MEMORANDUM

To: Critter Cabana Stakeholders

From: Andrea Ausmus, Technical Communications
Date: November 3, 2019
Subject: Comparing CMSs and Proposed Changes

Critter Cabana has been using WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS). With the improvements of
CMSs and the wide variety of options I would like to give a CMS comparison guide and share potential
improvements to https://www.crittercabana.com/.

CMS comparison

WordPress Contentful Strapi

www.wordpress.org/ www.contentful.com strapi.io/

Cost $25/month $39/month FREE

Support Documentation In Person, Live Online, Online Documentation, Online
Webinars, Documentation Community
Platform Cloud, SaaS, Web Cloud, SaaS, Web Windows, Mac (self-hosted)
Database SQL JSON PostgreSQL, MongoDB,
SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB
Security Injection, Cross Site Scripting, ISO 27001 compliant Cross-site request forgery,
Insecure Direct Object Cross-Origin Resource Sharing,
Reference, Cross-site request Platform for Privacy
forgery Preferences, Cross-site
scripting
Blog Built-in w/ support of Framework w/ support of Framework
(Klaser) (Burgy)
CMS type Traditional Headless Headless
SEO Supports
API Supports Supports Supports
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Andrea Ausmus
Memorandum: Comparing CMSs and Proposed Changes

Crittercabana.com is run using a CMS service provided by WordPress. There are some drawbacks from the use
of WordPress as a committed CMS, some are more concerning than others (mainly higher than average
security concerns). At the same time there are many advantages that may make the choice to stay with
WordPress an easy one.
Drawbacks:

• Limited Database support

• Security
Advantages:

• Access to many supported APIs and Plugins

• Cloud-Service (can access backend of website anywhere)
• Blog and SEO support
Contentful and Strapi are two CMSs that I have reviewed as possible replacements for Critter Cabana’s
content management.

Contentful
Contentful is a pay-per-month service, with many modes of support, both in person and online. They are
trusted by industry leaders (like the locally-based Nike). Contentful is also proud of their use of a proprietary
content infrastructure to allow for flexible use of the client’s content. They are used most often by larger
companies but have plans that work better for the smaller company (the price quoted above is based on their
“Micro Space” account). Micro Space is limited but can handle the load of Critter Cabana’s current web
presence.
A concern for Contentful is the lack of Blog support. Critter Cabana currently has a blog running alongside their
website and has integrated it into the pages as an additional resource. If this is a feature that Critter Cabana
would want to continue to use, there may need to be additional tools required. Aaron Klaser provides a
tutorial of how to use React with Contentful to create a blog service compatible with Contentful’s service.
React is a free service but requires additional knowledge as it is a JavaScript logic-based tool. The extra effort
of recreating a blog space may not be worth the effort of keeping the blog if converting to Contentful.

Strapi
Strapi is an open-source solution for CMS that encourages self-hosting. The codebase of Strapi is available on
GitHub (a development platform). This resource allows for 40 million developers provide code review,
documentation, and security review. Some of the useful benefits of using Strapi are its complete
customization and flexible structuring.
Strapi also does not provide blog support. Pierre Burgy provides a tutorial on how to build a static blog using
Gatsby, a free framework for React. Understanding JavaScript would be helpful for creating this blog, but the
tutorial is complete and easy to follow.
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Andrea Ausmus
Memorandum: Comparing CMSs and Proposed Changes

Another concern for Strapi is their lack of SEO support. Aurélien Georget recognizes this problem along with
the lacking support for JSON databases. As of July 2019, Strapi has begun a new development stage that will
include updates to these concerns (Georget). One of the expansions will be to create more flexibility in their
data structure offerings allowing for management of metatags. This update is scheduled in blocks through
November.

Proposal
As of November 3, 2019, Critter Cabana is using WordPress for their content management. This is a
completely capable tool for the current state of the website. The business plan allows for monetization tools
including SEO support and analytics.
Using another CMS could make changing the website into a more user-friendly resource a viable option.
Currently the “Animals in-Stock” tables are updated directly from the page. A simple database accessible from
the page could create an option for real-time updates and could be connected to the in-store inventories.
Critter Cabana also currently does not support any ecommerce. Adding access to the in-store inventories
would also support online ordering or in-store availability.
In my experience, WordPress does not have the best support for databases. It is difficult to design and utilize
self-created and propagated databases in WordPress. Strapi, being an open-source option allows for complete
custom ability with some intense startup programming and development.
For Critter Cabana’s solution three features need to be addressed and/or met:

• Blog support –
Does Critter Cabana still want a functioning blog on their website?
Who will be updating and supporting blog posts in the future?
What is the purpose of the blog?
• SEO and Metatags –
To update and stay searchable Critter Cabana needs to create a distinct metatag inventory and
establish good SEO practices.
• Database solutions –
The way that inventory is currently being documented and updated is not sustainable.
Databases could be the solution, especially if based on real-time inventory processing happening
within the brick and mortar store.
Depending on Critter Cabana’s final decision of importance there are two solutions to their content strategy.

WordPress
WordPress is functional and with added plugins and APIs is an industry favorite. Without having a current
content strategist or web guru Critter Cabana is using the best solution by utilizing WordPress as their current
CMS. The ease of setup and accessibility is a plus for the less technical.
The concern is expandability, WordPress is limited in some capabilities (mainly database support).
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Andrea Ausmus
Memorandum: Comparing CMSs and Proposed Changes

Contentful
Contentful is a powerful CMS, however the price and the limitations of database, blog, and SEO support are
issues that make Contentful not a reasonable change for Critter Cabana. If Critter Cabana ever is interested in
ecommerce or expanding into a larger market Contentful may be a solution at that time.

Strapi
Though Strapi is limited in functionality at this time they have plans on expanding by the end of November.
This will include SEO and Metatag support, as well as increased database options. The open-source community
is very supportive of the program and has committed support through GitHub to increase usability and
security.
The greatest concern with Strapi is usability. Critter Cabana does not have technical staff to update and run
websites or content management. This means that usability is needed for those who are less technically
focused. Strapi is powerful but it is not very intuitive for a layperson’s use.

Proposed Solution
As of now I recommend continued use of WordPress. An update of the website is necessary but would not be
worth a migration to a new CMS.
In the future, I do recommend looking at Strapi as a long-term solution. The increased security of a dedicated
server and the added functionality of Strapi as CMS are benefits that would improve Critter Cabana’s web
presence.
When ready for this change, Critter Cabana should look at contracting a short-term Content Strategist to
convert to the new system and create the back end for the inventory database (as associated with the store’s
inventory).
At this time the benefit of the blog should be discussed. If there is still a desire for a blog there should be a
dedicated blogger to keep the information up to date. The decision can also be made as to whether the blog
should be ported through Strapi as a WordPress blog or as a dedicated blog from a Strapi-Gatsby solution.

If you are interested in any other insights or about CMS planning in greater detail, please feel free to contact
me at any time.
I can be reached by phone at 971-506-3706 or by email at [email protected].
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Andrea Ausmus
Memorandum: Comparing CMSs and Proposed Changes

Websites Referenced
Contentful - https://www.contentful.com/

Gatsby - https://www.gatsbyjs.org/

GitHub - https://github.com/

Strapi GitHub - https://github.com/strapi/strapi

React - https://reactjs.org/

Strapi - https://strapi.io

WordPress - www.wordpress.org/

References
Burgy, P. (2019, June 15). Building a Static Blog using Gatsby and Strapi. Retrieved from https://strapi.io/blog/building-a-static-
website-using-gatsby-and-strapi.

Georget, A. (2019, July 9). Strapi's Monthly Update - July 2019 edition. Retrieved from https://strapi.io/blog/monthly-update-july-
2019.

Klaser, A. (2018, January 30). Building a Blog with React and Contentful. Retrieved from https://hackernoon.com/building-a-blog-
with-react-and-contentful-fd538f68f6fb.