How To Choose The Best CMS For Mobile Apps In 2024

If you’re someone who has made the switch from a website to a mobile device for faster usage, or smoother checkout, or to read a blog post better, you’ve witnessed the benefit of a content management system. The phrase “mobile CMS” is widely used by marketing teams. The customer may not be aware, but these are the systems that help connect content creation to delivery via different channels.

In today’s mobile first world, it makes sense for a business to have CMS for mobile apps. Over 90% of websites report seeing unique visitors from mobile devices. This supports the fact that having a best CMS to manage content is essential now, more than ever.

Optimising desktop for a mobile view might be a method of cutting short on time and work. Yet, the guarantee of customer satisfaction is not granted. Not many consumers are willing to deal with slower loading times or non optimised websites.

So how do you cater to a generation where around 61% of users never return to a website that’s not user friendly? The answer is to choose a content management system that aids your businesses growth in the present, and in the long run.

What is a CMS for mobile apps?

To understand how a CMS for mobile apps works, let’s envision a sample task. For instance, publishing a piece of content on a website. The content that you create will be the ‘body’. Elements such as the design, layout, formatting and others that the audience can view is the ‘head’.

In a monolithic content management system, the head and the body are interconnected. This works best when the content is being published on a single static website. But amidst a plethora of devices available today, a best CMS cannot stop at websites. Its features need to extend to form a central control system. This allows one to edit, publish and manage content on different platforms.

Why go for a CMS for mobile apps?

The era of a business restricted to websites and retail stores is now being replaced. It is transitioning to a generation that has an array of devices. Mobiles, smartphones and smart watches now bridge the gap between the online and the offline. In this era, businesses strive to create a brand journey that ensures customer satisfaction and retention. Some of the top CMS platforms include WordPress, Hubspot CMS Hub, Joomla, WooCommerce, Drupal, Wix etc.

There is an increased demand for content across multiple devices, especially mobile. Having the best CMS for mobile apps allows seamless display of content across multiple devices. In simple terms, content that can be displayed on a smartwatch, on a social media website, and on mobile can ensure a smoother user experience for your audience.

Based on today’s CMS technology, choosing one that has a good return on your marketing efforts is crucial. The main types of CMS include,

1. API first CMS

Commonly called a headless CMS for mobile apps, they are designed to distribute content to a variety of channels. API first CMS is a popular CMS methodology that is adopted for developing mobile app CMS. This caters to an omnichannel way of business. The content is stored in a built-in database. An API first CMS has several options as to how the final look of the content will be, to users. This is a more flexible system for content and front end management to build an interface and use API to serve consistent content from websites to apps, smart watches, connected home devices and so on.

2. Open source CMS

There are open source Content Management Systems such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and others that are publicly available and editable, for a number of applications. These systems are updated by the online community. Choosing an open source CMS requires an in house development team with the right expertise.

Open source CMS need IT support and might be difficult for marketers to handle on their own. There are advantages to that tag along with open source CMS. It may be a cost effective plan, but the expenditure may increase on IT staffing and third party development resources.

3. MBaaS as a CMS

Mobile backend as a service (MBaaS) is beneficial as a content management system. It is one of the most popular CMS that allows developers to build an app once and have it work on different operating systems. It is a cloud computing offering that connects applications to the required resources, with security and management controls in place.

The MBaaS service has customisable options once chosen by the business. Options include support across multiple platforms and devices,an analysis dashboard, user interface testing and so on. MBaaS allows organizations to develop an app once and work across multiple operating systems.

4. Deconstructing a CMS: features to look out for

It is a priority to look out for the features that one may require, before choosing on a CMS for your business. Certain required features can be built by developers, for a custom approach on your CMS. But if you’re looking for a resource that saves time for you and your team and offers a seamless experience for your users at the end, here are some features to keep in mind,

• Intuitive dashboard

• Easy to use interface

• Easy administration

• Built in SEO tools

• Multiple language support

• Tools for seamless deployment

• Security

• Technical support

• Multi channel publishing

• Extensibility

From the era of website content management systems to distributing content on various channels including mobile, it is essential for a content management system to be reimagined in terms of features and function.

It must include the ability to re use existing content as a mobile native content on the device. The best CMS should be able to save you ample backend development time, allowing you to focus on your business strategy and on providing a seamless user experience to your customers.

1. Omnichannel is key

In this increasingly omnichannel world, being limited to a website or a device reaps lesser benefits. It gives the idea of a brick and mortar store online, with no access to the customers that are present beyond the suited location.

To truly build customer loyalty and sales, reaching out on multiple channels is key, which is what headless CMS for mobile apps can help do. If the intention is to compete in this competitive omnichannel world, the chosen CMS should not be limited to just mobile devices, but also be open to experiences such as AR/VR and other technologies that the audience of today interact with.

2. A robust CMS, for multiple language support

Understand your user scenarios for better insights into the features that your app might require. When a consumer interacts with your business in order to achieve an objective, is the process seamless globally? That’s where the importance of translating your brand message such that it’s unified internationally, comes into place.

Most companies choose an open source CMS such as WordPress with an integration with WPML plugin. But when choosing a content management system, it’s essential to have quality translations, with complete Unicode support, and tools to edit and display any language accurately. An added advantage of some CMS is the pseudo localization tool that helps simulate translation requirements during the development stage to ensure the absence of bugs and other issues.

3. Analytics, the key to customer behavior

A CMS with a powerful analytic tool can help gain insights into user behavior for better targeting and personalised marketing. Data is key, but with the varied sources and devices that we have around us, obtaining information from them all, is the challenge. The CMS must be equipped to handle analytics from multiple devices and platforms.

