Host: Welcome, everyone, to another episode of the Go Beyond Fundraising podcast, where we explore the evolving fundraising and marketing landscape and its impact on nonprofits. In today’s episode, we’re diving into the changing world of content management systems, also known as CMSs.

With this technology rapidly advancing, CMS platforms are becoming more sophisticated, but what does that mean for nonprofits? We’ll discuss how these shifts can open new opportunities for mission-driven organizations to manage content on the web more effectively and connect with their audiences in more personal ways than ever.

Three gentlemen from Allegiance Group + Pursuant are joining me in this conversation, and I’ll ask them to introduce themselves now, starting with Mark. Mark Leta, you serve on our web development team at Allegiance Group + Pursuant. Would you share a little about yourself with our listeners?

Mark Leta: Sure. I’m Mark Leta, the VP of Technology within the agency here at Allegiance Group. I’ve been working with mid-to-large-size nonprofits over the last 25-plus years, helping them build websites and applications and consulting on their direction, particularly helping them define technical solutions and paths they may need for success. I’ve been fortunate to work with many wonderful organizations over the years. Most recently, I’ve been working with the Truth Initiative and the AARP.

Host: Ren John, it’s so nice to meet you today. We were getting acquainted before we hit record. Would you share a little about yourself and what you do here at Allegiance Group + Pursuant?

Ren John: Yeah, I’d love to. I’m Ren John, an Associate VP of Technical Implementation. I’ve been with the company for nearly 15 years and working on CMS for almost 20 years. I started as a software engineer and moved my way up. I’ve worked on at least six different types of CMSs throughout my time here with a variety of clients, and I really enjoy the work.

Host: Last but certainly not least, we’ve got Russ Chettiar. Russ, you’ve been on the show before, but for those who are tuning in for the first time today, could you share a little about yourself?

Russ Chettiar: Hi, everyone. I’m Russ Chettiar, VP of Client Relationships. I’ve worked with web solutions since the late nineties and in the agency world since 2007. I’ve been with the company since 2011, and I’m located in the Northern Virginia area.

Allegiance is a full-service creative and digital agency, but we have some very serious strengths and talent with web and content management systems. We’ve been building websites and implementing web products since 2001, and we’ve worked with hundreds of leading nonprofits on web projects. We’ve received many website awards in recent years.

Today, we hope to shed some light on what nonprofits should consider if they’re in the market for a new website or content management system.

Host: Thank you so much for that introduction, Russ. You set us up well to go right into my first question, which is about websites. They’ve been a part of our lives for over 25 years now. How and why is a website so central to a nonprofit’s digital strategy? Mark, I’d love for you to kick us off.

Mark Leta: Sure. Nonprofits still need a hub for their digital activity online. A website serves as a central presence for the organization and its brand and brand identity online. It’s something that users can find. It’s also usually part of the user experience their audiences are having. So, the website channel itself needs to be there, and it needs to be part of the experience. It’s also essential in helping them meet their fundraising, advocacy, and awareness-building goals.

We used to build websites that were the destination. That was where we directed users to go all the time. As time has passed, we’ve learned to meet users where they are as online activity has spread out. We want to make sure we’re measuring conversions as we can where they happen.

Today, we find that users come from all sorts of places. They may interact with the website — they typically do — but users also come to social media, texting platforms, email marketing, marketing communication (marcom) tools like HubSpot or Marketo, or different mobile apps. The website doesn’t play the same role it used to, but it does play an integral role in the ecosystem and digital online world.

As part of a digital strategy, the organization still needs a website for a strong brand presence online. It ensures findability — users expect to come to Google or other search engines to find the organization and its online presence. Users expect the website to be there, which adds to an organization’s credibility and ability to show it’s available and its brand is present online.

In addition to being a channel for content and conversion, it’s a place that may be a hub. In some cases, it’s also there for posterity’s sake.

Host: I think about the ways websites and their purpose have evolved over the years. So often, the top level of awareness that someone has with a brand is in social media, advertising, or on platforms like YouTube.

The intentions behind a website have changed. In the past, it may have been the first place they landed. Now, when someone goes to your website, it’s often at step two or three in the marketing and awareness funnel, if you want to use that analogy. Usually, when they arrive at your site, it’s with a purpose or intention.

Would you agree with that summary of how websites function in the modern-day marketing funnel?

Mark Leta: Yes, it’s a necessity. Organizations need a site, but it doesn’t serve as the central purpose of all the marketing tactics, funneling, or conversion opportunities they present to users.

