Why Every CMS Beginner Should Start With A Content Project

CMS or a Content Management System, as we know, is a collection of basic building blocks which we call as ‘components’.

[Read More – What is CMS?]

There are components which are provided as part of the tool package – also known as ‘out of the box’ components (OOB components). Then again, there are components which are built to server specific needs, perhaps from scratch or on top of existing components – also known as ‘custom’ components.

Now, you’d be surprised to know that most of the existing (OOB) components, if not all, can be customised or configured in many ways.

“You need to see it, to believe it.”

Once you start going through multiple websites, you familiarise yourself with the components which are used, and the layout or different ways in which they are used. Just like the Lego blocks, which have different shapes and colours.

Then you start formulating your own ideas to how these can be used – some of these components are so rich with features that it takes a while to unlock the potential and explore them.

A little more digging will help you map the components to the current work you will be doing – either you’ll get help from content experts or you’ll find out the hard way (doing yourself).

This wouldn’t come naturally, unless you actually start creating content on your own – which is not as easy as it may sound. I’ve seen people struggle so hard with putting the content right and aligning all the elements together.

I don’t know about others, but I certainly felt good when I authored a page and previewed it. And, when the whole site was created, it almost felt like it was me who created it (although, it was a team effort).

Oh, it is such an exciting and rewarding experience, a sense of accomplishment and learning.

Not that you’ll get bonus for doing that, but just think about the world of possibilities it opens up for you.

Still don’t get it, do you?

See, working on those components can give you an understanding to the system (let’s say Adobe AEM, or Sitecore) – first of all.

Then, you get yourself at ease with the components and the common mistakes a rookie would do, like the related configuration, linking to areas within the system, and gaps left behind by the development team.

This, will give you an insight in to the areas which can be improved upon – be it your learning or the recommendations you could make.

Most importantly, you will get to look at the bigger picture rather than being limited to the components or areas you would work on otherwise.

At this point, it will matter less if you were from a development background, a testing, or any other area of expertise.

What matters, would be what you can or want to do now!

The knowledge and experience, while working on different components,

• Would help to find the gaps, ask more questions to get clarity
• Can be used to suggest better user experience, suggest optimal way to use a component, or suggest an alternative
• Will equip you to develop components in a better way – don’t forget the scenarios you came across to configure a single component.
• Will lead you to provide a better solution

All the things you can and must do, during the initial phases of the project, to reduce the loss of effort during the later stages.

It’s your choice now, if you wish to work as a technical person, a business analyst, or a quality analyst – the possibilities are never ending.

And if you thought otherwise, no one can limit a BA or QA from proposing a technical design (not literally a design document though).

Reflecting upon, would you have had so much clarity and vision of what you wanted to do or could do, had you not gone through this route?

May be… But, you can’t leave things to “may be”. It’s better to be informed, if you ask me, at least then it’ll be your choice and not something enforced upon you.

“At the end of the day, it’s not only about doing right by the customers and delivering what’s best for them, it’s about doing what’s right for you and learning to become a better person and a professional, as well.” ~ P.R.

 

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Video Marketing Has-Been and Will-Be Around

It’s funny, how small things in life don’t make any sense when they happen, but you could relate them, years later.

My younger brother learnt playing games and counting number even before he went to school.

In those days, gaming was not as popular and a limited number of companies manufactured such units.

Era Old Gaming…

If I remember correctly, it was a stiff competition between Atari and Nintendo. Atari being famous for their joystick controller and Nintendo for better graphics.

Anyways, the crust of the matter is that my brother would play these games or watch me play, and then learn where things needed to progress were, try to find different things he could do, and learn alphabets and numbers to track game progress and password to continue from a saved timeline.

Considering the age, less than 3 years, no one actually thought it was that important or was helping his growth. In fact, we were scolded for spending too much time playing video games.

Fast forward x 20, to this day. Thinking, out of the blue, I realised the impact those games had and can have. A little more analysis, and I was quick to spot the visual aid in learning.

Do You See The Connection?

Don’t worry, you will, soon.

Rather than going through the books or listening to someone telling you, a person is able to grab things when assisted with visuals. The vision, through eyes, gets registered in the mind, faster than we know. Weird, ehh?

Adding Life To These Visuals…

I wouldn’t even ask you to select between a series of print outs and a video, to present something. Guess, you know which is better.

The idea of watching something as against images, is always luring.

The voice, the tone, the music in the background – could be used to create a situation, relevant to the content. The voices, indicate our mind to put more focus, and can pump the heart rate – think of a horror movie or an action sequence.

Ever watched a drama or an intense movie?

The voice and the way in which the actor delivers the speech, gets us involved and we feel we are part of the happiness or the sorrow that actor is going through. It hits our emotional chords.

Tell Me A Story…

That’s the power, you can create with a video.

The content, the sound, the linking – the broader story; that’s what gets to your customers.

There is so much you can say and tell, with advancement in technology – you can use various graphics and sounds.

The same video can be transmitted over multiple channels to reach millions of people out there, worldwide.

To connect with customers and to create an impact – create an awesome video. But first, create a story to show in that video! ~ P.R.

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What is CMS? Explain That To A 5 Years Old. Here’s Why?

So, you just had a glimpse of the post or heading and started scrolling away. Just when you thought it was nothing, you couldn’t let go of this feeling – Why would you want to explain CMS to a 5 years old?

