Content Management Systems (CMS)

Content Management Systems are websites that allow the user to control the content of their own website.

Gone are the days when you sent your web company a request for a website amend for it to be actioned a week next thursday. With a CMS you can make the change yourself within seconds.

Sputnik are specialists in Open Source Content Management Systems, particularly what is argueably the biggest hitter of all, Joomla. we also have experience in other systems such as Wordpress.

If you would like to speak to us about a CMS website development feel free to give us a call on 01484 680 380, or use our contact form.

Open Source CMS vs Others

There are many Content Management Systems on the market and they can be broken down into three basic categories:

1. Open Source. These systems are based around software applications which, licensed under the GNU General Public License, are "free" (in both financial terms and freedom of code for use and adaptation). There are many benefits of using an Open Source system:
   1. There are no expensive software licenses;
   2. Many companies are familiar with the software applications so you are not tied down to any one company;
   3. They tend to have a large support community;
   4. They tend to be a much cheaper starting point for a CMS website;
   5. Applications, in due course, get thoroughly tested by the community so bugs and glitches tend to get ironed out quite quickly.
2. Proprietory. A company can write their own standard application and use this to power their clients websites. We believe there are disadvantages to going down this route:
   1. There are likely to be recurrent licenses to pay;
   2. Websites, on the whole, tend to be much more expensive;
   3. You are tied into that company to host and manage your website;
   4. Application development is limited to a small number of people meaning development is slower, and bugs and glitches take longer to be fixed.
3. Bespoke. In some situations a client's needs may be so specific and unique that there isn't a standard application to meet those needs. In this situation it is often recommended to build a CMS website completely from scratch to fit the bill completely. The obvious disadvantage to this method is the tendency for the fees to be astronomical.