Free Getting Started Guide
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (CMS)
Choosing the right platform with the best built-in systems for your needs as you build your website is an important decision.
IN THIS LESSON
In this video, I discuss the value and importance of Content Management systems for web designers of all abilities, and some of the critieria you may want to use in deciding which company will host and have a platform that you want to use to build your website.
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the module on Content Management Systems, CMS.
I’m going to start by offering a couple of definitions. Some people ask, what is website content?
Content is all the details you put into a website to create the user experience. It includes the pages you build, the blog posts you write, the descriptions of products, and an e-store if you have one. It also consists of all forms of media, such as videos, audio files, and images.
A content management system, or CMS, is the software used to create a website. It simplifies the process for the designer, so you don’t need technical or coding skills. These systems benefit webmasters of all levels and are essential for the novice.
0:54 CHOOSING A CMS
In this module, I will discuss some things to consider when choosing a content management system and a platform to work from, as well as some of the things you might want to consider. I will also compare three website builders that I think are good choices. So, there are lots of platforms and options. Some popular website-building platforms include Shopify, Site123, Webador, Hostinger, Ionis, Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. And in my comparison, I will talk about the last three: Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace. These are the platforms that I have the most experience with.
1:50 DESIGN OPTIONS & TEMPLATES
The first thing we will discuss is design options and templates.
All three of these platforms are beginner-friendly building platforms. They offer to host and use a content management system. All three of these options have ready-to-go templates. Wix doesn’t allow you to change templates once you’ve selected one, which makes it hard to refresh a website’s look in the future. You will have to start all over and lose your data in integrations, so that’s a little bit of an issue.
2:18 CUSTOMIZATION
Customization is another thing to consider.
I think Wix is an easy platform to use, but it offers limited extensions and features and is the least flexible of the three regarding design options.
WordPress is a robust system with many flexibility and features, but it also has a steep learning curve for users.
Squarespace is somewhere in the middle. It’s not quite as robust or flexible, but it offers a good range of plug-ins and extensions, and it’s not nearly as complicated to learn how to use WordPress.
3:10 SECURITY
The third topic we’ll discuss is security. Nowadays, all companies promise to prioritize security features, which is critical!
I can’t speak to Wix security because I have only helped people with free or basic sites that didn’t have features that could be breached.
In my experience with websites hosted by WordPress, I have had several security breaches. One of them was due to a plug-in that I forgot to update manually, and as a result, I was hacked and then overwhelmed by bots that generated thousands of emails in a very short period of time, just a matter of hours. I had to shut down my site for almost a week while I tried to figure out how to stop it. Eventually, I got things fixed and secured, but in the end, it was super stressful. So, for me, security is really at the top of my list, and I need to trust that my hosting company will protect me and solve all security issues.
So far, all the websites I’ve worked on in Squarespace have been incident-free, and I’ve felt really good about that.
4:12 SUPPORT
A fourth thing to consider is the support that’s in place for you as a customer.
Wix has around-the-clock support. Support is available for most of their plans, but only for English speakers. You have to engage with a chatbot first before getting access to a human, and then only get access to a human if needed. The highest-paid Wix programs come with priority phone support.
There’s lots of help out there for WordPress. Users can get help through forums. However, those needing help with hosting issues must contact their hosting provider. WordPress has live chat and email support 24/7 through wordpress.com. There are many other resources, knowledge bases, community forums, support groups, etc., available. So there’s a lot of support, but you may have to dig for it.
Squarespace offers 24/7 email support for their customers. However, their live chat is only available weekdays between 4 am and 8 pm EST. And they don’t have any phone support at all, so those are things to consider.
5:25 PRICE
Another important feature is the price!
Wix and WordPress have free templates, but you need to find a hosting plan to publish your site.
Wix plans include a free domain, which is worth about $20, for the first year. They offer four tiers for hosting plans, starting at $17 a month and going up to the premium plan, which is $159 a month. They have a free, basic website version with ads that visitors will see.
WordPress also offers a free plan, but it comes with limitations. Their paid plans include a free domain for one year. There are four tiers for their paid plans, starting at $4 a month and going up to $45 a month, which includes e-commerce. They also offer what’s called an “Enterprise plan” that starts at $25,000 a year.
Squarespace doesn’t have any free plans; it only has paid plans. All plans include a free domain for the first year, just as the other platforms do. The hosting and commerce plans come in four tiers, starting at $16 a month (when paid annually) and going up to $99 a month (paid annually), depending upon the features you need.
7:09 SUMMARY
So, I hope this is helpful. There are certainly lots of options. Because of my experience, I’ve chosen to work with Squarespace. In my opinion, it offers the appropriate level of flexibility and features. It is a bit better than some of the simpler website platforms, but it doesn’t have the complexity of WordPress. So it’s far less complicated from a designer and user perspective, which I think is really important for what I’m trying to do. Because I’ve chosen to work with Squarespace, all of my how-to tutorials will be demonstrated using Squarespace. Although Squarespace has a lot of information available in their Support area, and you can dive in and find answers to all kinds of questions, I believe that providing my clients with some simple, short how-to videos will give you a sense of ease and confidence that you may not get if you’re on your own trying to search through the topics. So, there’s a summary of content management systems and a few options for you to consider as you’re thinking about how to build your website and who might host it.
Thanks. See you in the next module.