CMS stands for content management system. It determines how easy: or how annoying: it is to update your own site.
A CMS, or content management system, is software that allows you to manage texts, images and pages on your website without any programming knowledge. You log in, edit and publish. WordPress is the best-known example. A CMS separates the content from the technology, so that whoever writes the text does not have to know anything about code.
IN COMMON LANGUAGE
What a CMS solves, and what it costs
Without CMS, someone with technical knowledge must make every text change. That's fine for a site that changes twice a year, and unworkable for a site with a blog or vacancies.
There is something in return. A CMS adds layers of software that must be maintained and secured. The vast majority of hacked websites run on an outdated CMS or a forgotten plugin. And the more a CMS can do, the slower the site usually is.
So the honest question is not "which CMS", but "which parts of my site really change regularly". Often this is the blog and the vacancies, and not the services pages.
WHY IT MATTERS
How we deal with it
We build sites by hand and provide a management environment for the parts that you really want to update yourself. This way you keep the speed of a static site and the editability where you need it.
That is a conscious choice and not always the right one. If you want to be able to change everything yourself, including the structure of pages, then a full-fledged CMS makes more sense: and we say so.
- Blog or vacancies — changes often; belongs in a management environment.
- Services pages — rarely changes; doesn't have to be editable.
- Prices and texts — a few times a year; we will adjust this within the service contract.
- Security — less software means less that needs to be patched.
- Speed — each additional layer costs loading time, and loading time costs visitors.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
More about a CMS
Is WordPress a bad choice?
No. WordPress is a great choice if you want to manage a lot yourself and are willing to keep up with updates. It becomes a bad choice if no one does those updates, or if ten plugins are added that get in each other's way. We don't build WordPress sites, but we don't think it's a bad product.
Can I edit my own texts without a CMS?
There is a service contract for minor changes: you send the new text and we make it live. This is inconvenient for parts that you change weekly, and we build a management environment for exactly that part.
What happens to my content if I switch?
It is and remains yours. When you switch, we deliver the texts and images in a usable format, and we set redirects from old to new addresses so that your positions in Google remain intact.
CONTINUE READING
Of course, continue reading about this subject.
Doubt about it management?
Tell us what you want to be able to adjust yourself. We advise which approach suits this, even if it is WordPress.