DO I NEED A CMS (Content Management System)

Content Management Systems (CMS) have improved dramatically over the past few years, to the point where it's now possible for non-professionals to maintain and update their website themselves.

Open-Source systems are now available that are both powerful and cheap. But they're not for everyone. Here are a few guidelines to help you decide if an Open-Source CMS is for you.

Questions to consider

• Do you or a relevant staff member have time to look after your website in addition to other duties? And is this the best use of your time, or would you be better off concentrating on your core proficiencies
• Will the nominated person be here in 2 years time? What if they leave?
• Does your website require updates often? If you are likely to update your website less than once per month then a CMS may not be cost-efficient for you.

The Benefits

• It's free! (You only pay us to install and configure it for you)
• Large range of features built-in
• Ability to update the website yourself, whenever and wherever
• Cheaper to update yourself, especially if you have free time/resources available
• A wide range of cost-effective plug-ins (extra features) are available to expand the functions of your site

The Compromises

• It is an "off-the-shelf" solution. Generally speaking, you must work within the constraints of what's provided.
• Open-source (free) software has no official support. Instead support is provided through a community model, where users and volunteers support each other through forums and online documentation
• It is more expensive to customise should you have non-standard functional requirements either now or in the future.
• You will require basic image editing skills and software
• A CMS is not as simple to use as Microsoft Word. A nominated staff member will need appropriate training / experience to make best use of the software. Try the Joomla! CMS on our Joomla! website to gauge whether this is something you're comfortable doing.
• One of the key challenges for professional web designers is ensuring websites look their best across all the different browsers, operating systems, and devices. This requires a combination of experience and testing that is more difficult to do in-house.

The Alternative - using professionals to look after your website

• Just like anything, a dedicated professional can do a better job, and quicker
• You won't have to worry about the technical details. Our Website Maintenance service guarantees updates within 2 working days (and almost always the same day), our staff are always up with the play in a constantly changing IT landscape, and we have the skills and software required to do the best job.
• Continuity - we've been looking after some of our clients for over 15 years. We're always here, reliable, quick, and efficient, taking care of all your website related issues through a single point of contact.