CMS or Hardcoding, Which Fits You Better?
When it comes to creating and managing a website, there are two main options: CMS or hard-coding. Here is a comparison of the two options to help you make the right decision for your website.
What Is a Content Management System (CMS)?
A CMS, or Content Management System, is a platform that provides content management services to users. This allows users to create, edit, and publish content without having to know how to code with its easy-to-use interface.
Most CMSs have a user-friendly interface, which makes it easy for users to build and edit website content. Popular CMSs include WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
What is hard-coding?
When you hard-code a website, you are building it without any aid of a CMS. This means that you are responsible for managing all the content yourself, and making any amendments requires changes to the source code.
This can be a laborious and time-consuming process, and it is easy to make mistakes. You also need to be familiar with the software used to edit the source code, which not everyone is.
If you choose to hard-code the website, a dedicated software is needed. Adobe Dreamweaver, Visual Studio Code, and Notepad++ are some of the popular choices.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a CMS
So, which it “better”? CMS or hard-code? Well, IT DEPENDS.
If you are going for a simple, easy-to-use website with no coding required, then a CMS is the way to go. There are a multitude of beautiful templates to choose from, and the interface is very user-friendly, almost dummy-proof.
However, if you would like to have more control on the look and feel of your website or to have high flexibility in customization, then hard-coding might be a better option. However, it is important to note that using a CMS comes with its own set of risks. Plugins from different sources can often crash the website, so you will need to update them regularly.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Hard-coding
A hard-coded website allows you to have full control over the design and functionality of the website. In other words, there are no limitations imposed by content management systems, as each element can be precisely customized according to your needs. Furthermore, since all the code is written by a coder and not an auto-generated code, the structure is simpler and easier to read.
However, this also means that hard-coding will need web coding knowledge to build
Making A Decision
When deciding between a CMS and a hard-coded website, there are three major factors to consider in advanced:
What’s the size of the website?
How often can update the website?
What’s the level of functionality required?
The bigger your website is and the more complex your requirements are, the more likely you are to prefer CMS. Also, if frequent updates or specialized features are expected, then a CMS is a convenient yet practical choice.
It is also important to take into account on who will be maintaining the website and their level of technical skill when making this decision. A good rule of thumb is that for an average-sized website with a few pages, hard-coding is likely to be the better option.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the choice between CMS and hard-coded website really depends on the needs and preferences. CMS offers convenience to build a faster and more streamlined website, but with restrictions. Hard-coding provides flexibility, control, and customisation, which requires skillsets to complete.
Coding is today’s language of creativity. Happy Coding!