Host: Russ, can you share the different types of organization websites Allegiance Group + Pursuant builds? Also, how do content management systems come into play?

Russ Chettiar: We build everything from large enterprise sites to small landing pages. We also work with nonprofits of all sizes on web projects.

Some sites nonprofits need that we’ve built are primarily B2C websites as their backbone. They could be informative or educational. Storytelling is now a big part of how nonprofits engage and welcome users. These sites set up a platform for storytelling and begin the user journey across various platforms and products.

We’ve built sites that focus on fundraising, which we designed to maximize conversions and the donor process. We’ve also built advocacy and awareness websites, often coupled with dashboard and integration platforms. We’ve built event or concierge websites and membership-heavy websites. Finally, we’ve built sites for volunteer activity, community engagement, and grant management activity or use cases. We make them for all nonprofits.

Regarding how content management systems factor in, most or all of what I just listed are built on CMS platforms. We’ll talk about their options in a minute. Ultimately, we want to empower our clients to manage their sites and content and have maximum flexibility and sophistication built in. We build most of our sites on content management systems or digital experience platforms, as some are now starting to be called.

Host: Speaking of these different types of web products, are they all built using content management systems, or are there other types of back ends that we might use to construct these digital experiences?

Ren John: Yes, we’ve built different types of products and web stacks using a variety of back-end and front-end programming languages, including dot net, PHP, and several JavaScript and CSS frameworks. Most websites we produce are built on top of the content management system we extend and customize to client specifications. We create both structured content and flexible templates so content editors can disseminate content in different ways to their end users. Some of the CSS technologies we use are WordPress, Drupal, Sitefinity, and Sitecore.

Beyond CMS web development, we also produce standalone interactive web applications. These often have a clear purpose, like a calculator or an interactive infographic, chart, or map. It could also be specific to a client’s mission, such as an assessment quiz or journey map. We can also help organizations build campaign landing pages, donation pages, and other functional pages that can be used in different systems like an email marketing platform, community management system, or CRM.

We typically recommend using a CMS because it’s easy for content editors to create and maintain content without being web or database experts. We build CMS websites that help maintain a uniform look and feel across the site while being flexible enough for the content editor to be creative with the pages they’re building.

Host: I’d love to get into some of the other applications of content management systems. Mark, can you walk us through that?

Mark Leta: Sure. As Ren mentioned, the CMS can function as more than just a content management system. It can also function as a platform for serving different types of content, including things like data.

One of the most interesting use cases we’ve had recently is using CMS to publish data in the back end that gets consumed and displayed on the front end using powerful JavaScript libraries that can visualize data. We embarked on a project with the AARP using the Drupal CMS to manage data for its long-term services and support programs to process and show that data in various ways through a JavaScript library on the front end. This enabled us to present rich data and give the user an exciting experience.

You can also use a CMS as a platform for integration. You can host different types of integrations, whether modern, low- or no-code, or more traditional API or web service–type integrations. The CMS can be a hub within your ecosystem to move data around.

For example, we’ve used a series of webhooks on the Drupal CMS to collect data from disparate systems and move it to a CRM. This allows us to collect lead generations from forms within social media platforms, such as a form on TikTok, take the data in via the webhook on our Drupal platform, and then move that data onto the Salesforce CRM. So, you can use the CMS as a platform and host integrations in many interesting ways.

New CMS iterations allow you to do different things. One is to create headless experiences, which means you use a CMS to decouple the front-end and back-end parts of the content. You create and manage content in the back end but have multiple front ends to display that content in various ways. A typical example is to use a CMS to create content that gets published on a website and a mobile application.

Host: I’m a big history nerd. I’d love to go back in time and walk through the evolution of content management systems over the years.

Russ Chettiar: Websites started taking shape in the nineties, primarily as static HTML websites where content updates required direct code editing. Then, we had early platforms like Microsoft FrontPage and Dreamweaver that allowed non-technical users to create and manage content with some ease.

The next progression was in the 2000s, when open-sourced platforms like WordPress and Drupal emerged. They offered real content management flexibility, feature sets, back ends with user-friendly interfaces, and community-driven development. WordPress and Drupal have stuck around and matured tremendously, and they’re still the leaders in the open-source space.

More recently, the 2010s saw the rise of cloud-based and headless platforms. Mark mentioned this previously: separating content management from front-end presentation allows for more scalability, VPI-based integrations, and multichannel delivery.

Overall, content publishing and management through a CMS platform have reached great maturity levels. So much so that Gartner, the firm that published reports on CMS platform maturity, among other things, doesn’t do those rankings anymore. It now ranks digital experience platforms, which encompass far more than just content management.

