Quote:
Originally Posted by quantum-x
Apologies - I was talking in terms of back end load / load balancing. It's no secret that elevatedx can stand up to high traffic  |
Thanks, scalability is not something we mention much because to us it should be automatic (sadly for most cms systems this is not the case). The ease of scalability is probably something we should mention more and make more people aware of.
That's one thing I'll point out since this is "what should I buy" thread. Whether you buy a custom or 3rd party cms it's critical that it has the ability to scale with you as your sites and your business grow.
Here are some tips and suggestions for anyone shopping for a CMS.
First of all, be aware of the fact that you're making an investment in technology that is going to help you run your business.
1) Do your homework. Ask around, see what's out there and do some research.
2) Contact the company and ask for a demo. Do they seem knowledgeable? Do they seem like they actually care about you or are you just another sale to them?
3) Ask questions. Not sure what to ask? Don't be afraid to ask open ended questions like "What are some common questions people ask?"
4) Make sure the product has the features you feel you need. Don't be impressed by a massive list of features, the only ones that matter are the ones you will actually use and the ones that are beneficial to you personally.
5) Make sure it can scale with you as your sites and your business grow. This is so important.
6) Find out if the company charges you to scale, add more servers, etc. and how much they charge.
7) Make sure it's easy to use and that the company selling it will help you learn to use it if you need help.
8) Make sure it fits your budget and makes sense to you. Figure out how much time you will save by owning the product and how many memberships you'll need to sell to pay for it. If you only need to make 5 sales per month to pay for a system that will let you run dozens of sites and do almost all the work for you it's a good deal.
Let's say you have 5 sites and each site only needs to make 1 sale during the course of an entire month to fully pay for your cms...not a difficult task and a small expense for something that will save you tens of thousands of dollars each year not to mention all the time it will save you, time you should be spending on marketing your business.
9) Make sure the company has a history of offering its customers frequent updates.
Most software companies in our industry only offer new features and updates once every few years. Often they don't do so until they are forced by a competitor.
The sad thing is that the supposed "leading companies" in our industry allow their products to stagnate for years until they become outdated. They don't offer their customers anything new until someone new comes along and raises the bar beyond their reach and forces them to make improvements just to stay competitive.
It's also helpful if the updates you get include new or innovative features and make use of new and emerging technology.
The last thing you want is to invest in something and end up stuck using a product that's severely outdated.
10) Make sure the company has a good track record and its users are speaking out frequently and positively about the product and the service.
11) Make sure you will receive personal attention from the company beyond the initial sale.
12) Really think about the decision and don't let price alone be the deciding factor. Sure, price will play a part but remember that the time you'll lose if you make the wrong choice is not something you can recover.
The bottom line is you need to know what you're getting and be sure that it will be right for you.