Which CMS to Choose? Open Source or Proprietary?

If you are tasked to design a website, the first thing that would raise a questions in your head would be of, Which CMS to choose? That is a frequent problem many of you might have, as you are not someone with the knowledge about web design or even web development. There are plenty of options available all over the internet but choosing the best (CMS) gets a bit tricky.

Now, What Are Your Options?

Of course you’ll do your research and that might directly land you to the solutions that you need the most. Now, we are quite familiar with the whole concept of software provided by vendor.

You can work with him and he can provide you with the solutions that you need. Yet, there are plenty of open source applications that might provide you a solution at a reasonable cost or even free of cost.

The question that again comes up is of, Which one to choose? Choosing between an Open Source CMS and a Proprietary one has its own pro and cons. But before we discuss, which one you must consider, let us understand the difference between an Open Source and Proprietary content management system.

Know the Difference between Open Source and Proprietary CMS?

Open source is quite popular nowadays. Vendor provided solutions are not completely demolished but less preferred nowadays. Open source allows the users to modify and enhance the code as the design is made accessible publicly.

This gives a fair advantage to the programmers, who can tweak the code and add tons of new features and fix things that are broken or complicated to use. Some of the best open source CMS out there are, corporal, WordPress, WebGUI, Joomla and Drupal.

Now, there are quite a few Proprietary CMS out there like, Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop that are still preferred by programmers. The thing with Proprietary software is that it the source code can only be modified by the ones who own it legally and not by the programmers.

When it comes to Web Design, it is built and managed by a single company, you need to pay a fee to use it and certainly you cannot change or modify the source code.

With that being said, now you have a fair idea about the differences between Open Source and Proprietary CMS.

There are many reasons for people to choose open source CMS and Proprietary CMS, it comes down to the needs that they require to build their own websites and both CMS has their own pros and cons for the people to see and choose. Website Development Experts often provide with detailed analysis whether Open source or Proprietary CMS to choose.

Reasons why people use OPEN SOURCE?

Many of the Open Source systems are frequently updated by the large community they have. Say for example, WordPress is constantly been updated and improved, which removes the bugs it has as quickly as possible and gives users a satisfactory experience.

Open Source manages to keep your cost down, of course it isn’t always cheaper but you usually get more for your money. The very reason it to be cost effective is because of the community that supports it. Developers constantly build new features into system or add plugins that improves the over functionality of the system.

As it is supported by many developers and Website Development Specialists, you can have many third party plugins to choose from, for everything that helps you build a better website.

Open Source has Risks of its Own

There is no doubt about the advantages open source has to offer but there are several risks also come along with it. There is larger community open source has but it fail to deliver constant support. With that, it is a win for Proprietary software as they have better support 24/7. There are several businesses that require an online support or even a direct helpline. Again, community forums are there to give solutions but it is always better to have a help line 24/7.

There are security concerns for any open source system. It is more vulnerable as anyone can access the codes your Website and be a potential threat to your content. Your programs are more open to virus attacks as well.

Choosing the Right CMS

Both the CMS (Open Source and Proprietary) has their own pros and cons to offer. They have their fair share of place in the market. It all comes down to your preferences that what is best for you and your business.

It depends upon you, whether how much functionality you need for your website. If you want set of specific features for your website better choose a Proprietary CMS, as it will be tailored exactly as per your needs.

If you are someone, who constantly needs an access to the website, to improve its overall functionality or add any new features, Open Source should be your definite choice.