One of the big questions before creating a website is the type of page we are going to build, whether it’s for our business (an online store or corporate landing page) or simply for personal use.
Many times, before undertaking this task, we make the mistake of not seeking advice from professionals and instead, we fall for cloud service advertisements that promise a professional website, only to later encounter numerous obstacles or paywalls. Alternatively, we might rely on a friend of a friend who took a two-month course and ends up creating a website that becomes unusable within a few weeks and can only be fixed with patches.
To avoid these problems, you must first know what you want to create, how it should be done, and who will be responsible for maintaining and making modifications to your website in the future
¿Qué significa CMS y desarrollo a medida?
Before understanding or evaluating which option is the best, you need to understand the meaning of each of these terms in order to properly choose the type of development for your website.
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CMS
A CMS stands for Content Management System, which stores all the information in its respective databases (or similar structures) with the clear intention of allowing users to manage their own website without the technical knowledge that a web developer would possess.
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Custom Development
Custom development refers to the creation of a website that is exclusively unique. It does not rely on a pre-built engine, so only the developers of the website will know the modifications that need to be made in order for them to be reflected on the website.
In these cases, certain frameworks are often used, which enable the development of the website in a more efficient manner, as all the code is better organized.
Differences between both options
Depending on our needs or those of our client, we should consider one option or the other.
Here is a comparative table to help you make a decision:
| CMS open | Custom Development | |
| Ease of Use | An open CMS will be much easier to manage for a non-technical user, as they will be able to change texts and images without the need for a developer |
Technical knowledge will be required to make any kind of changes. |
| CMS | The security of the website will depend on the updates of the extensions and the CMS itself. Therefore, it will be necessary to choose wisely those that have support and updates from the developers. | Likewise, the security of the website will depend entirely on who manages it. With custom development, it can be more difficult to replicate. |
| Price | A CMS is usually much cheaper than custom development and takes less time to develop because there is already a defined structure. | Custom development tends to be more costly, and the time required for layout and programming is much higher than with an open CMS. |
| Errors and Incidents | If there is an error in an open CMS, it will be much easier to find information and solutions in forums. However, if the error is in the core of the CMS or a plugin, we will depend exclusively on those developers. | If there is an error in a custom project, we may not have the same amount of information available in development forums. However, since we are not dependent on any pre-existing codebase, we won’t rely on any external developers outside of the project. |
| Resources | An open CMS usually has unnecessary resources for the project, which increases resource consumption compared to custom development | A well-executed custom development consumes much fewer resources than a CMS because the structure is optimized for this particular project. |
| Functionalities and integrations | In this type of projects, plugins with pre-determined solutions are commonly used, so those points that are not usual will likely not be found | Any type of functionality and integration will need to be programmed. Since it doesn’t have any external dependencies, there won’t be any unnecessary code that could affect the website’s speed. Since there is no external developer to update these functionalities, it will be the web programmer who will have to perform all these actions, requiring more maintenance in this regard. |
Which option should you choose?
Finally, after comparing the previous points, you should choose the one that best suits your needs. However, you should take into account the deadline for the project, the amount of money you are willing to invest in it, your own technical knowledge or that of your team.
To help us choose the type of website, we can treat websites as if they were cars. A driver who needs a vehicle to commute to work and won’t exceed 120km/h on the highway can purchase a conventional car from a dealership to meet all their needs. The maintenance costs won’t be too high since most mechanics are familiar with the mechanism. However, a Formula 1 driver will require a customized vehicle that meets their specific needs, along with a team of specialized mechanics to maximize the vehicle’s performance.
At Lifting Group, as a Web Development Agency, we fully immerse ourselves in the world surrounding your brand to better understand your customers and develop digital projects that have a positive impact on your business. Our teams can advise you to provide the best option according to your needs and possibilities, in order to achieve the ideal professional project for your business. Don’t hesitate to contact us!
