How to Choose the CMS When Creating Your Website

There are dozens of CMS (Content Management System) on the market, yet the choice often boils down (and rightly so) to WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal. So how do you decide between these three content management systems?

1. Is your CMS popular among website creators?

Ensuring the popularity of the chosen content management solution is very important. This first assures you that a sufficient number of web providers will be able to respond to you, allowing you to leverage competition. To get an idea, take a look at the market shares of different CMS.

If you wish to change providers, a widely used solution makes it easier to find a new one, which helps ensure your website's longevity.

2. Does the CMS offer numerous plugins?

A content management solution does not necessarily offer all the features you need natively. Imagine, for example, that you want to equip your website with an online booking feature. Two solutions are available to your web provider:

• either they develop the feature from scratch: from scratch, in other words, from nothing
• or they rely on an existing plugin: they will adapt a feature that has already been developed

In the second setup, the working time is significantly reduced and so is the cost. The variety of existing plugins ensures substantial savings.

For example, currently WordPress has over 60,000 plugins! This also means you need to know how to sift through and sort the wheat from the chaff.

3. Is the CMS easy to access?

For your website to be successful, it needs to be updated regularly. This will help maintain a steady flow of traffic. If you need to update your site several times a month, it should be easy to access. Before choosing a content management system, try to see what its back-office looks like to facilitate administration.

4. Can the CMS evolve? Towards an extranet? Towards an e-commerce site?

Alongside the question of plugins, consider whether the CMS you choose allows for easy evolution towards features that might be useful later on: extranet, client area, e-commerce, etc. Some CMSs offer the integration of certain features more easily than others. For example, Drupal allows for easy implementation of an extranet, while the WooCommerce extension enables WordPress to offer very interesting e-commerce features.

5. What budget will this involve for the creation of your website?

All these points naturally have a direct impact on the budget for creating your website. If the chosen solution is widespread and offers numerous features, there is no doubt that you will pay less than for a more niche solution with limited features.

Ask yourself these questions, compare them with the CMS your web provider suggests, and see which technical solution fits you best.