A quick summary of points for and against implementing a content management system.

Pros

1. Simplification of editorial process ? quick and easy to put content online and re-edit if necessary, the editing software allows html and images for full flexibility.
2. Built in functionality ? print page, pdf, email this, newsfeeds and letters, site search etc all built in automatically.
3. Member area ? built in private area for members if required where pay for view content can be run for subscribers.
4. Expansion ? compatibility with hundreds of add-on modules for additional functions such as commerce, multimedia, languages, forums etc.
5. Open source ? software is constantly being developed and improved with online help available in form of support forums.
6. Ad management ? compatible with additional advanced ad management software and geo-targeting capabilities.
7. Browser compliant ? looks and operates the same across all browsers with optional functions to change text and layout sizes.
8. Publishing ? articles can be published and set on a page as soon as they are ready without the need for a daily upload.
9. Statistics ? includes advanced and reliable statistics for each article and the entire site.
10. Software ? alleviates the requirement to use antiquated software such as the problematic editing software.
11. Hardware ? local computers will not require upgrading as the system runs entirely online.

Cons

1. Hosting ? complete change of server and hosting required involving lengthy and complex transfer of existing site. We will also need to build up a relationship with a new hosting company where support will be of paramount importance.
2. Server ? requires a far more powerful server to handle the hundreds of database requests per second likely to be generated by our volume of traffic.
3. Learning curve ? all editorial and technical staff will need to learn an entirely new system of operation with many teething problems expected.
4. Internet connection ? would need to be a lot more reliable and faster as the system runs entirely online.
5. Troubleshooting ? unless 24 hour tech support is acquired fixing technical problems with the system core could take time.
6. Search engines ? current rankings will suffer due to a drastic change in URL?s and the file system, existing inbound links (unless to the root domain.com) will all be broken affecting the rankings even further. We anticipate 6 months to a year after launch for search engine rankings to return to what they are today.
7. Security ? due to the open source nature of the software it is far more vulnerable to attack from hackers looking for exploits in the code. Since the demo version was installed a newer version of Joomla (1.0.9) has already been launched. Site administrators must be extremely vigilant with security issues.
8. Design flexibility ? the system will no longer use static pages so most design flexibility will be lost on main index pages however we are still researching the systems layout limitations. We may be in danger of looking like every other site out there.
9. Template design ? in order to create our own personalized templates for the software to maintain the look and feel of the current site the work will probably need to be out-sourced to Joomla design and programming professionals at an additional cost.
10. Conversion ? converting our existing site consisting of thousands of static pages is expected to be a lengthy and complex process and needs a lot of investigation before being attempted.
11. Compatibility ? all of our existing functions such as related articles, sub index pages, ad layout and positioning, static pages, and links would need to be investigated for compatibility with the new system.