Saskia Teichmann
First of all, most clients want to maintain their website themselves—or at least have their employees do it. The tasks involved include, for example, editing pages and menus, creating new pages, updating photo galleries, and performing SEO maintenance. If that goes smoothly, that’s great. If the client has the determination, the time, and the know-how to handle all of this, they can truly maximize the potential of a CMS.
But in the vast majority of cases (and I speak from experience here), very few customers truly take full advantage of a CMS. Even if they make a few changes here and there on a regular basis, they’re barely scratching the surface of what’s possible. With such limited use, it becomes difficult to justify the development and server costs. Many clients are initially very enthusiastic, but after just a short time, their feelings become mixed and their initial enthusiasm wanes. This is usually because they’re too busy with the „real work“—that is, their actual core business. Especially once they realize that the fancy websites require a bit more effort than a WYSIWYG-text editing program.
If only a few small changes are made to the pages here and there anyway, why have a CMS under the hood at all?
Justified question. CMS or HTML? I would advise anyone who is not using their CMS website to its full potential to switch to an HTML website. I would do the same for someone who can't get to grips with their CMS backend and is looking for professional help for every change anyway.
HTML website
Static HTML pages are fast, secure, and highly flexible in terms of design. Despite its static nature, an HTML website can be very extensive, and CMS functionality can be added later if needed. This website model allows you to start small—with a focus on design, speed, and security.
Who is an HTML website suitable for?
- if you only make changes every one to two weeks
- if you do not want to deal with a CMS
- if you want frequent and inexpensive redesigns of your site
- if you would not use a CMS to its full extent
- if you are not interested in constant updates and the associated problems (e.g. plugin and design compatibility)
- if you are confident to make changes directly in the HTML code (of course with support at the beginning)
- if you do not want to operate a store system, blog or other dynamic system (e.g. a forum or a page with a member area or similar) and your website only comprises 3-5 individual pages.
Advantages
- All changes and updates can be carried out by me ( 😉 ), for example, as part of a maintenance contract.
- Much faster than a CMS—even without caching or CDN costs.
- More secure than a CMS because attack surfaces such as databases and server scripts are eliminated
- Cost-effective redesign or revision of individual pages or the entire website
Disadvantages
- Not suitable for extremely extensive websites with many individual pages
- Not suitable for complex sites: eCommerce (web stores), eLearning, blogs and forum websites.
- Written in pure HTML (or also with PHP parts) and therefore requires programming knowledge if the content maintenance is not done by a professional.
CMS (e.g. WordPress)
Content management systems (CMS) have become the gold standard in website development. Their flexibility, scope, and the ability to manage professional corporate websites with thousands of individual pages—combined with their relative ease of use—make them so popular. They are an ideal solution for large sites with specific requirements, such as e-commerce, e-learning, or other interactive features that require a database. CMS sites come with an extensive range of extensions („plugins“) that make it relatively easy to expand site functionality. Even very complex features can be added at a relatively low cost.
Who is a CMS suitable for?
- if you update many pages/posts frequently (every one to two days or weekly)
- if you have experienced employees who know how to use a CMS
- if you have sufficient budget to realize the redesign of the CMS template if required
- if you manage a user pool that interacts with each other on your homepage
- if you need user management, authorization and access control
- if you need to monitor page and post creation, approvals and version control
- if you need a simple RSS feed implementation
- if you want to achieve multilingualism simply and clearly
- if the CMS functionalities are more important to you than frequent design changes
- if you need database automation
- if you have very large parts catalogs, documentation archives that are frequently updated, reference material or learning and practice material such as for eLearning websites
- If you want to run a webshop and/or a blog
Advantages
- High-quality, robust architecture
- Wide range of plugins and extensions
- Easily edit content and pages—even without any programming knowledge
- Massively scalable
- Complex functionalities can be retrofitted at relatively low cost
Disadvantages
- Requires familiarization
- It can sometimes be difficult to achieve the desired page look if you don't have any programming knowledge or at least basic knowledge of how to use page builders, the WordPress Gutenberg editor and similar tools.
- Requires sustained employee commitment in order to exploit full potential
- Higher setup, server/hosting and design development costs
- Frequent security updates and associated maintenance work and costs
November 2019 -
Very nicely written, but CMS and HTML can also be combined:
CMS onweb for static existing HTML websites
Free demo
***
Editor's note:
Link removed as not approved and no longer accessible. The CMS onweb product no longer seems to exist.
Thanks for the helpful insights! Your explanation of the choice between CMS and HTML websites helped me a lot. Especially the point that CMS is often not fully utilized is a good hint. I will consider for future projects whether an HTML site might be the better, faster and more secure choice. The advantages and disadvantages of both models were very helpful! Lg Imelda