For people looking to build a website, the option of platform frequently comes down to two difficult choices
Word Press CMS and Custom CMS
Difference between a Word Press CMS and Custom CMS: With pros and cons to both, choosing one platform over the other can become a mind boggling and time consuming experience. And once you have settled on a platform, how can you be confident that you have made the right decision? Both have pros and cons. Let us take a few minutes to compare. We will start with a crash-course on WordPress for those who are unacquainted with the platform. Designed as an open source CMS for blogs initially, most people agree that WordPress is still perfect for this specific application – blogging. Over the years, nevertheless, WordPress has exceeded its original intention and become a popular way to build quick, inexpensive websites. This way, WordPress differs from custom CMS, which is actually a tool designed for the purpose of developing whole websites, not just blogs. A professionally designed website utilizing customized CMS is generally a more time consuming process and an expensive undertaking.
Benefits of using WordPress
The reasons why people use WordPress for websites is understandable. In addition to being less expensive than customized CMS, lots of WordPress themes are available for immediate use, which is an important benefit both in terms of time and money. In addition, the open source nature of WordPress encourages an extensive developer base ranging from amateur to professional, allowing plenty of support at fluctuating price points. Last but not least, WordPress is quick to implement and offers thousands of readily available plugins to increase a website’s functionality.
Disadvantages of using WordPress
Obviously, there are disadvantages to using WordPress too. Using WordPress presents a data security risk due to the common source code. Moreover, because WordPress was initially intended for blogging, features and functionality frequently become problematic when utilized for entire websites. And finally, because the skill sets of WordPress developers fluctuate, quality support can be varying and not always professional. Solely, these reasons should make people pause and consider what they anticipate from a WordPress website.
Comparison
But if custom CMS is more expensive and time consuming than WordPress, why use it, if WordPress seems to be worthy enough? For starters, custom CMS allows a website to be designed to a client’s precise specifications and can offer flexibility that would be impossible with WordPress. Security is also impressively increased due to professionally implemented development along with advanced website functionality. Even the incorporation of third party apps becomes smoother. Granted, you will expend more, it is a more time-consuming process, the code is frequently proprietary and clients lacking web development skills frequently remain at the mercy of their web developers for updates. Like we said already: pros and cons.
If you take everything into consideration and still feel that WordPress is the right choice for you, move forward wisely. Be conscious that the open source nature of WordPress means that everyone in the world has access to your source code, making your website far more susceptible to hacking. As well, there is a greater chance that your WordPress developer is a beginner who will take little to no precautions regarding security. There is also the enticement of overusing the several plugins that are readily available, thus hindering a website’s intended functionality. Lastly, be mindful that any alteration to WordPress technically turns it into proprietary code, hindering your website’s ability to accept future standard WordPress updates. In this scenario, you will end up dealing with many of the disadvantages of custom CMS without any of its perks.
Eventually, the choice is yours. But before you choose, just make certain you know what is finest for you and your business – now and for the next several years.