Host: I’d love to explore this idea of digital experience platforms more. That’s a new term for me. Mark, could you walk us through the latest evolution of content management systems and digital experience platforms? Why should nonprofits care about these evolutions as they consider the next form of their online presence?

Mark Leta: Sure. Digital experience platforms (DXP) can intuit or understand what the user is doing and what they’re interested in. The platform then uses that information to customize or personalize the user’s experience on a website or app.

The typical approach is to define different personas within a CMS and attribute different things to that persona. As users understand which persona they fit into, you can customize different user journeys based on those personas to tailor the experience or serve each user what they want or are interested in.

People know examples from eCommerce, but this can also be done within the context of a nonprofit’s website. Understanding where a user came from, such as the channel or marketing campaign, might give us information about what they’re interested in or looking for. We can couple that with their browsing as they go through the site — what they’re clicking on and looking at — and then overlay demographic information. Based on this, we can serve up content or conversion opportunities that might appeal to them.

That’s the more modern approach to content management systems, known as DXP. It’s worth noting that DXP is a concept, and it doesn’t have to be centered on CMS. DXP can be achieved through a combination of different systems. For example, suppose you have marketing information from HubSpot and CRM data from your Salesforce CRM. In that case, you could combine that data with what you see based on a user’s browsing habits to tailor or customize the experience.

So, it’s not based on the CMS itself; there are other ways to achieve DXP. However, it’s a more modern way to personalize and customize users’ experiences.

Host: What type of integrations do you typically see nonprofits trying to do with CMS platforms?

Ren John: Many nonprofits use different systems for various purposes. They’re very familiar with these systems; there’s no one solution to rule them all. So, integrating different systems and having them talk to each other and share data becomes crucial to how they do business today and how they’ll continue to do business in the future.

We love helping nonprofits integrate their systems with various essential tools and platforms. We can integrate CRMs, donation platforms, and marketing systems. We integrate with social media, member management systems, community management systems, analytics, and search platforms. There are so many ways we can integrate a CMS with another platform.

We can push or pull data from the CMS. We’ve worked with custom integration tools, off-the-shelf products, APIs, and web services. We’ve also built custom integrations, such as forms on the CMS that can push user data into a CRM or email marketing platform. Or vice versa, creating forms that can pull data into the CMS. We’ve built tools like SSL login capabilities that can communicate a person’s login to a CRM or different web properties, collect that data, and share it among their reporting and analytics platforms.

Capturing data is one of the most important things we do. The CMS and different tools capture data and push it into reporting and analytics platforms. That helps nonprofits make better decisions about how they run their business.

There are many ways we can use the CMS and all the data we’re getting to help nonprofits continue to use the tools they are familiar with to build a richer website experience. With new AI tools and capabilities coming down the pipe, we’re excited about the next evolution of this.

Host: Say I’m a nonprofit leader. I know we need to make some serious upgrades to our online presence, and I’m considering a few different CMS platforms. What considerations should I have in mind?

Mark Leta: There are a couple of things to think about. Some are functional considerations, and some are business considerations. I’ll discuss some of the functional ones.

One is the templating and publishing flexibility you need, such as whether you’ll need to build sophisticated templates with different options or various content types. For instance, you may need a complicated workflow with several users and groups. You may also need to move new or existing data into a CMS easily, so consider your import and export needs. Also, look at your content as a whole — how complicated it is and how much you have.

Another consideration is the integration you need. Systems have different levels or ease of integration. Know whether you need to integrate your CMS with some of the other tools that Ren, Russ, and I have mentioned, whether eCRMs, traditional CRMs, marketing platforms, texting platforms, or email marketing tools. Knowing your integration needs will help determine which CMS will be a good fit.

There are also security and data privacy considerations, which are usually met by best-in-class CMSs. However, knowing whether you need things like multi-factor authentication or VPN access to logins for different SaaS solutions is essential.

Consider scalability, too. How much do you think your traffic or the volume of users coming to your site will grow over time? How well can that particular application handle that growth with your hosting setup? These are other important considerations that are good to know.

Another consideration may be multi-site support. Do you need to support one site, or do multiple sites need to be able to work off the same accounts and workflows? Will there be specific templates and content considerations for each site? Will you need to be able to share the actual setup and infrastructure across sites? All this is important to know as well.

There may also be more advanced functionalities. For instance, are you interested in a higher level of personalization through DXP? Do you need to customize the experience? What are you trying to achieve? Are you trying to take user journeys to another level? If so, can the CMS handle that out of the box, or will you have to stitch functionalities together from different systems?