Analytics such as search intent and keywords helps understand the customers concern. These elements can be incorporated into your content to tailor it to gather more leads and customers. When content is combined with analytics, with a CMS that integrates them across multiple platforms, your marketing performance is bound to yield good results.

4. Explore your options

Choosing the right CMS for your needs can be the tool that leads to the success of your brand. Enquire within your marketing and IT team, regarding the features required from a CMS. Comparison of the tools available can narrow down your options.

If you plan on publishing on a single platform, traditional CMS might be the cheaper and best alternative, than other content management systems. When omnichannel is the aim, headless CMS for mobile apps to work best. But with any CMS, it is always advised to compare, request demos and look into industry recommendations for better insights.

5. Make a requirement checklist

If you determine that a CMS is the need of the hour, it is advised to enquire within the team regarding the requirements and the business objectives you expect to meet with its usage.

How frequently will the site be updated? Are the technical skills in house good enough to manage development work? Are the costs and maintenance covetable? Answering these questions and more can help determine the kind of CMS that best suits your objectives. Compare specific solutions such as implementation costs, integration, analytic to decide on a cost effective requirement based CMS.

6. Framework agnostic CMS

There are various mobile app development frameworks with a set of requirements, strengths and limitations. Some popular frameworks include,

• React Native

• Flutter

• Ionic

• Phone gap

• Xamarin

While most are open source frameworks, a CMS must be framework agnostic and must not be limited to work within a particular framework. With framework agnostic models come easy content management, productivity unrestricted innovation and omnichannel marketing.

7. Scalability for better efficiency

One important component that has a direct effect on your app's success is scalability. Your mobile app content management system needs to be able to handle more requests per minute and adjust to changing user habits. This must be both during and after deployment as your application expands and draws in more users, clients, and customers. 

The best CMS for mobile apps should be able to efficiently handle your content process, guaranteeing flexibility and agility in a constantly shifting market. The content management system for mobile apps you select needs to be strong enough to grow with your company. This is regardless of whether you go with a headless CMS for mobile apps or something else.

Choosing a mobile content management platform that provides dependable mobile content management solutions is essential for CMS application development. As the app expands, this guarantees that your mobile content manager can continue to provide high-quality, consistent material. 

Alongside other characteristics, scalability should be given top priority while selecting the finest CMS. Your app may flourish with a mobile-friendly CMS that uses cutting-edge mobile content management software to handle growth without sacrificing user experience or functionality.

8. A content repository for content reuse

A strong content repository should be provided by a content management system for mobile apps, making it simple for your team to update and reuse previously created information. Because it makes content distribution and maintenance tasks more efficient, this feature is essential to an app content management system. 

Your marketing team can cut down on the amount of time and money spent on content production, review, and upkeep by using a mobile app content management system as a repository. Reduced translation expenses, better content consistency, and higher-quality content overall are some of the advantages. 

The CMS functions as a repository that lets you rapidly select the necessary content for any channel. This can be a website, mobile app, or another platform, and customize it for a bespoke customer experience. Thus, it guarantees efficiency and consistency among all touchpoints.

9. Rely on product demos

More than going through a providers website and contemplating on the features, a better insight into how a CMS really functions is provided by product demos. While choosing one, ensure that product demos are attended by the team members to gain valuable insights.

As it isthr marketing and IT team who engage with the CMS the most, their requirements can also be highlighted to create a custom CMS for your business to boost sales.

10. Tailor your personalised CMS for mobile apps

There might be certain projects where the features offers by regular or enterprise based CMS might not be feasible enough. In such cases, only in the present of an agile development team, one can consider tailoring a personalised CMS. This works best in the case of smaller projects as the costs that accompany are hefty.

Down the road,building a management system is a lot of time, money and resources and is only done in rare cases. The end product might be tailored to all our requirements, but unless it is a smaller project with allocated budget and resources, using an existing solution is advised.

11. Focus on security features 

Security should always come first when choosing a CMS for your mobile app, mainly if it handles sensitive customer data like credit card numbers or personal information. The CMS should provide robust security protections you select to protect this information. 

End-to-end data encryption safeguards information both during transit and retrieval, multi-factor authentication fortifies user logins, and frequent safety updates, which fix gaps as they appear, are important security features to look for. 

CMS should also offer safe API connectors and adhere to industry norms such as GDPR or HIPAA. This guarantees that your software satisfies regulatory requirements and preserves customer confidence.

In addition to shielding your app and its users from dangers, Secure CMS promotes credibility and confidence. Keeping a faithful user base and abiding by the law depends on this.

12. Embrace Mobile-First CMS Design

CMS application development in 2024 requires a mobile-first design approach. Given the growing prevalence of mobile devices, a mobile-friendly CMS is essential. It is designed to optimize content for touch interfaces, small screens, and diverse mobile experiences. 

Your content will be entertaining and readily accessible on all devices if you use a mobile content management platform designed with these requirements. If you want to offer seamless user experiences, any mobile content manager must employ this strategy. 

Mobile content management software should allow for rapid and effective content modification by utilizing its responsive design features. To increase customer loyalty and happiness, prioritize CMSs that focus on mobile content management solutions. 

This is when you look at how to choose the best CMS. Hence, it will eventually boost the success of your app. 

The best content management system should do the job of simplifying and ensuring that your content repository runs smoothly across multiple devices. It enables better content modeling, allowing a different experience from various devices. A content management system reinvents the practice of creating and publishing on one site, modifying it best to boost customer satisfaction.

The top content management systems can work wonders for your business as long as it suits the purpose of your requirement and needs. It helps provide a consistent customer experience across all touch points and provides complete autonomy over content sharing.

Are you looking to connect with the experts on content management systems for mobile? At Toobler, we combine the right technology, people and processes to strengthen your engagement with the target audience. 

Schedule an appointment with our experts today.