Do I Need A CMS Website?

CMS Website Or Static HTML?

There are many things to consider when you are thinking of having a website designed or redesigned. Underneath, we will address some main issues related to static HTML and content management systems (CMS).

1) Content is vitally important in maintaining search engine visibility. Knowing how visitors get to your website through statistical analysis and then adapting content to optimise search engine visibility is an ongoing task that needs to be monitored to achieve full effect. With content management systems, text changes can be made quickly.

2) Static HTML pages contain a mixture of content and code; therefore, these require more knowledge and care when updating. For this reason, static pages are more expensive to maintain as they require ongoing IT involvement.

3) Often, static pages are maintained by web design companies that require the new content delivered. Once the new content has been added, modifications may be needed to refine the content further. This, of course, requires further interaction between the company and the web designers, which can prove to be a time-consuming exercise.

4) As your static website grows, it becomes harder to keep track of changes to pages and page navigation, leading to errors occurring with missing links that deter site visitors. Content management systems construct the navigation only based on pages that exist. Therefore the navigation is maintained automatically.

5) To provide alternative content from a static HTML website often means duplicating pages, e.g. print this page. Content management systems can achieve this automatically as all content is held separate from the design.

6) Eventually, your website will require an updated look. Content management systems allow quicker theme changes because the design is fed from a template system.

7) Static HTML Websites are faster than their CMS counterparts, as they don’t need to access a database or run programming code. So there is a benefit from the user’s site experience and SEO.

8) Static HTML websites are generally safer than CMS websites as there are generally only one or two ways to access the website. However, a CMS website will need to be constantly updated with the latest updates on the themes, plugins/extensions and CMS software. Any lax attitude to updates can lead to the CMS becoming hacked.

Static HTML websites have some great benefits, such as speed and security. As time passes, the technology and development of websites are moving towards a combination of easy-to-use and updated sites with better security and speed. There isn’t a market leader we have experience with yet that does this, as it isn’t quite ready (speaking in August 2021), but there are some promising options.

CMSs are a good option and are being developed with some of the positives of static HTML in mind, making them faster and more secure. This is mostly down to the selected theme, but the options are becoming more popular. Take a look here at the reasons why you should use a CMS website

You can find all the website options we offer here.