It’s very easy to figure out what a CMS or content management system is supposed to be used for. The answer is literally in the name itself.

A CMS enables users to create, manage and modify content for their website. It provides a one-stop solution even for those who may not have any technical web development knowledge.

Setting up a website can prove to be a daunting task, particularly if you don't have the development skills required for everything to function. With a CMS, it's possible to get a website or blog up and running within a short time.

That's not all what a CMS is good for, though. If you have the development skills, a lot of value can be extracted from a content management system.

There are a lot of moving parts that go into building a functional website. You need a system that can store images, create web pages, and provide other functions like the ability for visitors to leave comments or for you to keep an eye on the metrics. All of the core infrastructure stuff is handled by the CMS.

What is Sitecore?

Sitecore is one of the widely used content management systems for a very particular reason. It goes beyond just allowing users to create and collaborate on the production and editing of web content.

This system makes it possible for users to manage the overall digital experience for their visitors across the many different channels that they use including mobile apps, social media, email, and more.

That's the main reason why Sitecore is the preferred CMS for marketers. It offers a feature-packed, customer-centric platform that allows users to create elaborate marketing campaigns, optimize content across different digital channels, track analytics data from all platforms, and more.

Features

Sitecore offers a variety of features like the Sitecore Experience Platform which brings together customer data, analytics, and marketing automation capabilities in one place, enabling businesses to deliver personalized content to their customers in real-time across any channel.

This feature is particularly powerful because of its headless architecture which makes it possible to create content just once and display it on any digital presence that the business has.

It goes further with Sitecore AI that relies on auto-personalization to identify visitor trends and create customer segments automatically so that the page elements can be modified to deliver a truly unique user experience to every individual customer.

Sitecore's ecommerce features improve customer engagement, personalize online stores with real-time context and historical insights, provide integrated marketing and promotion automation to improve conversions, and enable businesses to run their entire ecommerce operations from one place.

Content Hub gives Sitecore users a holistic view of their content landscape. They can access all of their digital content from one dashboard and use the personalization features to deliver unique user experiences. It also streamlines planning and scheduling of content production while seamlessly integrating with Sitecore's CMS and commerce solutions.

Price

Exactly how much it would cost to use Sitecore depends on two categories: License costs and partner costs. The license costs are subscription-based and they vary depending on the number of visits to the site per month, non-production installations, add-on modules, and concurrent users.

Sitecore's packages are further split into Standard, Corporate, and Enterprise tiers for websites that receive up to 2, 12, and 240 million visitors per year respectively.

The number of test and development environments needed for the business will also have a bearing on how much Sitecore will cost. The same holds true for the number of users that are concurrently using the platform.

The company also offers a variety of add-on modules that can further increase the price. These include add-ons like the Sitecore Experience Commerce and Content Hub.

The modules are in addition to the core Experience Manager and Experience Platform solutions that include the WYSIWYG editor, search options, forms, Active Directory, Sitecore JavaScript services, Sitecore AI, and more.

You would also incur partner costs if you're paying a Sitecore partner for the development and maintenance of your online presence. This cost will vary depending on the level of custom development work required, integration with other systems, any ongoing support needs, hosting, etc.

What makes Sitecore the best CMS?

Its powerful suite of features is what makes Sitecore the best CMS on the market. It offers a one-stop solution to marketers, enabling them to manage and update all of their digital channels from one single dashboard.

It eliminates the need to juggle multiple solutions and to have resources manually dedicated to operating and updating those platforms.

Sitecore makes it possible for them to collect data from any and all customer touchpoints that can then be analyzed using the provided tools to make informed decisions for enhancing the customer experience.

With the AI-based personalization functionality, every customer can be provided a completely unique experience which significantly increases conversion rates.

Companies that use Sitecore

Some of the world’s biggest companies rely on Sitecore to manage their online presence. They have given the platform a vote of confidence since they have selected Sitecore to manage their vast digital presence across the globe.

These companies aren’t going to invest their time and money in tools that don’t provide them with the results that they require.

L’Oréal is one such company. It's pursuing its goal of becoming the top digital beauty brand in the world. The company is relying on Sitecore to deliver a consistent brand experience to customers through its over 3,000 different websites.

Sitecore also makes it possible for L’Oréal to create a personalized shopping experience for customers and enable its 60 country subsidiaries to effectively localize products and scale for more growth.

The Formula-E motorsport series has leveraged Sitecore to create a global web and app experience in order to increase fan engagement. It's relying on the platform to build a community of fans for the electric-powered motorsport series.

It's highly important for Formula-E to continuously engage fans during the 13 races in 12 cities spread across 5 continents with accessible and user-friendly content.

Procter & Gamble, one of the world's biggest consumer goods companies, uses Sitecore to transform its massive global digital marketing presence. Sitecore provides it with an agile platform that reduces costs, speeds up time to market, and delivers a superior customer experience.

P&G has to manage hundreds of brand variations and online properties in excess of 800. It has a significant number of digital marketing professionals and creative agencies working with it to provide a consistent brand experience across 80 countries in dozens of languages.

The company has since consolidated 10 content management systems into Sitecore XP, thereby reducing its costs by 33%.

What Sitecore can do for your business

Every business has its own unique set of needs so what works for P&G, for example, is not necessarily going to work for a small chain of department stores. That’s beside the point, though.

What matters more are the tools that some of the world’s leading companies are using and how those tools can be leveraged by businesses of all nature to grow further.

Sitecore can help you effectively supercharge your online presence while reducing complexity. It eliminates the need to manage dozens of different systems and also to employ a lot more people to run those systems.

That’s an ineffective way of doing business in an age when it pays to be lightning fast with your online strategies.

Leveraging the Sitecore platform can help you increase sales, improve customer experience, cut costs for greater profit margins as well as easily maintain a digital presence across any and all platforms that you use.

Finding a solid Sitecore developer to build out your business

There’s much value to be extracted from the Sitecore platform and businesses that are looking to get the most out of it should work with a trusted Sitecore developer.

They will be able to develop custom solutions and ensure that Sitecore is integrated with existing systems properly so that no time and money is wasted in getting things up to speed.

Zibtek has long been a trusted partner for companies looking to make the shift to Sitecore.

Our expert advisors can work with you to determine exactly what you need out of the Sitecore platform and also walk you through what it would cost for you to use Sitecore based on the unique needs of your business.

We’re one of the fastest growing software development companies in the world, having worked with both Fortune 500 companies and startups over the past few decades.

Our team of developers operates from our offices in Salt Lake City, Utah and that’s also where we manage our global talent pool of experts. If you’re curious about what Sitecore can do for your business, just want to find out how much it may cost to use it, or require some custom development work for an existing Sitecore implementation, reach out to Zibtek today. We’ll be happy to provide you with a free consultation.