Why Use a CMS?

It is a good question, one which should be thoroughly considered before making a decision. A question which we as a leading website design company, constantly ask our clients. Should we build dynamically (CMS website design) and integrate a CMS (Content Management System) as part of the website management solution, or should we build a static website?

As website design and development has evolved, so has the technology used to build them.

Just about all websites used to be built as a static build. A static website is one that has all pages manually built. Each and every page will be created in code by a website development team. Whereas a dynamic website build will be created by a series of website design templates that connect to a database. Each time a user makes a request, the web page pulls in the required information from the database and displays it in the correct website template.

There really is no right or wrong answer to which build you wish to go for. At pro fish in sea we will consult on which build we feel is most suitable for your individual website project. Our experienced website developers and project management team will offer best possible solutions that will give you the level of control that you need.

Whilst a static build may be more suitable to a small brochure website, a dynamic build will almost certainly be the best solution for an e-commerce website.

If you feel that your website may need updating more than once every quarter, then a dynamic solution is probably the way to go.

A CMS is a back end interface that allows the owner of a website to log in to a secure area using a browser, username and password.

A CMS is specifically designed to allow any member of staff, without having any prior programming knowledge, the ability to edit, create and delete content on the website, quickly, competently and with the use of just a few drop down menus and text boxes.

Saving your changes directly into the database, your changes to the website content can be live in seconds.

At pro fish in sea, a leading website design company, we understand the importance of being in control of your business. With websites now playing such an influential role in day to day businesses, giving you the ability to stay in control of your website is bound to pay dividends.

There are many different CMS solutions on offer. There are very expensive off the shelf solutions. These are generally used by huge global corporations that have to be seen to be spending their budget on something substantial!

There are also totally free solutions, or 'open source' CMS'. These are there for people to use and have no purchase fee, instead you use them on one of the few 'free' public licences.

Then there are the bespoke CMS solutions, such as the afisCMS. These are tailor made for a client to do exactly what they need it to do now and in the future.

Which CMS to use is a very important decision. There are many out there and each has it's own pros and cons. Let's get the facts out in the open so that you can make an informed decision on which is the best route for you now.

With the Open Source CMS, this is a solution for all. As such it has been built by developers with their best solution in mind to work for the masses. Even though they are mainly free to use, it will need installing, refining, etc, to make it work how you need it to for your website. They also generally only come with one template, so these will need to be changed and then it needs to be integrated with the new template. All of this has to be done otherwise you will end up with a site that 'looks' like an open source site.

The really good thing about Open Source CMS solutions is that if you use one of the really big ones, such as Joomla or Drupal, then there are literally thousands and thousands of users who are all developing modules for them, which are also mostly free. There is also, due to this, a massive support network should you get stuck and have the ability to work through the solutions to your problem, but this may take a developer to do this.

Off the shelf systems are similar, that they have been built for the greater good, but nowadays most of these 'Bought CMS' solutions will be targeted for a niche market. So they will be designed with typical functionality in mind that their niche target market will need. These solutions can be pricey indeed and it may not work in the way that you wish, but by the time you realise this you have blown your whole budget!

We have spent years developing the afisCMS. Through years of having to use other CMS solutions, we understood how frustrating it can be. So we built our own.

It is built in a modular way and each reincarnation of the afisCMS is reworked to suit the exact needs and requirements that your website has. As such, this tailor made approach can make the next phase of your business growth as seamless and stress free as you wish, and will grow with you as you need it.

If you would like to discuss the afisCMS in further detail, then why not give us a call today?