Once the decision has been reached to purchase a web content management system the issue then becomes "What makes a good web content management system?" Should the purchase be based on brand? Can the assumption be made that Microsoft (for example), because of their name and based on the fact that you are running a Microsoft shop, has a content management system that would best fit your needs? There are four questions that must be a part of the debate.
The four questions address:

1. What your web content management  needs  are versus what the available CMS' offer
2. How steep the learning curve would be for your  IT department and especially for your non-technical employees who will now be asked to create and publish their own web sites
3. When can you have this system available for use across the enterprise - days? Weeks? Months?
4. Which content management product is most effective in providing a return on investment that is easily quantifiable?

Is the web content management system easy to use? Aside from the ROI, the most important question initially has to be "is this system easy to use?"  Chances are that the desire for a content management system is based on a perceived need to take basic website maintenance out of the hands of your IT department and place it into the hands of those who actually create the content.
This saves time and money, but those savings will never be realized if the content managers have so much trouble learning how to use the system that it's never adopted.
An easy to use web content management system will have:

• Training and support in the form of easy to read and use documentation, online videos, and cost effective training  provided by the vendor
• WYSIWG editors that  make creating and editing content as easy as typing a memo in Word or creating a PowerPoint presentation
• Easily created page templates and the ability to clone existing pages and or templates
• Automatic versioning  where new versions are created upon update and the content manager can copy or rollback to a  previous version  
• Pre-built components that allow the content manager to easily create a feature rich user experience with images, audio, video, calendars, news feeds and blogs
• Globalization features that allow an entire website to be easily translated into the local language

Is the web content management system feature rich? Does the web content management system provide the built in features that your organization is looking for?  Sure, just about every product has the WYSWIG editors and some type of security and a couple of built in nice to have components.
 When the discussion turns to features here are just a couple of things to look for:

1. Just how deep does the" granular security model" go? Is it "role-based" and can it be easily integrated into your existing security model? Can it insure that the right people have access to the right content and can work with the content as required by the business?
2.  How many components does the content management system ship with?  And how many components do you have to pay extra for? For example - will your marketing department be able to indulge their penchant for customer surveys at no extra cost whatsoever?
3. Built in navigation components  for easy and fast creation of horizontal and vertical menus, bread crumbs and  even category specific menus  where needed
4. Inclusion of social media type components - blogs, message boards/forums, personalized web pages, photo galleries.
   
5. Tools that can be used companywide  such as a news release  manager,  or a Frequently Asked Questions component
6. What if you need document management also? Is it  integrated with the web content management  system and a part of this purchase or does this require a whole new set of purchase orders, licensing fees and sales  agreements?

Is the web content management system fast to deploy? I have worked on projects which involved a purchased software package, where the system was rolled out over the course of several years.
 This is because there is a certain amount of customization required before the application is ready to go "live".
You do not want this to be the case with your web content management system.
Look for a product that doesn't cost as much to deploy as it did to purchase.
You also want something that can easily be installed by your own IT personnel and doesn't require a manual to accomplish.
Is the web content management system affordable? I love taking cruises and going to certain resorts.
Why? Because they are all-inclusive, I pay one price and am fed and pampered for a week, and any additional costs are clearly stated up front.
This is  exactly what your web content management choice should be like - all inclusive and any additional costs clearly stated up front.
Do yourself and your organization's bottom line a favor and get a test drive of the product - not just a demo.
Make a list of the features that your organization is looking for in a content management system and the make sure that most (if not all) are included in the base price for the product.
 Nothing shoots holes in a pre-calculated ROI like a product that continues to cost money long after the sale has been finalized.