 

I can give you many reasons, but let’s just say the psychology of a client responsible for an IT programme is similar to that of a child.

 

Like a child,

1. The client would be hard to get convinced, especially when he is unaware of something new.
2. The client would have qualms about moving to another thing, in this case a new platform.
3. The client would want more for what he gives. Like a child, who only agrees to share his toys when he gets more in return.
4. Last but not the least, the time a client would be willing to listen to you, as he would have many things going-on in his mind.

 

So on and so forth…

 

So…

What is a CMS? ..Or.. What is a Content Management System?

If you know this already, please skip to next part – which I promise is much more exciting than this one.

 

If you are still here with me, then you must want to know about it.

 

CMS, is nothing but an application or a platform which allows you to drive your digital content, from a centralised (server) location.

 

All your templates, pages, and assets are at a common place; which along with components can be used across site and markets (which are copies of one master site).

 

So, if you were to launch your site at multiple locations across the globe, then you could have the same layout, use same assets (where possible), yet make modifications where needed.

 

The best part, you can achieve that from a single server and rollout any change across these sites, just by modifying it in the master copy. Moreover, you can make specific changes to these live copies, at will.

 

Now then, that was a brief about the CMS. I hope you got a fair bit of idea.

Or was it not what you were looking for?

Nonetheless… Let’s move on!

How to explain a CMS to a 5 years old?

• It’s like a train set. You can align the tracks anyway you want, place the station wherever you want, and latch any bogeys with the engine to run the track.

 

How you design it, it’s your imagination.

 

However, these basic building blocks should sync to make it work, otherwise the engine would derail and never reach the station.

 

• You know that painting book you got or the stencil which you use, it has pre-outlined figures which you can readily use to draw and paint.

 

There is a suggested design or the colour pattern, should you follow. However, the creativity is yours.

 

• Imagine, you have multiple cut outs of a flower which you can colour differently and then place them on a sheet to create an image of a bouquet or a garden.

 

The content management system is similar to that; it provides various building blocks which you can use one or more time to create a page or a list of pages, so that you don’t have to create them afresh, time and again.

 

The only difference is, you use computer software instead of white paper.

 

[Good luck explaining what a computer and a software is. Look at the bright side, you have something to communicate and engage with the kid.]

 

With this kick starter, let’s see how many ways or different approaches you can come up with, to convince a child and make him understand.

 

Age is just a number!

But…

If you can convince a 5 years old, you can convince a nagging client!

 

#YesICan #Negotiation #ArtOfConvincing #Leadership #Communication

 

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4 Steps: How Not To Stick Your Face In A Piece Of Cake: Content Migration Strategy

What is the most common or important thing any marketing person would tell you?

If you want to have a greater reach, have a great content!

In an age of #DigitalTransformation, we all rely on the browsing patterns, customer behaviour, and similar giveaways which help us define our strategy.

However, the customer engages only when he can relate to what you present.

“Your content speaks for you, where you can’t be physically present.”

Most of the organisations think a lot before chalking out the IT budget or roadmap.

A bulk of them, start small, migrate a section of their existing site on to the new Content Management System (CMS).

The size of this content migration may vary!

There are sites which have informational content only. Then again, there are sites which have certain level of user interactions.

From a 100-200 pages to over 5000 pages, there is no limit to it.

It depends on the products are services you provide, the customers who actively use them and would need information about, and the driver for you to be online, in the first place.

How to prepare a strategy for content migration?

Well, if you thought it was as simple as any content editor or content specialist or any person with such a role copy pasting the content and be done with it, then you wouldn’t possibly have worked on such a project.

The fundamentals never change – the planning, the design, the implementation, and the delivery.

1. The big plan!

Planning should have been the phase where most discussions happened; only if we were not in so much hurry to deliver!

The approach, of how you would present the content, the related information you would need, and whether it’ll be across multiple break points, is all to be given a deep thought.

The separation of role; people who could put content, from people who could verify the content, to people who can do both.

Which ones do you have, you can afford to get, and you would need to outsource.

Oh! And, before you forget – do plan who will be doing what and with what approach.

2. Getting the design right!

Set sail when the storm hits the shore!

No, we don’t want that!

So, create assets which can be re-used on similar break points.

Have a consistent layout for pages, which don’t need much modification and look almost the same across devices and platforms.

Do don’t wanna end up creating one page for each of the breakpoints/viewports (desktop, mobile, and tablet).

Decide upon the styling (the font style, size, colour, the heading group, and so on), the icons, and other elements of accessibility.

3. Putting the pieces together!

With the required elements in place, now is the time to put them all on the page.

Know the hierarchy, create the page, and check how it looks on different viewports.

Implement one page at a time, from initiation to completion, and keep track of your progress.

4. Your order is ready for Delivery!

The pages are done, grouped neatly based on the hierarchy, and compared against the existing site.

The viewports are checked, and so is the linking of pages.

If, there is any information which is needed for the tracking or marketing purposes, then ensure you have provided all the information.

If you are not sure, make use of any tools which are readily available to get you that information.

Just when you think you are ready, open it for an in-house verification session.

Limit the time and keep the intended purpose clear.

Walla … You are ready to go! – hand the site over to the customer.

 

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