It goes without saying that in a content-focused age, you’re going to need an efficient way to create and manage all that great stuff you come up with. One approach we like in particular is the open source content management system (CMS) platform. We’ll walk you through some examples and a few reasons why they’re so handy.
Decisions, Decisions
As demand and incentive for content-driven marketing go up, so do the number of tools geared toward it. Even technologies that have been around since before this content fever came around have now begun to rebrand and recalibrate themselves as CMS platforms. Focusing on those that are open source — rather than proprietary — is one way to narrow things down a bit and get practical. The most prominent example of an open source CMS is WordPress, the most popular blogging system on the Web. Competitors include Drupal and Joomla, among others.
Why Open Source?
The main idea behind open source software is being openly accessible to anyone for free, often with the option of purchased advantages or upgrades. With a paid proprietary CMS, your site is liable to get stuck in a dependency on their specific code, which won’t play nice with other systems. This can be both restrictive and unfriendly to your budget.
Sticking with open source means that if you switch from one web designer to another, a site overhaul will be no problem because the system is designed to be transparent and flexible. There’s also the added bonus of user-friendliness, not to mention customizability and plugin systems. This means the platform and the community around it are always developing and improving to suit specific needs.
Compare and Contrast
So, which platform is right for you? It depends on what kind of content or plugins and add-ons are most relevant to your business. WordPress is known for being particularly friendly to beginners, but this accessibility has its downsides in the realm of security, as we mentioned in a blog earlier this year. Drupal can be a bit more powerful, but less accessible, and Joomla tends to be the preference for businesses doing a lot of e-commerce. Overall, the more you understand about each CMS and the nature of your company, the better!
The eKzact team is devoted to helping you meet your company’s marketing goals. Whether it’s an upgrade to your WordPress site or even some great video content, we’ve got you covered. Give us a call at 403-770-3023 today!
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