Cloud CMS Explained: 5 Benefits Of Making The Switch

Today’s businesses have to operate quickly and decisively. Content management systems play a huge part in that story. The right CMS enables teams to work faster and smarter while saving time and money.

Over the past few years, businesses have started to switch from legacy CMS platforms to cloud-based CMSes. Should your business do the same?

In this article, learn what a cloud CMS has to offer, how it differs from a legacy platform, and who can benefit most from a cloud-based CMS.

What is a cloud-based CMS?

A cloud CMS is a content management system managed, hosted and mantained by a third party. This offers businesses some benefits, such as scalability, reduced costs, and increased security. It still enables teams to do the same things they can do with any CMS—write, edit, and publish content.

While some CMSes are hosted in the cloud, others are self-hosted. Despite the rise in cloud-based CMSes, some businesses are still using self-hosted platforms. For some businesses, this can be a problem.

What is the difference between cloud-based CMSes and self-hosted CMSes?

The main difference between a cloud-based CMS and a self-hosted CMS is simple. A cloud CMS is hosted on a third-party server, and that third party is responsible for managing and maintaining that CMS. Like the name implies, a self-hosted CMS is maintained by the organization that owns it.

But why does that matter?

Self-hosted CMSes require a lot of undue effort from developers, IT teams, editorial and content teams, and marketers. The business itself is responsible for managing the platform, which requires a lot of time and resources that could be spent elsewhere. Your team ends up working for the CMS—when in reality, the CMS should work for your team.

In contrast, a cloud CMS allows teams to store data in a cloud-based environment. Instead of downloading and installing software, the organization can rely on a trusted third party to host and deploy the CMS responsibly.

That means the business doesn’t have to worry about tapping developer resources to host the platform, make updates, or secure sensitive data on a self-hosted server. Teams can create, edit, post, and iterate on content anywhere, speeding up collaboration and giving content managers much-needed flexibility.

Self-hosted CMSes are often conflated with on-premises CMSes, but there are slight differences. An on-premise CMS is installed and deployed on computers inside your physical business space. The business must purchase and manage all necessary infrastructure, including software and hardware. A self-hosted CMS is also installed and configured in the business’s physical location, but some elements are stored in the cloud.

Cloud-based CMS vs Self-hosted CMS: Pros and Cons

Why are businesses switching from self-hosted to cloud-based CMSes? A number of advantages make this a worthwhile investment.

Flexibility

Many Cloud CMSes are composable, meaning businesses can connect apps and integrations as needed. This empowers teams to work with content that’s tailored to specific audiences, markets, locations, products, devices, and more.

By contrast, self-hosted CMSes are typically one-size-fits-all. Businesses are saddled with features they don’t need but have to pay for, and they often have to hack together solutions that the CMS itself doesn’t support. A cloud CMS is a future-proof solution that gives businesses an edge over competitors.

Scalability

The more you grow, the more you expect your CMS to do. With a cloud CMS, that’s not a problem. With a self-hosted CMS, that means hiring more developers, spending more time on upkeep and maintenance, and creating more potential for confusion and crossed wires.

Companies develop new products, expand into new markets, and find new audiences all the time. A CMS should facilitate rather than hinder this expansion.

Unlike a self-hosted CMS, a cloud CMS comes equipped with tools that enable upscaling and downscaling, depending on the business’s needs. And third-party hosts typically have greater bandwidth for traffic and more developer resources than the company itself.

Cost-effectiveness

In many cases, setting up a self-hosted CMS can be a significant financial undertaking. Your business has to first purchase a software license, then buy or rent hosting space, and sometimes pay to have the software installed. You then have to keep a team of developers on hand for troubleshooting and maintenance.

The organization itself is responsible for installing, running, and managing a self-hosted CMS. Rather than outsourcing that labor to a third party, your business are practically and economically responsible for the necessary infrastructure.

That means hiring qualified IT teams who can run the CMS or tapping your existing teams to divert their time to the platform. This allocation of responsibilities can increase deployment times and drive up costs.

With a cloud CMS, all you have to do is pay upfront subscription fees, and overage fees if you go past the quota. This frees up money for other tasks and enables you to use developers more cost-effectively.

When it comes to software updates, some self-hosted CMS providers charge additional fees for the upgrades, while these are usually included in the subscription fees for cloud-based CMSes.

It is worth mentioning that there is an ongoing debate in the tech community about whether or not a cloud infrastructure is actually more cost effective for every use case. Some proponents argue that the cloud is not a good fit for low traffic applications or some medium-sized companies. It is imporant to consider that self-hosting will still require the necessary know-how and qualifications to run servers efficiently and securely.

Security

Customers are more security-conscious than ever before. At the same time, businesses continuously process and store customer data that they need to get work done. It’s vital that you ensure sensitive data like personally identifiable information is safe from data breaches and internal errors.

With a self-hosted CMS, organizations have to manage the high-stakes tasks of securing data internally or via external consultants. With a cloud CMS platform, the vendor handles security systems and is usually better equipped to do so.

Integration

Your business will change; what you need out of your CMS will change in parallel. As you grow and move into new markets, you might require different tools, apps, and capabilities—and you might not need the old ones.

With a self-hosted CMS, there’s no guarantee that the platform would support these additional needs, and even if they do, each auxiliary tool will cost time and money. If the manufacturer doesn’t offer the capabilities your business requires, your teams will end up having to slap together solutions that won’t necessarily integrate with each other.

However, cloud CMSes do enable teams to add new features and integrate applications. Apps and tools work seamlessly across systems and can often be accessed via a single dashboard. Many CMSes provide a series of grab-and-go integration options that teams can add or subtract whenever they need.

Who are Cloud CMSes for?

The short answer is that most businesses would benefit from switching to cloud based content management. The main exception is small businesses with specific requirements that force you to run only open-source software or maintain your own servers. Operating a cloud CMS and integrating the platform into your tech stack is simple, but introducing a cloud CMS might require more time and training than a small team has to spare.

These are some of the most common use cases for a cloud CMS:

• Content-heavy websites - Editorial teams that want to move fast and publish a high volume of content would benefit from a cloud CMS, which doesn’t constrain when, where, and how teams can push content into the world.
• E-commerce sites - Businesses that sell products to customers need to be able to iterate on the website to meet audiences where they’re at. Cloud-based CMSes offer the flexibility needed to tailor the site to an evolving audience.
• Enterprise businesses - Large enterprise corporations need a secure, flexible CMS platform that can handle a lot of web traffic and high content velocity. A cloud CMS fits the bill.
• Startups that plan to scale - For small businesses that plan to grow and want to hit the ground running, a cloud CMS is an ideal solution. A cloud CMS enables you to quickly onboard a solution that you can change as your business grows—without having to shop around for a new vendor when you’re ready to move into a different market.

Almost every organization could benefit from a cloud CMS, from emerging startups to large enterprise corporations. Their combination of flexibility, customization, security, and scalability makes them an ideal fit for nearly every business that values its audience.