Never mind the AI, pay attention to the basics when choosing a CMS

In the frenzy of AI tools and capabilities, it's easy to forget that it's often the CMS itself that can deliver the biggest impact for content teams.

by Rich Fairbairn

Published: 09:03, 07 January 2025

This article first appeared on the International News Media Association's (INMA) Content Solutions blog.

Spending the last few months at numerous publishing events has been very revealing about the state of modern publishing and media projects. 

Unsurprisingly, much of the buzzy talk is about AI, but amidst those conversations there is a danger something is being missed: You can't slap AI on bad tech and expect it to become good. Wherever AI fits into your workflows and other systems, those systems have to be good and well implemented in the first place.

I write this after speaking to numerous figures at titles around the world grappling with old systems wondering how AI can solve problems which frankly AI cannot solve. "We have a 15-year-old homebrew CMS running on local servers that only one developer understands. How can AI turn it into a blazing fast, modern system?" Hmm ... AI can do miraculous things, but it can't turn a Model T into a Model S.

For editorial teams, while investigating AI features is important, they should not blind you to learning the wider set of strengths of a new content management system (CMS). Whether that system is built by someone like us at Glide Publishing Platform or not, here is some advice to help editorial teams do more when the shiny new back-end system finally lands, whether it has AI or not.

Get closer to your tech teams

Editorial and tech teams are often at odds over content management systems. Editorial blames tech for buggy systems, and tech feels editorial folks are making unreasonable requests that cannot be achieved with the existing old systems. Decisions made many years prior mean neither "side" will ever be happy.

The good news? Modern, cloud-based SaaS (software as a service) CMS solve most of the legacy issues. They're fast, reliable, and robust out of the box, and free up both editorial and tech teams to focus on creating great content and products — not battling the CMS or each other.

It sounds self-evident, but ... talk to your tech team! Ask how the new system will save costs, improve performance, and simplify workflows, and understand their challenges so you can work better together. 

The 3 Es: embrace, engage, excite

To reap the benefits of a new CMS, editorial teams must actively engage from day one of the project, not the day it goes live. 

• Embrace the change: Don't wait to get involved. Advocate for the tools and features you need prior to the first conversations.
• Engage with the possibilities: Modern content management systems enable digital-first workflows, streamline processes, and integrate easily across platforms.
• Excite your team: A new CMS unlocks creative potential. Rally editorial, commercial, and tech teams to seize new opportunities together. 

Journalists are production pros now

Production roles have evolved. In digital publishing, journalists wear many hats: headline creators, SEO specialists, social media managers, and analytics gurus. Success now depends on being great at wildly varying tasks:

• Writing engaging headlines optimised for humans and search engines.
• Using CMS tools not just to create the content, but to categorise and surface content effectively. 
• Understanding analytics to refine content strategies. 

A strong CMS simplifies these tasks by automating fiddly things, which means editorial teams get to focus on creating content that works. Again, learning the full power of the systems helps enormously. 

Migrations: revive your old content and data

Don't overlook archived content — it's a goldmine! Legacy articles and data boost your SEO authority and enhance site rankings, and help attract new audiences to boot. 

Migrations used to be the most painful part of the process of moving content management systems, but modern systems' flexible application programming interfaces (APIs) actually making migrations the perfect time to revive and tidy old content to build topical authority, fuel AI partnerships, or launch new data-driven products. 

Don't be a CMS user — be a CMS power user

Most CMS rollouts focus on basic editorial training and what you need for day one. But modern systems evolve rapidly, and cloud content management systems for media and publishers, like Glide, can roll out dozens of new features each year. You cannot stay still.

By keeping right on top of the features in your CMS, you can:

• Identify new opportunities better (e.g. premium content, platform integrations, data projects, etc.).
• Increase collaboration with tech and product teams.
• Kickstart new ideas, knowing exactly what is possible.

Our advice is to nominate CMS experts in editorial who stay fully-up-to-date with new features. Their insight will drive innovation. 

Turn savings into growth

A modern CMS reduces workload for both editorial and tech teams. Use that freed-up time and budget to innovate. Collaborate with tech and product teams to:

• Test new ideas quickly.
• Launch new products or workflows.
• Refine strategies based on real results.

Previously, CMS development delays stifled innovation. Now, with agile systems, ideas can move from concept to test in days — not months. 

Final thoughts: a shared future

The right CMS doesn't just remove frustrations — it transforms how editorial and tech teams work together.

By actively engaging in CMS adoption, editorial teams can unlock their system's full potential and drive audience growth, whether it has AI or not!