What about a house, or a new couch for your living room? The simple fact of the matter is, each of the aforementioned items have a large variety of quality,  style, and feel.  The perfect couch for one living room could clash terribly with the next.  Content management systems are no different, yet we constantly meet with clients who have purchased a CMS system without even seeing a demo of what they are paying for.  Just like a new car, or a couch,  content management systems come in so many different styles and varieties that you will have no idea if it will work for your business if you don't see it first.

You wouldn't dream of buying new office furniture from a salesman without ever seeing it and the colors that it comes in.  So why take the same risk when purchasing a new website driven by a content management system? Furthermore, asking for a demo of the new software that will run behind your website is a good test for the company that you are considering as a hire. If they are unwilling or reluctant to provide a demo of the software they are selling you, that should immediately send up some red flag warnings.

It's common sense really, when purchasing a new piece of software or anything else for your business, make sure you always get a demo and  see what you're buying before you make the purchase.