strategies, content and photos to see what will increase conversion rates. You no longer have to wait for a third party professional to come to the rescue!

Template Hotel CMS vs. Custom CMS: What is Best for You?

With template CMS websitesthe design, features and functionality have been pre-built based on proven statistics of how hospitality websites function. Experts studied top-industry data to come up with a design and functionality that is both user and conversion-friendly. All you do is load your data (property content and photos) and you are good to go.

Website design templates are more affordable than custom designs as the design and functionality have been pre-determined.

  • Template designs ensure quick delivery times. Once you start inputting your data into the template, you can be “live” with your new CMS website within a matter of days. In contrast, custom CMS designs often take two to three months.
  • With a template CMS design, you have complete control over data management just like you would with a custom CMS website.
  • Control your hotel website by adding, editing, and deleting any page, photo, video, content or banner.
  • With a template CMS, some companies offer the choice to own or lease the site.
  • We have seen template designs vary in ownership costs from $4,000 to $7,000. Lease option costs also vary, but typically carry a low monthly fee. These options are appealing to properties with a smaller budget and/or those looking for a quick-to-market website.

custom content management system is just what the name implies—the design and interactive functionality is customized in every way that matters to you and your property. A custom CMS can be compared to building your dream house from the ground up with all the bells and whistles you have envisioned. That process is obviously a different one than buying a tract-home with a pre-specified layout and design features.

As one might assume, just like a custom home, CMS customization can be costly and time-consuming. However, the investment may be well worth the expense if it achieves your specific business objectives.

Website functionality is custom-fit on these CMS websites.

  • If a certain feature, like blogs or events, is important to your business, that functionality is built into the site.
  • It’s just as easy to add and edit content, photos, videos, and banners and search engine optimization features.
  • An important distinction with a custom CMS is that you own your website. This allows you to host with anyone you wish and work with any design company down the road if needed.
  • The initial investment averages $7,500 to $12,000. No two custom CMS websites are the same, therefore your customized needs dictate the final website price.

Conclusion

In our second blog of the website series we have demonstrated the benefits of content management system websites. Advances in CMS technology have now made these websites the preferred choice of smart business owners who understand the advantages of controlling their online data management. Template and custom CMS website options are available.

The third and final blog of the RezStream website series will introduce an exciting new product: the RezStream TCMS website, our state-of-the-art template content management system.

About the company: RezStream is a website design agency located in Denver, Colorado that offers hospitality solutions including Internet marketing, reservation software and booking engine solutions. Contact us today to receive a free template or custom website design quote!