Growing businesses — scalable content management systems

For efficiency, consistency and flexibility, growing companies should consider utilizing scalable content management systems (CMS) in establishing their online presence.

With growth comes the growing challenge of content management in general.

For example, the larger a company, the more likely it is that content will be produced by multiple departments, divisions, teams or individuals. If the content management system does not support collaboration between content teams and individuals, it can become very difficult to maintain the quality of published material and consistent communication.

If the business is expanding into new markets, this usually also means producing content in multiple languages and with appropriate localization. A content management system with multi-language support and version tracking is ideal for this — making it easier and simpler to manage and control translations and maintain brand communication guidelines, thus speeding up content management workflows.

When the CMS is not scalable…

Non-scalable CMSs prioritize ease of use, cost-effectiveness or simplicity over enterprise-level functionality. These content management systems may perfectly serve the needs of individuals, freelancers or small businesses, but they lack the flexibility and functionality to meet the needs of large enterprises.

Such CMSs may not be suitable for managing large amounts of content, creating unique content categories, content types, or even for managing media files.

If the architecture of the CMS is rigid, monolithic, does not support modular development, integration of third-party services or customization of features, it will have difficulty adapting to changing needs. It is also a disadvantage if it does not support the integration of various enterprise software, marketing automation tools, API integrations — or if it takes a long and costly development effort to integrate such tools.

If the performance of the site is degraded because the CMS cannot cope with surges in traffic or content volume, the CMS is also not suitable for serving high traffic sites. Inadequate caching and database functionality, as well as a lack of optimization features, can cause slow page loads and frequent downtime.

You may also run into limitations with a non-scalable CMS if it lacks features that support collaboration in content creation. Without features such as content approval, role-based permissions management or version tracking, workflow efficiency quickly deteriorates.
The use of CMSs that are not designed for scalability often also entails security risks. Enterprise-level data management requires robust security protocols.

Scalable CMSs: an example

Drupal is widely regarded as one of the most scalable content management systems.

It stands out because it handles increasing complexity, traffic and content volume without sacrificing performance.

Its scalability is based on its modular architecture. Drupal is designed to be a flexible, component-based system, which means that functionality can be added gradually as your needs grow. It is not a rigid, predefined, "one-size-fits-all" system, but a CMS that can be built uniquely, piece by piece, with developers adding only the features and modules that are actually needed.

Drupal is designed so that when an organization starts small, it can start with a simple configuration and then, as the business grows, it can expand with more advanced features and integrations. This modularity extends to everything from managing complex workflows to integrating with third-party systems.

Among other things, Drupal supports scalability through its robust content management capabilities. 

Large organizations, especially those operating in multiple regions and markets, often manage huge volumes of content that need to be managed, localized and distributed efficiently. Drupal's content management features allow businesses to easily manage content creation and complex publishing processes that target multiple regions, markets, languages, and more. 

The customizability of the admin interface with flexible taxonomy and content type management options helps to categorize and organize large amounts of content, and the support for multilingualism makes localization seamless.

Another important aspect of Drupal's scalability is that it handles heavy traffic efficiently, and thanks to performance-enhancing techniques such as caching, load balancing and database optimization, Drupal-based sites run smoothly even under heavy load.

Security is another critical factor in Drupal's favor — perhaps its security is its most well-known advantage. The system's dedicated security team is constantly issuing updates and patching potential vulnerabilities. The architecture of Drupal is also designed with security in mind. Any number of user roles can be created, and it is possible to define in minute detail which roles have which permissions, which functions they can access, which content they can access.

Another strength of Drupal is that it is designed to integrate seamlessly with a wide range of third-party applications and services. Whether it's a marketing automation platform like Marketo, a CRM like Salesforce, or a payment gateway, Drupal has the flexibility that allows integration with such systems.