Today’s consumers expect companies they are considering conducting business with to have a fully functional website. Whether the website is informational, a storefront or has interactive applications, most websites are created using a content management system, or CMS. So, what exactly is a CMS? Basically, it is the tool your website is built on and allows you (the website editor) to create and manage the content of your website.
When it comes to content management systems there are two different types: custom and open source. Let’s talk about the differences between the two and why a custom CMS may be the better choice for your website.
There is a wide selection of open source (free) applications available to create pages, and it can be hard to understand why your website would be better off with a custom CMS. Open source CMS’ are infinitely customizable with thousands of optional additions. These plugins will help you create, organize and publish your web content intuitively. However, customizing open source applications is not simple and has a steep learning curve, making it impractical for most people to use without professional assistance.
Additionally, there are limitations to what packaged CMS’ can do and high performance websites, especially e-commerce sites, may have unique requirements. For rapidly growing businesses with unique SEO and performance requirements, it is possible that creating a custom CMS will be more practical than taking days, if not weeks, to configure and customize cookie cutter plugins.
Using an open source system can open up your business to dangerous security risks. Hackers search for sites using specific modules with known holes and a site can be shut down in no time at all. While a custom CMS is not immune to security exploits, they are not as easily located as a site with developers’ identities and version information at the bottom of each page.
If your website is created for your business, you are not required to purchase any licenses or ask for permission to use copyrighted material. You own the code and are able to ask the developers to make any changes without worries about restrictions on its use. For specialized code, you may even be able to sell the application to other business owners and recuperate what you laid out for developing the custom CMS.
Hiring a team of experienced developers to create a custom CMS for your business is not a small commitment. However, if your business is rapidly growing, an open source CMS may not be able to do what you require. So, when it comes to choosing between an open source CMS or a custom CMS, the choice is simple–if you are looking to build a website that is unique and distinctive and tailored to your specific needs and requirements, then a custom CMS is your best option.
Want to learn more about how your specific website can benefit from a custom CMS? Get in contact with us!
