Content Management Systems (CMS) vs. Static Content
What’s the difference? Is one better than the other? Which one is right for me?
First, let’s start with some definitions. A Content Management System (CMS) is a password-protected area on your web site (ex: http://mydomain.com/admin) where you can update the content of your website yourself – without any coding or knowledge of web languages. Depending on your site and content, it could be extensive and used for adding just about anything to your site including text, news items, photos, video, and other media. It could also be as simple as just updating the text to correct a spelling error or take out an unwanted sentence.
A static website is one that you would not have the ability to change yourself. In this case, the text and images on your site are not dynamic, and can only change if you or your web professional alter the files directly.
So, what’s the difference? The difference is control. Do you want complete control over your site content at all times? Does your website content change frequently? If you answered yes to either of these questions, a CMS may be for you. To use a CMS, you need to at least have a basic understanding of the web and computer usage. Since most people these days already have this basic foundation, using a CMS is usually a comfortable experience for most people after they’ve become acquainted with the tools in their CMS.
Unless you already know HTML, updating your site without a CMS would be very difficult and you run the risk of damaging your site, resulting in time and money spent in order to correct it. Web professionals typically charge for updates to a site they’ve worked on at an hourly rate. If you need to update your website content once a week, and let’s say your web professional charges $15 per update, that would be $780 per year! The cost of adding a CMS to your site, depending on the tools and features you wish to include can start at around $250 and up. Simple math tells us that you would save over $500 in the first year simply by investing in a CMS.
We’ve covered a lot of points FOR the CMS. What might be a discouraging factor of the CMS? If you have trouble using Microsoft Word for basic word processing tasks, the CMS may not be for you. If you only update your site once or twice a year, it may be a better idea to pay the update fees.
Just about anything is possible for the CMS. Page content, photos and other media, news and events, online store products – all of these are examples of things some of our clients are using a CMS to manage on their website themselves. Contact us today to see if your needs can be met with one of our affordable, custom Content Management Systems!
