If you are looking at creating a website, you should consider using a content management system (CMS) to help you create, manage and update your website. Content management systems are great because they automate a lot of the tasks required to do these updates to your websites. This means instead of having to code in these changes, you can instead change your website with the click of a button. An example of this that many people will recognize is Joomla. Joomla is a CMS system which lets you update your blog. If you were managing a blog from scratch, previous to software like Joomla, you would have had to have coded the updates by hand in html. Now you can instead update it by using the interface. This makes CMS packages a great option for people who do not know any code.

A great plus is that there are a lot of CMS packages to pick from. The downside is it can be sometimes hard to choose between them, since there are so many out there! When choosing between them, you will find two major differences. There are the free CMS packages (open source) and there are some which cost money (commercial). There are pro’s and con’s for each of them. This article will look at these to help you choose which one is best for you.

Commercial packages are great for people who want a lot of help with their website. This is because almost all commercial software comes with technical help from the creators of the software. Another great benefit to picking a commercial option is the businesses which provide them often provide other services which you can take advantage of. For example, a lot of these companies will also update your sites monthly for you for a fee. This gives you more free time to do what you want.

On the other hand, the downside is this all comes at a cost! Commercial CMS software is not free. Luckily, the cost of this has come down over the years so it is worth while checking in to just to check. Open course CMS software is free so if you do not have any extra money to spend, you will have to do with this option.

One plus side to open source software is, of course, that it doesn’t cost anything. There is no initial payment and no monthly payments, so you can use this money elsewhere. Another plus side is open source CMS software like WordPress, Joomla and Drupal is that there are thousands of members of the internet community who are constantly working on updating and creating additions. These additions are of a very high quality and are excellent. Oftentimes these add-ons are free though not always.

The biggest downside to open source CMS software is that you are on your own. If you don’t know much about using computers you will struggle to use this software. Tutorials are often available on the internet, however they usually use complex jargon and are not for those who are just beginning with computers.

Ultimately, it comes down to you and your needs. Some people will require commercial software, others will be happy with the free options. Check out what is available before making your final decision.

I am a business consultant with many years of experience in running websites. If you would like more information on CMS NZ be sure to take a look at my blog.