CMS Or HTML? Pros And Cons | Taylor and Associates

When it comes to designing a website, should you use HTML or build your site using a content management system (CMS)?

It’s a good question and I’m not the first to ask it, but today I’ll give you the pros and cons of both approaches. Which one works for you depends on your goals, budget, and other concerns.

Let’s first talk about HTML.

Web Design Pros/Cons Of HTML

HTML is the basic language of the Web. If you design your website using HTML, then you’ll be building on the basic building block of the Web itself. That said, let’s talk about the pros and the cons.

Pros Of HTML Web Design

HTML websites are more secure than CMS sites; there is less of a likelihood that you will get hacked
You often have more control over the SEO aspect of web design
You can design your website exactly how you want it without worrying about forced features of a CMS
CMS websites can be code heavy, resulting in a slower page load speed and diminished SEO
Other coding languages can be easily integrated into your website

Cons Of HTML Web Design

It can take longer to design a website using HTML
With HTML, one character out of place can mean your entire website doesn’t load properly; it is a much more tedious process
Older versions of HTML can become obsolete and result in diminished SEO over time as the code is updated
Simple changes to your website can take much longer to implement than you are willing to spend since you may have to make those changes one page at a time

Web Design Pros/Cons Of A CMS

There is no shortage of content management systems on the market. Some are free and open source and some are paid. Some are good and some are not so good. If you decide to use a CMS, I’d recommend a free and open source one that you can manipulate for your own needs. Some popular free, open source CMSs include WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Pligg.

Now let’s discuss pros and cons.

Pros Of CMS Web Design

A CMS can allow you to make changes across multiple pages at the same time
You don’t have to know any coding languages to design a website using a CMS
Designing a website can often be accomplished much more quickly, and less expensively
Most CMSs have a strong support community built up around them
You can usually add plugins or add-ons to a CMS to enhance your website’s capabilities
Routine changes or small tweaks in design do not take as long with a CMS

Cons Of CMS Web Design

A CMS is not as secure as an HTML website
Some CMSs do not handle SEO concerns very well or require special configuration settings or tweaking to achieve the same results
More advanced changes might mean hiring a more advanced user to help you make the changes
Constant upgrades can be annoying

Most CMSs are advanced enough today that the cons of using a CMS are much lower than they used to be. For most small business owners, I’d recommend a CMS website over HTML as you can quickly make necessary changes over time and do it yourself without extensive coding knowledge.

Web design isn’t hard if you’re willing to put in the time, whether you decide to use a content management system or code your site in HTML.