One question that is often raised by start-ups and small businesses moving online is which platform works best for my website or why pay for a Content Management System (CMS)? With so many options to choose from, often this isn’t an easy decision for a business owner. Here’s taking a quick peek into two of the most popular web design approaches.
HTML Website
Even if you are not familiar with the term CMS, chances are that you would have heard of HTML, as it has been around for decades now, which is the traditional way of building websites. HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language, a powerful language that is the backbone of almost all the sites in the world of web, irrespective of whether it’s a static website or a dynamic website. This is because it is universally used to code the structure and design of a website.
The key differentiating factor of HTML website with CMS based websites is that, all the pages and content in an HTML website needs to be hand coded and stored on a server using a FTP access, whereas this is done through a user-friendly interface in CMS websites. In order to edit a HTML website one should be knowledgeable of HTML and CSS along with FTP access to the server where the website is hosted. This makes things even more difficult for business owners and SMEs who do not have a dedicated technology resource for handling web requirements.
CMS Website
As said earlier, all websites including Content Management System based websites uses HTML as the backbone, but the key differentiating factor of CMS websites is its central console called the dashboard which allow users to easily create, publish and edit website content.
The greatest advantage of having a CMS website is its easy-to-use interface, flexibility and scalability. From installation of the CMS to changing website look & feel to updating images & content, everything can be done from the backend, without having to write any codes. This is because all the content in a CMS website is stored in a database server, while this is stored in static webpages in case of HTML sites. This makes it difficult to create and edit content in HTML sites as each change has to coded and upload to the server, which require technical knowhow. All the major CMS website platforms like WordPress (that’s our favourite & world’s favourite too), Joomla and Drupal offer stable and scalable solutions ranging from a simple blogging website to a custom built ecommerce website. It is for each business to evaluate and decide which one best suits their requirements and budgets.
HTML and CMS are two radically different web design approaches each with its own advantages and disadvantages. If you are looking for a static web presence with very minimal or no updates (that’s never the case in today’s business scenario), then HTML could be the best affordable option to choose. However if you are looking at having a scalable and dynamic online presence where your website can grow along with your business, then go ahead and get your website built on a CMS platform.
