Which CMS Suits Your Business – Open Source or Proprietary?
September 25, 2017
Developing a proper website needs a lot of efforts among which choosing a Content Management System (CMS) is considered the most important. It may be a hectic task to choose the best CMS as there are several CMS available in the market today.
The most reliable way is to determine the suitable CMS that fits your certain requirements & business goals. Every CMS has a different purpose depending on the type of industry you need to build a website for. Instead of listening to other’s advice, it is recommended that one should choose CMS only after considering what they are looking for first. Let’s explore and find out which CMS platform is suitable for your business. Is it Open Source or Proprietary CMS?
Proprietary CMS
Basics
- Built & Maintained by a single firm
- No access to the Source Code usually
- Requires a license fee to use
- Hosted by company that created Platform
When should you choose Proprietary CMS?
- When your focus is only on the content, not the technology
- When your online presence is the top priority concern
- When you need only the great design but not custom development
- If you want a full-service hosting plan but not interested in updates, bugs & security issues
- When you don’t want to deal with upgrade issues of platform or add-ons, decisions on choosing the best modules.
PROS
- Lesser Initial Cost by renting pre-built CMS
- Updates on a regular basis than a custom build
- Less chance of spam as it is not so popular
CONS
- CMS is being leased with monthly/yearly payments, not purchased
- Not easy to export data from one platform to another
- Hard to customize the system for the features you need
Open Source CMS
Basics:
- Built by the group of people across the globe
- Source Code is made available to all
- Free of cost excluding hosting, customization & design charges
- Can be hosted anywhere
When should you choose Open Source CMS?
- When you need a quick & cost-effective solution with basic template design.
- If you have time & capability to create your own website using one of the template sites
- When you want to create custom functionality in the website using a unique idea
- Your business’s top priority is online presence & you want to invest time to enhance & update the website
- You are ready to explore choices about technology like add-ons & improvements
- You want to keep the software updated for bugs, enhancements & security issues
PROS
- Benefits of large developer base with extensions & plugins from the previously built sites
- This CMS will let you obtain value from their constant & consistent upgrades
- Easy portability of data and better interface, usability as well as built-in editing apps
CONS
- These systems are more vulnerable towards spam due to its high usage
- Not all Open-Source platforms are same as some may be difficult to use
- Extra costs may be required to customize the open-source CMS in your own way
Both the CMS platforms have their own positives as well as negatives. To opt Open-source solutions, you need to pick the right technology and partner to assist you with it. WordPress is the best for those who are with tight budget & looking for highly customized software. For proprietary CMS platform, one can choose the company that has the complete product set & ability to support and develop the solution. At Clavax, we offer a wide range of feature-rich Enterprise Content Management System that empower companies to focus on their core business goals by monitoring & maintaining the evolving growth of website content.