A website content management system is used to publish a wide range of content. These can be simple pages, complex pages dynamic information sourced from databases, training materials, online manuals, and general business documents. The websites can range from large ecommerce sites to personal blogs, from school lessons to corporate sites. There can be thousands of pages with extensive linking between pages.

To select a successful content management system, you must first determine the objectives for the site. There is no "magic bullet" that will cover everybody's wants or needs. All parties involved will have their own individual ideas and input and each must be addressed equally.

The requirements can be divided into the following groups in order to make things go smoother: Content Creation, Content Management, Publishing, Presentation, and Contract and Business. This list is an overview of the complete lifespan of a website content management system. It follows from the initial period of creating the content and ends with finally presenting the content to the end user.

Content creation is the functionality required by the authors who are going to create the material that is going to show up in the website. For a cms to be successful, it must be easy to create and maintain content. The core of the system is content management, which is usually a central repository, supported by a range of tools for manipulating and managing the content. The key parameters here are version control & archiving, workflow, security, integration with external systems, and reporting.

The final web pages are generated by the publishing engine, which uses content that has been stored in the repository. Stylesheets and page templates are key requirements for this process. Other requirements may include the ability to support multiple page formats (such as print, pdf, html, and wap). The webmaster may wish to also use personalization and usage statistics for larger sites.

Content presentation is another important aspect that must not be neglected. The appearance and layout of the web pages will be dependent upon decisions made on this facet. To provide the most value to your users, the page presentation must meet certain criteria. They are as follows: usability, accessibility, cross-browser support, speed, navigation and metadata.

The final requirement, contract and business, relates to the project management and business procedures when the website content management system is being implemented by a third party or vendor. Some of the parameters which need to be addressed are training for using the cms, skills required for running and maintenance, documentation, resource requirements in terms of hardware/software or any specific databases, cost, scalability, etc.

The success of a website may be determined by the content management system. Because this system may be a multi-million dollar effort, in the case of an enterprise-wide endeavor, it is imperative the system conforms to current and future needs. Perhaps the most critical task is to determine your goals and requirements. Accomplishing this task should include the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.