Tips for Creating and Managing Content

Before you create online content, you need to have a way to share it with others. Having access to great writers, editors, pictures, and stories is important — but if you can't post these to your Web site, they'll do little to further your mission.

One popular way to manage content is via a content management system (CMS), software that allows you to upload copy, images, and more to your Web site with little or no technical expertise. If you've been wondering whether a CMS is right for your organization, we'll provide you with a list of reasons why they can help, along with tips for keeping content under control once the CMS has been implemented.

Why You Should Consider a CMS

No matter how big or small your organization, a CMS can help you create and organize content, now and down the road. Here are just some of the ways a CMS can benefit your nonprofit for years to come.

1. A CMS can help you make updates.

Anyone who has ever struggled to update his or her organization's Web site knows that a site that you can't edit is virtually worthless. A CMS offers an easy, standardized way to make edits and other changes to your site via a user-friendly interface, regardless of your technical know-how.

Moreover, even if you're just entering and editing basic content, the time and frustration saved by using a CMS can be enormous, freeing you up to focus on what you're saying, not how you're getting it onto the site. After all, if the bar to editing is set too high, your content will suffer.

2. A CMS allows you to create a standard look and feel.

As a nonprofit, you may occasionally create new, additional Web sites to launch a particular project or grant. Re-coding these sites to match the look and feel of your "home site" can be time-consuming and expensive. A CMS, however, allows you to duplicate the look and feel of an existing site much more easily so that you can begin to add and update content right away.

3. CMSs are scalable.

Since most CMSs are scalable — meaning that you can use them for just a few basic functions, or a lot of complicated ones — implementing one allows you to grow into new tools and features at your own pace. For example, while some organizations may use a CMS for basic editing, authoring, and publishing, others may incorporate advanced features or approval processes into theirs.

This same scalability also allows you to add to your site over time. While you might initially use a CMS to post events or a news announcements to your home page, a CMS can adapt to expanded features and new pages, meaning that, as your Web site grows, so does your ability to manage it.

4. A CMS can help you create effective content.

As many nonprofits are aware, Web sites can languish on a development server while you're waiting for content to launch. Oftentimes, content must be hand-coded into a site, resulting in long delays if you're understaffed or overly busy.

A CMS can often help things along because it can be accessed by a variety of staff members. The staff member who oversees events, for example, can add them directly to your site without waiting for a programmer; your executive director can post messages to constituents directly. This also means that you can remove content from the site more quickly, saving your Web site from looking neglected or out-of-date.

Creating Compelling Content

Now that you have a way to add content to your Web site, how do you know what to include? Below, you'll find strategies for keeping your Web site fresh and exciting.

1. Ask one person to oversee communications.

Even if you don't have the funds to support a full-time communications expert, try to assign one person on your team to manage communications on your site. That person doesn’t have to do all of the work, but rather oversee it, maintaining a calendar of upcoming events and launches, identifying target audiences, and keeping a record of announcements and updates. This way, if confusion about the communications schedule arises, you'll know who to turn to.

2. Keep it fresh.

Having fresh content on your Web site will encourage readers to return frequently and prevent it from looking like you've gone out of business. Your mission doesn’t have to change, but your stories do.

What if you're unsure what to write about? Consider recent accomplishments, no matter how small. Published? Provided a great service? Secured a grant? Write about it in plain language and publish it on your site.

Don't overlook the everyday triumphs either: When considering what to post on your Web site, don’t forget about the dynamic things that you're already doing. While it's easy to focus on bigger changes at your organization — new board members, new volunteers, new classes, new donors, new staff — don't overlook all of the dynamic, community-bettering things you do every day.

Above all, don’t worry about writing "perfect" content — just get it out there.

3. Consider pushing dynamic data to your Web site automatically.

Teach classes as part of your mission? Look into integrating your class database with your Web site so that your site updates every time you enter a new class. Free, open-source CMSs like Plone, Joomla, and Drupal can all do this, but require a programmer or someone familiar with the software to configure this feature.

4. Write for the Web.

The writing rules you learned in a high-school or college writing class (lots of information up front, payoff at the very end) don't necessarily work well on the Web, where you need to get to your main point right away.

If you're new to writing for the Web, there are many articles that can help you. Below are a few of our favorites:

• Writing Online: Best Practices
  Guidelines, tips, and hints for writing more effective Web content from ONE/Northwest.
• Writing for the Web
  How to get your message across as quickly as possible, from online experts Web Design from Scratch.

5. Hire a specialist.

If you're still struggling with adding content to your Web site, you may wish to contract with a local marketing or public relations firm that specializes in working with nonprofits. Though this requires some investment upfront, an expert can help you create a content strategy that works for your organization, saving you money and time over the long run.