
Today I came across another business that had their website developed using a bespoke platform (CMS) with .NET programming, created by developers based in Amsterdam. The fact that the developers are in Amsterdam isn’t helpful, however, that isn’t the biggest issue here, their building of a bespoke CMS using .NET is certainly more of an issue, as very few developers use it.
Every time I meet a business with a bespoke CMS website, the client always suffers from these troublesome issues:
- Expensive developments for additional and relatively simple functionality
- Limited access e.g. no FTP for SEO agencies to improve the performance of the site
These issues are often magnified by poor turnaround times due to the fact you can only realistically ask the original developers to carry out the work (as it’s their system) and they might be busy or take longer to carry out the work because they have to develop everything from scratch.
On top of this, clients might experience an issue when trying to move the website away from the original developers, even though you have paid for the website in full. This is due to some developers claiming ownership of the system (coding or programming). If you are allowed to move the site away, you will also struggle to find other developers willing to work with a bespoke system they have never come across before.
Lastly, if you do find someone willing to carry out the necessary work, you will typically have to pay more than you would when using an open source platform.If you are wondering what I mean by open source platforms, here are a few, I’m sure you will have heard of most:
- WordPress
- Joomla
- Drupal
- Magento
- WooCommerce
- Opencart
Open Source means that any developer in the world can create plugins, modules and themes for others to use/purchase.
Strategy Plus created websites using our own bespoke CMS up until 2012 and although it wasn’t an easy decision, it was the right one to move to open source platforms. Those that stubbornly produce websites using their own systems are just being lazy or worse, purposely doing so to tie customers in.
Unless you are creating a website with completely unique functionality or need to spend over the odds to have very sensitive information made ultra safe e.g. NHS or bank, then you do not need a bespoke website platform.
Learn more about how we develop websites and how we can help.
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