Pros and Cons of a Content Management System

As you look around for a content management system for your website, you’ll notice that there are actually open source, free CMS options out there. If you’re fiscally minded, then you’re probably already doing some research into these systems and wondering if you should save money on a CMS and spend it elsewhere in your budget.

However, while free is always good, in most cases you really do get what you pay for.

Let’s explore a few of the pros and cons of free and paid content management systems.

Free Services Are Limited

First of all, as you look around online for a CMS provider, you’ll see that a lot of them offer free options for their services.

However, when you look a little bit closer, you’ll see that these are highly limited. If you want to get their premium tools, features, and services, you’ll have to pay for them.

Essentially, these providers offer a limited free package because they expect customers to see the advantages they’ll get with a paid service and opt for the premium (paid) package after they become frustrated with the limitations on their free service.

Paid Services Offer the Features You’re Looking For

So what kinds of services are you missing out on if you go with a free CMS?

Are you just going to be missing a few premium templates, or are you going to be excluded from using services and features that really matter to you and your business?

One of the most prominent limitations on a free content management system is your domain name. If you aren’t paying your CMS provider, your site will almost invariably be hosted on their domain. Instead of having a web address like, .[YourCompanyName].com, you’ll have something like http://[YourCompanyName].[YourCMSProvider].com.

This kind of URL looks unprofessional, and it immediately gives away that you’re using a free service.

People visiting your site will assume that you are not invested enough in your business to pay for premium services, and they won’t be likely to take you very seriously.

Get Support Instead of Third-Party Apps

Likewise, if you choose a free CMS and you want to add functionalities like a shopping cart, checkout system, and other dynamic tools, you’re likely going to have to find a third-party application for them.

• Apps that don’t require payment will require you to put up with ad content and will likely clutter your pages.
• Apps that don’t clutter your site will cost money, and you can very quickly nickel and dime yourself to death on a supposedly free service.

Instead, with a paid service like Umbrella CMS, you won’t have to go hunting for third-party apps. Now, you can count on your CMS provider to offer all of the built-in functionalities that you need to create and manage a fully operational and scalable site.

Curious about what you can get with a good paid CMS? Try a free demo of Umbrella CMS today and see what a paid service can do for you.