Many business owners who are in the market for a new website ask about whether they should choose an open source Content Management System (CMS) vs a custom one. With more and more options available to customize out-of-the-box solutions like WordPress and Joomla, now there’s no need to choose. Open source solutions provides many benefits that make them the best possible option for many websites and e-commerce sites. Here’s why: Open source CMS solutions are developer friendly. They can be configured to look and act as desired, plus, solutions like WordPress and Joomla are supported by robust communities of developers who are constantly creating improvements, technology enhancements and platform upgrades. Open source typically means lower cost. CMS options like WordPress are a fraction of the cost of building something from scratch. Developers can choose from a broad number of templates, and then can customize the look and feel to match the client’s brand. Functionality is a non-issue. If it’s bells and whistles you are looking to add to your site, there are more plug-ins available for WordPress and Joomla than you can imagine. Plug-ins are self-contained and can be added and upgraded relatively easy. Development is faster. Because programmers don’t have to start from scratch, programming time typically involves the configuration of plug-ins and installation of template theme. After that, it’s pretty much as easy as loading the content. With open source solutions, the key is to use reliable plug-ins and not to overbuild. The result? A website that is as robust and affordable as you can imagine. Interested in finding out more about open source platforms like WordPress or Joomla? Contact one of our technologists today.