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Out Of The Box Vs Custom Content Management Systems

Out-of-the-box vs. custom content management systems

Written by Joe on Tuesday, December 27, 2011

What is better for you and why

It all comes down to your needs and knowledge of programming, or willingness to pay a developer. There are many free "out of the box" content management systems out there and they are very powerful. But for the average user, adding modules or changing functionality isn't the easiest of tasks. So how do you know which content management system is the right choice for you?

Custom design vs templates

When using an "out of the box" solution you will have to choose from a template or theme. There are usually tons of free themes out there and they are usually simple to install, but your design will never be 100% original. You may be browsing the web one day and see your website design on another website. Who wants that? If you are interested in a custom original design and don't have any knowledge of web development or HTML, you will need a custom content management system.

Data storage

Having worked with many out of the box systems, I have experience transferring content from one system to the next. And let me tell you, it is far from easy. Bad HTML and strange data storage make grabbing your content from the old system and importing to a new system a difficult and time consuming process. A custom content management system is usually developed much differently. All data is stored in tables with relevant names and it is much easier to work with.

Recently a client wanted to change their blogger site into their own custom website. Transferring from blogger was extremely difficult and time consuming, especially with 3 years worth of blog posts. Bad HTML can also be an issue, and going through each post and fixing them is not a good option. Unless of course you like spending hours fixing content.

HTML & web development knowledge

Without any programming or HTML knowledge, most out of the box content management systems are pretty much blogging systems. Most of the popular systems were developed to be used as blogging platforms, and modules are needed to expand the functionality. I have done this on many systems and it is not easy especially for someone with no programming experience.

Customizations

This is what really sets out of the box systems from custom content management systems. Customizing out of the box systems is not the simplest tasks and will be an issue for someone with no programming knowledge. A custom content management system can easily be added to and changes to suite your needs. I have built many custom management systems for the most non-technical users, such as church and school content management systems, and it allows them to easily update their website.

Ease of use

Not only have I developed sites using out of the box systems, I have also managed websites using them. I find most out of the box system to be extremely not user friendly and hard to use. This is the major reason why I developed my custom content management system. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for the least technical users to update their website. Try out the content mangement system demo to see for yourself.

Not sure what the right solution is for your website? Need some help? Fill out my contact form or give me a call at 732-925-4044 and I will give you a free consultation and we can talk about what the best option will be for your needs.