WordPress. TypePad. Blogger. It’s easy to get into arguments about the best options for blogging, and if you’re starting to explore content management systems for other projects, you probably ought to prepare for a war.

Personally, I’m a WordPress aficionado, even to the point of using it as a back end for some sites entirely unrelated to blogging. I think it’s easy to use. Heck, I’ve even got in a few very loud discussions trying to prove WordPress is, in fact, the best. And yet, I’m asking how much does the CMS we choose to use actually matter?

Maybe It Doesn’t Matter As Much As We Think

Brand name content management systems don’t necessarily make the biggest difference. Assuming that you’re using it at a fairly simple level — posting to a blog or updating a website — what really matters is the fact that your content goes live and doesn’t disappear when you turn your back. Just about any CMS can manage that, assuming you’ve got regularly scheduled backups in place.

Even if you’re doing a little more advanced work, like updating multiple blogs, there are tools that let you effectively manage all of them through one interface: Scribefire, Windows Live Writer and Mars Edit all effectively let you post to blogs on a variety of content management systems through a single interface.

Training may remain something of a concern: we’re more likely to prefer a CMS that someone else in our organization or social circle can help us out with. When I’ve been teaching someone how to complete a particular task in WordPress, though, I’m pretty sure that they’d be equally happy with any other system, as long as I’m willing to take the time to explain.

But There Are Still Reasons To Care

When you’re at a more complicated level of posting content to the web, however, I think the question of which CMS to use is far more important. Want to tweak your site for SEO? Want to bring in social networking elements for your blog post? Which CMS you’re using does matter, if only because of what tools it offers you. I’d suggest WordPress, of course, but between plugins, custom systems and so forth, I think it’s worth your time to look closely at all your options before making decisions. It’s especially crucial if you’re working with heavy amounts of content. You want a system you can use efficiently.

I’ve used a wide variety of content management systems over the years. I have certain features that I consider mandatory for me to do my work, most important of which is the ability to add plugins and otherwise customize the system I’m using. Just the same, though, I still work with more than a few clients who need me to work with the CMS of their choice — including proprietary systems. The differences are small enough that it is rarely a problem.