Web design with WordPress or a dedicated CMS?

The process of creating a website can be intricate due to the unique advantages and drawbacks of both WordPress and dedicated content management systems (CMS). The choice of which method to use largely hinges on the specific type of website that you intend to build. Thus, it is crucial to identify the purpose and characteristics of the website you want to design before making a decision.

What is a dedicated CMS?

A content management system, or CMS, is a tool used for managing a website’s content. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of free and open-source CMS options available in the market. Some popular free CMSs include Joomla, WordPress, and Drupal. Dedicated CMSs are explicitly designed to cater to your website’s unique needs, with customized management panels and database architectures.

Also read: ” Create Your website with WordPress?”

Advantages of using a dedicated CMS

There are many benefits associated with using a dedicated system. Here, we have discussed the most important ones:

High speed and more flexible

When you hire a skilled web designer, they can create a custom system that is developed from scratch and tailored to meet your specific requirements. This approach ensures that extraneous code or tables are not included in the database, resulting in faster information access. Moreover, the designer retains control over the primary code and internal communications between different system sections, making it easier to upgrade the program and incorporate new features as needed. With this level of control, you can be assured that your system is unique, efficient, and upgradeable.

High security

The high level of security offered by a dedicated CMS is one of its most critical features. This security results from the uniqueness of the codes used in the system and the fact that they are not widely known. Because the code is custom-built, there is a reduced risk of vulnerabilities or exploits that may be present in widely-used CMSs. Dedicated CMSs a secure choice for websites that require strong protection against cyber threats.

Suppose your website is coded in a newly developed language entirely unfamiliar globally. In that case, infiltrating such a system covertly would be highly challenging.

Acknowledging that a CMS’s specificity doesn’t guarantee its security is crucial. Specialized CMSs may even be more susceptible to vulnerabilities in certain situations than free CMSs. The security of the codes depends significantly on the proficiency and expertise of the developers.

Disadvantages of dedicated CMS compared to WordPress

In addition to features such as security and speed, considered in a dedicated CMS, some other disadvantages may affect your decision. The most important ones are discussed below:

High cost and time consuming

There are two options for buying a suit: a ready-to-use one from a store or a tailor-made suit. The latter is more expensive and time-consuming; the same applies to website design. Using a free content management system saves money on design and development while using a dedicated CMS takes longer and costs more. Be cautious when a company offers a dedicated CMS at the same price as WordPress, as it may not be exclusive to you but to the developer company and sold to other companies in different fields.

WordPress has become the most popular CMS in its field after 14 years of worldwide efforts from millions of people. This community demonstrates WordPress’s capability to add value to your web design. Estimates suggest it would take one person around 100 years to develop a content management system with the same features as WordPress.

Poor or expensive support

Open-source content management systems like WordPress or Joomla offer a vast community of website designers worldwide with different abilities and experiences available for support. In contrast, a dedicated system only has one team of designers known for support.
During peak periods, website design companies may delay your requests or charge exorbitant fees for minor modifications, making managing challenging.

The longer the collaboration lasts, the more dependent you become on the company, making it increasingly difficult to receive support. However, if your website is based on the WordPress core and your supporting company fails to provide adequate services, you can quickly find an alternative company or workforce at a reasonable price.

It is necessary to consider that both WordPress and Dedicated CMS have pros and cons, so both can be useful depending on your business scale.

Also read : ” Website Design Services, from Scratch to Hatch”

What kind of websites does CMS suit best?

 In this section, we will review the most popular websites and decide which content management system is suitable for each.

Online store design

Dedicated CMSs are most effective for large online stores. Online stores that offer a wide range of products require a dedicated platform to facilitate communication between key departments, such as the delivery, administrative, and warehouse departments. Special coding and suitable conditions for rapid system upgrades are necessary to establish proper connections between these departments. Companies prefer to design an online store using an in-house team and IT department to promptly address their system needs and requirements. SOUQ is a successful example of such a company.

However, if you plan to set up a specialized online store targeting a limited community with specific products, WordPress can be cost-effective and efficient. After gaining sufficient knowledge and experience in the market within a year or two, you can design and implement a dedicated CMS tailored to your needs. During the design of this system, your site will remain available to your customers and provide uninterrupted service.

Website design for companies

For companies or manufacturing groups requiring complex features in their admin panel and paying close attention to the design of the outer shell, designing websites using WordPress is the best choice. WordPress can meet all their needs and work online at a reasonable price by designing a dedicated template.

Website design for governmental agencies

Governmental agencies require a central portal to manage human resources and internal communications, in addition to providing information on their websites. Hence, they typically collaborate with companies that design enterprise portals and ERP systems.

In these organizations, the company’s internal relations can be separated from the website, as they only use their websites for introduction and information-providing purposes. Designing a corporate website for web-based activities and managing internal relations through an enterprise portal is recommended.

News website design

SEO is generally essential for news websites, and all the features of a news website can be implemented on the WordPress platform. Some people think free content management systems, such as WordPress, do not have the ability to host websites with a lot of content and users, which is not correct. Using WordPress for top news websites worldwide implies that WordPress can host large websites too.

Creative websites design

Creative websites are generally referred to as websites that a startup implements, following a completely different approach. Usually, on these websites, we need to implement features and capabilities unavailable on any other website. WordPress and dedicated CMSs are in precisely the same situation and development in these cases, and creativity is needed for both.

Since startups generally do not have the capital to code a dedicated CMS and build a strong team in their first months of activity, they usually implement an initial version on the WordPress platform to analyze the customer’s feedback. Whenever the idea is developed, they decide to re-implement the website based on a dedicated CMS or add their desired features to the WordPress platform.

If you are seeking professional website design Dubai, you can get in touch with Websima.