Probably the most common approaches to dynamic websites are the web Content Management Systems (CMS).
A web CMS is, according to Wikipedia, a bundled or stand-alone application to create, manage, store and deploy content on Web pages. Web content includes text and embedded graphics, photos, video, audio, and code (e.g., for applications) that displays content or interacts with the user. A web CMS may catalog and index content, select or assemble content at runtime, or deliver content to specific visitors in a requested way, such as other languages. Web CMSs usually allow client control over HTML-based content, files, documents, and web hosting plans based on the system depth and the niche it serves
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If you have decided your site will be updated on regular basis, there are several options for you to get your site done.
1. Develop an in-house application
This may often sound as a good and quick solution, but remember you need a lot of resources to develop a dynamic website:
- at least one web developer, familiar with HTML, web scripting and databases
- an online web designer (do not make the mistake to think that an offline designer can handle the layout of a website!)
- a system administrator to handle server software installation and security issues
If you do not have these skills in your company, the in-house development may turn into a never-ending, time and money consuming project.
Please keep in mind that the website development is not a trivial task and most of the web systems have been developed and improved over the years.
2. Install an pre-built open source CMS
This may be a very good solution, as there are a lot of advantages on using off the shelf CMS:
- requirements: if the CMS covers at least 80% of your requirements, then go for the pre-built CMS; please remember that to change an existing solution that does not fits your needs can be much more expensive than developing it from the scratch or outsourcing
- budget: developing a custom CMS is an expensive task, choosing a CMS that fits your needs may significantly reduce the costs of website
- time frame: you can considerably shorten the development of your website by using a pre-designed & tested system
It is always important to understand that creating and publishing the dynamic website is not the end of the project, but just the beginning: you need to have a skilled person who can take care of the site and update the content.
If you do not have the team to support the installation, templating and administration of the pre-built CMS, then you should outsource your project.
3. Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the preferred approach by most commercial organizations. Webris can get off your head the project management, requirements, team recruiting, web development, hosting and website publishing.
Every step of the project, from refining requirements and choosing the right CMS for you up to delivering the functional website and taking care of the content can be handled by professionals.