Before you even think of evaluating the various .net cms available in the market, you need to make sure what “best CMS” means to you. If it is a CMS having all features and functionalities that you can think of; is infallible in performance; is incredibly priced and have the best support system, then you probably need to review your expectations. No CMS offers all of these.You should ideally have a list of expectations in the order of priority. Still, all CMS should, as a standard, offer the following features and you can use this list as a guideline to choose your .net-based CMS.
Extensibility
The CMS needs to be able to integrate with other systems or support customization of one or more features. This is possible if it has an extensible business layer. For example, your CMS may need to be integrated with in-house CRM systems or social media networks or support some backend customization. A CMS without these features can necessitate additional developmental work and other investments. So, when you are buying a CMS, ensure it has access to a plugin repository or to a module marketplace.
Customizable content editor
The CMS needs to be able to support content editing at different levels. For example, it may need to support features that range from complex WYSIWYG editors with HTML highlighting abilities to simpler editors that is easy to learn and manage but also does not support too many customizations. Additionally, the CMS needs to be able to support file manager so that the user is able to attach and insert files in the form of images and videos.
File manager
You might want your CMS to manage your files well, especially if you need to store a large volume of files regularly. While it is good to have a CMS that is able to manage large volumes of files, it is even better if it allows integration with external cloud storages such as Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft SharePoint. Basically, you should be able to store, organize, search, view and edit files.
Inline content editor
The inline content editor is useful when you want to edit the contact information from the footer of the website or even edit the logo. This lets you bypass the intricacies of working with the HTML code and if you do not have sufficient knowledge, there is always the risk of messing stuff up. However, you need to be careful of not allowing too many people to edit the logo because that can cause design inconsistencies.
Multilanguage support capability
Tall claims notwithstanding, most of the content management systems do not offer comprehensive support for Multilanguage. A few examples could be cited right away – language fallback support does not work. If one language does not work, all that the client receives is an error message. If you plan to have Multilanguage support on your CMS, you need to allow your clients to be able to read website content in their local language.
Angelina is a professional content writer and blogger.