michael
Every website should not only be easy to use, but be driven by a user friendly and flexible Content Management System (CMS). The question facing many businesses today is whether to invest in a Commercial or Open-Source CMS – but what is the difference?
The most significant difference between the two is how they are created and supported.
Commercial (proprietary systems) CMS solutions are often build and maintained by a single company where as Open Source Systems / CMS solutions are build and maintained by groups of interested people all over the world. This difference then provides a range of benefits when adopting an Open Source CMS.
Both types of systems have their own advantages, I have left SEO out of this post intentionally as the SEO capabilities varies greatly from system to system, while all CMS platforms advertise they are ‘SEO Friendly’ the effectiveness of the SEO capabilities depends on the implementation of the developer and digital strategies behind the website – any website can have negatively geared SEO results if the CMS is not utilised for SEO correctly. (see related article Not all CMS are created equal for SEO )
There is no right solution; both systems can fit depending on your requirements. If you are looking for a corporately developed, professionally supported platform with (sometimes) lower upfront costs then Commercial/Proprietary CMS solutions would be recommended. However if you prefer the idea of a flexible, extensible and low (ongoing) cost solution which does not lock you in with one company then Open Source CMS solutions are the way to go.
A Content Management System is effectively the back end of your website – allowing users to publish, edit and modify content all without having to touch the website’s code. Great news for business owners who aren’t particularly tech savvy. Your CMS system should be simple enough that you can add pages, images, content and links without always having to go back to you web development company.
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