Bucknell Web Development

After the Demos

So you've made it through the endless Content Management Systems demos. You've compared the features, asked all the questions you can think of, weighed the pros and cons of each, reviewed the feedback from your community, considered the costs, and overall spent so much time on this project that the systems are blurring together and you're seeing CMS system images in your dreams!

The Calm Before the Storm

But you've made a choice. For better or worse, one system has floated to the top. The coins have been flipped. Straws chosen. Petals plucked. Contract negotiations are at last underway. Since this is our second time going through this process, here's what I've learned: take advantage of this calm phase. Make some updates to your personal page. Check your web statistics. Tweak your search engine. Because when the implementation team shows up and the installation is done, this calm phase will be nothing but a sweet memory. You'll be neck deep in training, learning to build templates, devising a plan for migrating your site, developing training materials. You're about to enter the busiest phase imaginable, because while you're learning this new system, the day to day maintenance of your current site doesn't stop.

So take a deep breath. It might be your last opportunity for awhile.

Well, we've done it. We've selected Ingeniux for our next CMS. And although our recent mantra has been: "No CMS is perfect, no CMS is perfect," I have to admit my expectations are high. Ingeniux is a small but well-established company with lots of higher education clients. We're anticipating that this will mean a) that we'll get personalized customer service, b) that our requests will be heard, and c) that the
specialized requirements of a higher education web site will be understood and given priority.

Our next step is to start a dialogue with the Ingeniux team. Over the next few weeks we'll be developing an implementation plan. The Web Team will go through intensive training, learning to administer the system and to develop the necessary templates. We'll be developing a timeline for software installation, web team training, site migration, and end-user training.

Lots
of hard work ahead, but I'm eager to get started. Our current system is still functional but it's getting rusty and temperamental. So, for better or worse, here we go. Hello, Ingeniux.