Mastering Product Strategy with Free CMS: Navigating Solutions in Lean Times

In an era of tight budgets, the prospect of leveraging powerful tools without spending a dime is akin to hitting the jackpot. CMSs simplify life, enabling content editing, creation, and publication without delving into the development backlog.

If you’re grappling with tight budgets and seeking practical solutions to boost your results, free CMSs are precisely what you need. In my cross-industry experience, discovering these tools felt like stumbling upon a valuable solution. We not only enhanced our internal campaigns but also kept our users at the forefront, monitoring their behavior, all without spending a penny.

It’s free, but if it costs anything, what, 10 dollars? The brilliance of free CMSs lies in their ability to offer robust features even in financially challenging times. These tools not only streamline content management but also make it accessible to marketing teams, enabling us to achieve ambitious goals without compromising the budget.

Now, without further ado, let’s delve into how these CMSs operate, highlight the market leaders, and pinpoint what you need to keep an eye on.

Alternatives Amid Cost-Cutting Measures

In times of lean budgets and workforce cuts, the pursuit of free alternatives becomes a survival strategy. My experience dealing with stakeholders determined to cut paid tools and embrace free ones inspired me to explore and share the effectiveness of these solutions.

Imagine situations where urgent communication is vital to the user experience:

• Notifying about systemic failures, new service hours, or changes in legislation.
• Conducting a conversion campaign.
• Conducting surveys.
• Communicating specifically to a user group.
• Free CMSs excel in the speed of communication, allowing for the agile implementation of new components, without the complexity and long timelines associated with traditional development.

CMS Strategy

Understanding if the CMS aligns with your product strategy is crucial; after all, it’s not about the solution, it’s about the problem. A CMS is about fast and efficient communication with your customers. However, this solution may stem from various problems:

• Your product undergoes constant changes (prices, merchandise, etc.).
• Your user lacks information about your product (a new feature, a change in business rules, a new version, etc.).
• Your user needs to be informed about a systemic failure, a legislative issue, or a special service hour.
• Your user doesn’t upgrade or purchase new features.
• Your users are still unknown to you in some aspects (what do they think of the current purchasing journey of your e-commerce?).
• Your user prefers to open support tickets to ask questions that could be resolved with a banner or a pop-up.
• Your user still doesn’t understand some parts of your system and needs a reminder.
• Your user is new and needs information about the functionality of your system (onboarding).

Identify with any of these situations? Then, stay tuned; you may need to assess the possibility of using a CMS to help you.

Implementation and Operation

After initial configuration by the development team, guided by design experts to maintain visually pleasing component choices, the CMS is installed effortlessly. This agile approach speeds up processes, allowing real-time adaptations, crucial in dynamic environments.

CMS Giants: Strapi and Contentful

Let’s talk about the big players: Strapi andContentful. Three giants with distinct characteristics and unique capabilities. I’ll break down the strengths and weaknesses of each, considering usability, scalability, and customization.

Strapi

Strapi

Strapi is a CMS built with Node.js. It allows you to create fast and easily controllable JavaScript APIs, isolating the back-end from the front-end.

Advantages

• Customizable: Strapi offers complete flexibility. You can customize content and users according to your project’s specific needs.
• Headless API: Manage and access content across all your applications through a RESTful API.
• Database Compatibility: Works with various databases such as PostgreSQL, MongoDB, SQLite, MySQL, and MariaDB.

Disadvantages

• Learning Curve: Installation and initial configuration can be complex for beginners.
• Limited Resources: Although highly customizable, Strapi doesn’t offer as many ready-made features as other CMSs.

Value

Strapi has a free open-source version but also offers paid plans for support and additional features.

Contentful

Contentful

Description: Contentful is a CMS that stands out for real-time collaboration and permission management.

Advantages

• Efficient Collaboration: Optimizes real-time collaboration, allowing you to create content libraries with managed permissions.
• Security and Regular Updates: Contentful focuses on security and provides regular updates.

Disadvantages

• Cost: Can be more expensive compared to other options.
• Complexity for Beginners: The learning curve can be steep for new users.

Value

Contentful offers a free trial, but prices vary based on the number of spaces, users, and necessary features.

So, Which CMS Do You Need?

When facing the decision between Strapi and Contentful and it’s crucial to consider your specific needs. Each CMS comes with its own advantages and disadvantages, and the right choice is intricately linked to the unique requirements of your project, the learning curve, and the scope of your product.

I encourage you to value not only the cost savings but the substantial transformation that these free CMSs can bring to your strategy. Incorporating these tools doesn’t just mean optimizing costs; it’s a solid investment in innovation and resilience. Be prepared to see beyond the numbers and recognize the transformative potential that these choices can bring to your product. At the end of the day, the decision goes far beyond the budget — it’s about shaping the future of your product with wisdom and strategic vision.

Was this article helpful? Leave a comment! And if you have any success stories using CMS, let’s have a conversation!

Amanda Bento, also known as Mands, is a Product Manager with over five years of experience, a Mulheres de Produto Ambassador, and a professional writer. In addition to having a degree in Philosophy, she holds an MBA in Project Management and loves writing. You can purchase her books here and also follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn.