The CMS doesn't stop you from doing things right - but it won't do it for you

The tools you use don't enforce good practice - but they don't prevent it either.

The illusion of safety

There's a comforting belief shared by many content editors: "If the CMS lets me do it, it must be fine."

But most CMS platforms are built to accommodate a wide range of user needs - not enforce best practices. They'll let you skip heading levels, paste text with no structure, add vague link text, upload massive inaccessible PDFs, and leave alt text blank.

Not because those are good choices - but because you might have a legitimate reason to do them.

The CMS is a tool, not a gatekeeper. And just like any tool, it can be used well or poorly.

What the CMS does do

Your CMS isn't trying to trick you. In fact, it gives you everything you need to do things right - if you know what to look for.

A structured editor with headings, lists, and image fields, dedicated fields for alt text, page titles, and link labels, rich text controls for lists, quotes, and emphasis, and the ability to preview how something looks before it goes live.

These tools are scaffolding. They support you. But they don't supervise you.

The CMS won't correct you when you bold text instead of using a heading, write "Click here" for every link, upload an image with no description, paste content from Word with junk formatting, or nest a heading level incorrectly.

Which means the quality of your content depends on your own awareness.

Think like a page, not a field

It's easy to get tunnel vision in a CMS: filling out one field at a time, focusing on what fits where.

But your users don't see individual fields. They see a single page.

To them, it doesn't matter that the heading was technically added in the "summary" field or the link was inside a "rich text" block. They care about how the whole experience feels: Is it clear? Is it trustworthy? Is it usable?

So even though you work with the page in parts, always read it as a whole. Consider how someone scanning quickly would experience the flow, how the structure guides attention and understanding, and whether the page tells a coherent story from beginning to end.

Use the CMS with intention

Here's how to use your CMS as a precision tool - not just a content dump.

• Respect the hierarchy by using headings properly and not skipping levels.
• Label with care so every link and image says what it is and why it's there.
• Check your lists by using proper list formatting, not dashes or numbers typed manually.
• Watch for pasted clutter and remove weird formatting from Word or emails.

If something looks wrong - it probably is. If something feels awkward to read - trust that instinct. If a user had no context - would they understand this?

Building better habits

Start small with changes that become automatic: use proper heading tools instead of manual formatting, write descriptive link text that works independently, fill in alt text fields thoughtfully, and consider content as part of a complete page rather than as isolated sections.

These habits compound over time. Each improvement makes your content more usable for more people, while also supporting better search engine performance and easier long-term maintenance.

The goal isn't perfection - it's consistent application of principles that serve real user needs. The CMS provides the foundation, but your understanding of how people access and process content determines whether that foundation supports good user experiences.

Check your understanding

Copy and paste this to ChatGPT when you're ready for feedback:

I've been completing some questions that have been presented to me as part of an SEO course. I'm currently answering questions for a section titled "The CMS doesn't stop you from doing things right - but it won't do it for you". Please check my answers and let me know if I've understood the key ideas correctly. My responses are below.

1. A colleague argues that if the CMS allows certain formatting choices, they must be acceptable because "the system would prevent mistakes if they were really problems." Using examples from the lesson, analyse why this reasoning creates fundamental misunderstandings about the role of content management systems and user responsibility.

2. Why is it problematic to rely only on the visual preview in a CMS?

• The preview often doesn't match the live site
• Styling can misrepresent content structure, affecting usability and accessibility
• It causes the CMS to override default heading behaviour
• Users may not have the same fonts installed

3. Why is "bolding a heading" not the same as using a proper heading level in the CMS?

4. What is the most significant risk of using vague link text like "Click here"?

• It increases bounce rates
• It weakens SEO rankings for the destination page
• It lacks context, especially for users relying on assistive technology
• It creates unnecessary duplicate content

5. Consider this scenario: Your organisation's content team regularly copies text from Word documents into the CMS because "it maintains our formatting and saves time." However, accessibility audits consistently flag these pages for structural issues. Analyse why this workflow creates problems beyond just technical compliance, and explain how the "field-by-field" mindset contributes to poor user experiences.

6. A content editor argues that spending time on proper heading structure and descriptive link text is "unnecessary perfectionism" because "users just scan pages quickly anyway." Evaluate this reasoning and explain how understanding user scanning behaviour actually supports the importance of semantic structure rather than undermining it.