Custom Coding V.S. Using A CMS

The biggest decision that you might have to make! Do you want to custom code your website, and be able to control every last bit of it, or use a CMS where everything is faster? Of course, you could also code your own CMS, but we are not going to get into that here, sorry.

Pros and Cons of Custom Coding

Instead of writing another article, I thought I would give myself a break, and just type a list. I hope you enjoy reading that instead of a big block of text!

Pro's

Full customizability. You know exactly where to go if you need to change something. (You wrote the code after all)!
Completely unique. It’s all yours, and you can be happy with it. (Unless you are me, then you always want to change this or that).
Experiment time! If you're like me, you’ll see something on the internet and want to implement it (Or if you're also like me, you will break your site in the process). This might not always be possible on a CMS.

Con's

They can take a long time. But they are so-so-so worth it in the end (Trust me)
It can be hard to implement things that are simple in a CMS. Need a contact form? You can just install a plugin for WordPress and you are good to go, while if you custom coded it, you need to go into the wild (Google) and find something to use, or custom code it from scratch (This goes back to the first point about time).

Pros and Cons of using a CMS

An example of a CMS is WordPress or Jumla, and here is your list!

Pro's

Fast and Simple. It’s fast to set up, it's simple to make. Just like this sentence.
You don’t need to know how to code, and the UI is quite simple to use (Most of the time)
Plugins. They make everything better, easier, and faster. Not much more is needed on this topic!

Con's

Speed. If you're like me and add a bunch of plugins (Or even if you don’t), your website could really slow down. If you are using a CMS, you may want to get a high-speed hosting plan.
Customization. Although there are more and more plugins that allow you to customize more and more things, chances are that one thing you want to customize is not in a plugin. Into the unknown (Code) you go!
Updates. We all hear stories of how updates break WP sites, and not updating them allows hackers to gain access to your site. It can be a lose-lose saturation at times I guess.

Conclusion

CMS or Custom code? Make that decision before you start! Here at the TinkerTechLab, we are proud to say that no CMS’s are used (Except for ones that we code ourselves). It takes time to build and secure, but it's customizability is well worth the time and effort spent. If you want to ask us questions on the subject (We used to use WordPress too!), be sure to send us a message. Happy Creating!