Developing a website takes planning and decision making, one of the decisions you will need to make is whether to use a ready-built platform or develop it from scratch. Over the years there has always been a debate between which way is better, so in this article we run through some of the Pros and Cons of WordPress vs Custom Built CMS.
WordPress
Overview
WordPress is a free website development tool, originally designed as a blogging platform, over the years it has become more complex and evolved into the full featured website content management system (CMS) it’s known as today.
It’s been developed in such a way, that most people who have basic web knowledge can create a website using WordPress, without having to contact an agency or web developer. Currently WordPress equates for over 15% of websites developed.
Pros
- Timescale – Using WordPress takes a lot of time out of the development process, as the CMS has already been built and rigidly tested. This allows you to focus on your content and design.
- Themes – Instead of building a design from scratch, you can pick a ready-built theme from the library. This allows for you to change the look of your website instantly.
- Updates – WordPress has a very large community, that works together to find bugs/security loops in the system and then provide a security patch for them. Meaning WordPress rolls updates, which you can download making your site more secure.
Cons
- Maintenance – Day to day maintenance shouldn’t be a problem with your website, however as many themes and plugins are built for specific versions of WordPress, if they release an update, it has the possibility to cause an error with your theme/plugin if they have not updated to the latest requirements.
- Creating Themes/Layouts – While being able to pick and activate a theme from the library is great. WordPress can be harsh when developing a theme from scratch, you’ll need to hire a web developer, who knows the platform functionality.
- Vulnerability – Again WordPress releases regular updates to patch security holes, however while they are being fixed, Hackers are attacking websites built on WordPress across the web and once they find an exploit, then your site becomes vulnerable.
Custom Built CMS
Overview
Custom built websites are mainly developed for large scaled sites or when they need specific functionalities that ready-made CMS’s can’t provide.
To develop a complex website, you will need to contact an agency who specialise in the design and development of custom built websites. They will then use either one of many programming languages and frameworks to build the website, a few of these are – PHP – Laravel, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, CSS – SASS.
Pros
- Functionality – Developing a website from scratch allows you to integrate unique functionality that otherwise might not be available if you use a ready-built platform like WordPress.
- Design – Custom built websites allow you to design and develop the layout from stage one, allowing you to perfect the theme according to your company branding and preference.
- Support – Because your site would have been built by an agency that specialises in building custom websites, any problems/bugs that occur can be fixed by the developers that originally built your site.
Cons
- Security – If the latest security measurements haven’t been taken in the development of your website and regularly maintained throughout time, the site will become prone to hackers.
- Timescale – Custom built websites can have a much longer development timescale compared to ready-built platforms.
- Expensive – Typically websites that are built from scratch and to your specific needs are more expensive than getting your site built from a template.
Conclusion
Both WordPress and custom built CMS’s have their pros and cons, deciding which way to go for your website all depends on the functionality needed and budget available
Here at The Studio 4 we provide both WordPress and Custom Built websites, if you’re looking to develop a new site for your business, please feel free to get in touch with one of our developers on 01952 234004 or email contact@thestudio4.co.uk for advice.