CMS or Bust?
Episode #6 of the course How to build an online business by Crew
As promised, today’s lesson is all about building a website. For those of you strictly building apps, take the day off. We’ll see you tomorrow to help with hiring the right type of designer and/or developer!
When it comes to creating a website, there are many content management systems (CMS) to use without writing a single line of code. Pick a template, hit publish, and bam—you’ve got a website. Here are a few of the most popular CMS tools:
• WordPress: For blogs and content-driven websites
• Shopify: For building an online store
• Tumblr: For portfolios and sharing visual content
• Squarespace: For content and marketing websites
Should you use a CMS like WordPress or build from scratch?
While websites created on CMS have incredible versatility, they also come with some drawbacks. Here are a few pros and cons of building your website with a template vs. building from the ground up.
Pros of building your website on a CMS
If you’re building a blog, marketing site, or simple online shop, using a CMS is a great option. CMS have many pre-built features, meaning you won’t have put a huge budget toward developing those elements. On top of that, you can customize certain parts of the design, so your website will look totally custom-made.
Ultimately, creating your site with a CMS gives you a simpler product that can be built faster and cheaper.
Cons of building your website with a CMS
When you use a CMS platform to build your site, what you save money and time you lose in flexibility. Website-building tools are always improving and becoming more robust, but there’s a point where CMS-built sites just don’t do the trick.
Think about what you need today and what you want for tomorrow
If you’re testing your idea with customers or have a limited budget, a tool like WordPress or Shopify can be a great option.
That said, it’s important to keep the limitations in mind, as the features you want to add to your site down the line may not be available in a CMS. Using a CMS can help build a quality website to test your business or idea, then once you know you’re onto something, you can invest more resources into a custom website.
Until tomorrow,
Crew
Recommended reading
Recommended book
“Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works” by Ash Maurya
Ready to get to work? We’ve built a network of trusted designers, developers, and studios for our HighBrow followers. Start building today >>
Share with friends