Chris’ last post got me thinking.

I am constantly at odds with myself regarding Content Management Systems. On the plus side, they are very robust, powerful, have great built-in features, and give our clients the ability to make changes to their websites without having to come back to us, and thus saving time and money. They are great for Search Engine Optimization, and allow multiple editors, blogging, file uploads…

On the negative side, with hundreds of free, overused, generic templates, there are a lot of web design and develop firms pumping these sites out at alarming rates. What you do get is a website, but what you don’t get is something unique, branded, and that fits your company and personality. You get a site that most likely is the mirror image of hundreds of other sites on the Internet. We, however, are a custom web design and development firm.

Because of this template approach, it seems that the unique, creative side of the Internet is slowly giving way to a generic, “website in a box” approach. This is both sad, and makes the job of a custom web developer very difficult. To follow up on Chris’ post, why would someone want to pay for a custom site when another firm is charging $300 for a full website! And why the heck would they pay more to include a Content Management System!!!

The fact is, a lot of work goes in to a custom website build, and even more when you have to integrate it into a pre-established system like a CMS. But in the end, what you get is a site that is perfect, made for you, and one that you can update yourself! The extra work it takes to build in the content management system will quickly pay off when you consider the hourly cost for website updates. In the long run, you will be ahead, and have a site that you can be proud of. You can also be sure that your clients won’t see a site anything like yours, anywhere on the web.

About the Author: Brandon
With android phone in one hand and a baby in the other, this family man has twins, a toddler, and a knack for blogging about his professional life as a robot whisperer and rocking chair rocker.

Comments