How to choose the right type of website for your business

So you have decided you need a website, what next? Perhaps you search online for Web Developers, or you talk to your best friend’s cousin who has built websites before. The next thing you know, you are being bombarded with requests.

Things like:

How many pages do you need?
Do you have content and images ready?
Can you provide some samples of websites you like?

I know this can seem overwhelming, but these are all important questions that will need to be answered to build a successful website. In many cases, we work with customers to answer these questions as part of our initial finding session.

However, there is another question that is equally important to the project but not as straightforward. That question is - what type of website do you want? Your initial reaction might be, “Is this a trick question? I want a website on the Internet.”

No, it’s not a trick question. When it comes to websites, they come in many shapes and sizes. The type of website you choose will have an impact both on how you manage it in the future, and most importantly - the budget.

There is no right or wrong answer, as ultimately it depends on your needs. Let's take a look at 2 common types of websites and the pros and cons of each.

Custom-built Website

What this means is a website that is coded by a Web Developer. This is generally done through the use of HTML, CSS, and maybe other coding languages the Developer is comfortable with.

Pros: Generally quicker to build, and thus more cost-effective for initial development. Often less bloated under the hood so it is capable to be much more optimized than a content management system for search engines.
Cons: Unless you know how to code yourself, you will need to hire a developer to make every little update. If you frequently change your site this can prove to be costly, and challenging if your updates are time-sensitive.

Content Management System (CMS) Website

You have likely heard the term CMS before, but you may not know what that means. In a nutshell, it is a website that has an admin section so it can be updated through a web browser.

Pros: Provides tools for the website owner to make updates immediately themselves, lowering the cost associated with future changes. Many have plugins that are easy to install and use to add more to your website.
Cons: Initial development is longer and more costly. There is also the risk of the website owner breaking their website when making updates. You will be responsible for making necessary security updates as time goes on (very prevalent with WordPress). Sometimes running these updates can cause issues with various areas of your website.

Depending on your initial needs and how frequent you will be updating your website, you will be able to make a decision that is best for the budget both in the short-term and the long term.

If you have additional questions please let us know. We have Designers and Developers capable of building custom websites. In addition, we have experience building many websites using CMS tools. This includes products such as our in-house secure web builder tool WebdeXpress, as well as WordPress.

You can call us toll-free at 1-800-232-3989, email us at contact@pspinc.com, or fill out our online form to get a hold of us.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.