Those are general, more modern functional considerations for a CMS. Russ, would you like to discuss some of the business considerations?

Russ Chettiar: Sure, Mark. From a business point of view, we recommend that our clients look at CMS choices through the following lenses. First, you’ve got to think about open source versus proprietary. Open-source platforms are those where source code is freely available, whether they want to use, modify, or distribute it. Proprietary platforms are developed and maintained by a company. Open-source products don’t have licensing costs, but proprietary products come with licensing and cost models. That’s the baseline for what you need to keep in mind.

Then, there’s your budget. Your choice will often be driven by budget or significantly impacted by the platform cost. Again, proprietary platforms come at a price, and their licensing models may be annual or perpetual. Some pricing structures are also determined by the number of domains, admin seats, users, etc. However, some products offer nonprofit discounts that we may be able to tap into.

Consider your tech preferences. You may have in-house developer talent that will drive which direction you want to go in. Typically, these platforms fall into the dot net product category or the LAMP platform category. Your in-house talent might lead you in a particular direction.

Also, what kind of support is available? Ren mentioned this earlier. A proprietary platform will come with some level of vendor support. But if it’s an open-source product, that support is typically community-based — especially if you want to add plugins or modules written by community members.

Think about brand reputation and viability, which are typically applicable to proprietary products. Before selecting, you may want to consider the brand’s longevity — how long it’s been around and its future viability.

Finally, look at the hosting infrastructure and costs. Smaller open-source platforms like WordPress are often much cheaper to host than larger platforms.

Those are the business considerations I would keep in mind.

Host: With these considerations in mind, how would you classify CMS or DXP platforms in 2024, and how can nonprofits best leverage them?

Ren John: Most CMS platforms today are open source, such as WordPress and Drupal. They have a significant market share and are typically great for small- to mid-sized nonprofits. Their licensing costs are low, they’re easy to use, and they’re mature products that, as Russ said, have been around for a long time. They also have a good community around them, so it’s easy to find answers and support from the developers who build on the platform when you need it.

Those are popular platforms, and then there are other CMSs like Sitefinity, Sitecore, and Kentico. We mainly deal with Sitefinity and Sitecore, which are better for mid-, large-, and enterprise-sized nonprofits, as they are more scalable. They have more integration capabilities built in, and the support contracts are usually better. They also have SaaS offerings to host much of the content for you. This means you’re not worrying about DevOps or hosting costs on your servers or premises.

The bigger boys have more built-out DXP platforms available. They have more features, analytics, and AI to help you segment your user populations and integrate with different systems.

Mark Leta: To add to that, an organization can sometimes have a mandate that its team must work with a particular technology stack. For instance, the internal IT group may only pursue or support a Microsoft solution. That can also be a consideration.

Large CMSs that aren’t open source sometimes have more sophisticated integrations built with other tools. For instance, the Sitecore CMS is integrated with a search platform called Coveo, and they have sophisticated site setups that use those two tools in conjunction. I don’t know whether these setups would be achievable outside of using both tools together. These arrangements can be valuable if you want a larger or more complex solution.

Host: What general tips would you give a nonprofit that’s in the market for a new CMS and is just beginning its search?

Russ Chettiar: First, do your homework. Identify your needs and what you need a CMS to accomplish. Consider features, performance, and integration with existing tools. Think about your budget and any security needs you may have. Then, try to arrange some demos.

Second, picking a vendor is as important as picking the CMS platform. If you prefer a specific CMS, evaluate and select partners from those with expertise in implementing that particular platform. Aim to leverage the benefits of your preferred CMS platform while also ensuring you collaborate with a partner who has solid design chops and understands the system’s nuances.

Finally, create a roadmap for your web access management (WAM) and CMS goals. Develop a plan that prioritizes objectives, allocates resources internally and effectively, and aligns the website’s functionality with the organization’s mission. Mark and Ren discussed DXP features like personalization and automation; you may not be there yet. But put those feature sets on your roadmap and work toward them. Aim to ensure the website and CMS evolve together to support your organization’s long-term goals.

I’ll wrap up by saying that most nonprofit organizations with mature digital plans have a website that acts as a centralized platform for telling the organization’s story and showcasing its mission and impact, in addition to doing everything else a website should do for a user’s journey. At Allegiance Group + Pursuant, we love helping our nonprofit clients meet their website experience, CMS implementation, and integration goals. So, please get in touch if you have questions.