Open Source Platform to Choose
There are multiple open source platforms and based on usage, purpose and business goals you can pick the right platform for your CMS.
WordPress – WordPress is the most popular platform for CMS and powers more than half the CMS sites worldwide. The system is comprehensive and intuitive and every new version that has been released has been impactful. The developers’ community contributes magnificently and there are innumerable free extensions with simplest interface. If you are seeking an uncomplicated CMS with powerful scaling capacity, WordPress CMS is the easiest to create with simple steps – create a page, add it to the menu, post something and your content is reflected on the frontend of the website.
Joomla – Joomla is user-friendly and offers multiple customization options though it is more complex than WordPress. Despite its rather complex framework, Joomla extension developers and community have contributed immensely smart solutions for common design problems which can’t be found on WordPress. Joomla has innumerable extensions, plugins for modules and countless layouts that can be manipulated for highly standardized CMS website.
Drupal – Drupal is the ultimate platform for CMS development as developers can pull off any kind of magic trick on this platform without the need for custom coding that is often required on WordPress and Joomla. There are many ready-made solutions on Drupal and these can be enhanced with third party extensions. If you are after a heavy website that will have full-time administrators, then Drupal is the best platform.
Open Source – the Good
Price – the thing about open source platforms is that it is free. Many resources come free of cost and maintenance is also cheaper. Also, you are not hackled by the restrictions of a licensed platform while making customizations within the price-band.
Development Community – the perk of open source platforms is the developers’ community support. Many minds put together contribute extensively to make the thriving platform feature-rich and meaningfully agile.
Open Source – Being open source itself is a major perk since there is wide scope for customization and fine-tuning. Also, without waiting for the platform owners to push forth the new update, coding can be one to create unique extensions that are requisite for specific business needs.
Open Source – the Bad
Development Community Dependence – the development community are independent developers of the platform and if you post a query, firstly, you have to wait for a response and secondly, you have to wait for a response that will be best-suited to your problem.
Non-proprietary – Since it is non-proprietary, the owners of the platform are not answerable and security becomes an issue as much as resolving an issue.
Stability – As the platform thrives on the developers’ community contribution, it’s open source and non-proprietary, the system is not entirely stable.
Selecting the Right Web Development Company
Support – developing a CMS does not end with that, post-development support is also essential. Many companies offer some amount of post-launch support and have extended maintenance and support packages. Check the maintenance packages and opt for companies that make best offers.
Business Understanding – apart from being technically sound, it is essential that the website development company has sound knowledge of business application of the system so that the solution provides relevant business support.
Community Support – open source platforms are largely dependent on the communities for resolving issues, and hence it is important to ensure that the developers’ community is equipped to resolve and issue that might arise on your CMS.
