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Open Source or Commercial - which option should you choose for your CMS?

Guest post by: Allan Kent

Article Overview: Managing your own website i.e. being able to edit content, add or delete images, create new pages is now something most of us take for granted. Being able to perform these tasks without having web coding skills requires a content management system or CMS, which most good website companies do now offer pretty much as standard. Obviously they all vary in quality, especially in terms of what they allow the end user to do, and how easy it is to manage, but beyond that, there is a huge debate regarding the issue of choosing a commercial or an open source derived system. This article hopes to shed some light on the issue. We have to be up front here - we build all our sites on the Contegro CMS so have a slightly biased opinion, though I've tried to be as fair as possible to both sides of the argument here. I'll let you judge!

Open Source or Commercial - which option should you choose for your CMS?

So, as website providers, what are our thoughts on the open source vs commercial CMS debate?

In short, our view is; if you are a developer or employ in house developers who intend to get ‘under the hood' to tinker and modify with the code, then open source will most likely be the best solution. A commercial system typically denies developer access to the code.

However, if you want marketing people, and other non-technical people to manage the site and you don't want the added expense and time delays with developers being involved, then a turn-key commercial system will probably provide the best solution.

Still not sure? - the points below outline some other considerations that should help you decide which option might work best for you..

1. Open source advocates generally cite the benefit of the user being able to make changes to the core.This is certainly true, but the user runs the very real risk that they will be taking the CMS down a unique route, with the customised changes affecting other areas of the site too. This can then make updates and fixes to the site difficult to apply, involving more and more specialised help from developers - rarely a cheap exercise! As that becomes an obstacle, it tends to mean that these updates and fixes don't get applied to the site, resulting in the CMS environment becoming dated and issues being left unresolved.

A commercial CMS generally restricts access and changes to the core, therefore providing a consistent platform in which to apply updates and fixes to keep the environment up to date with the latest technology and feature offerings.

2. A commercial product's viability is typically dependent on the provider's ability to deliver solutions that the end clients require, and then to provide support and on-going development. Open source projects are often ‘developer' focused rather than end user, and therefore the drivers are around the developers requirements. In addition, for the reasons mentioned above, open source projects often tie in the developers to a greater extent with the general upkeep and on-going support of the website. The result -timeframes and on-going expenses around the upkeep of the website can soon away the perceived benefits of open source.

3. Support services. A commercial CMS provider has so much to lose if they don't provide excellent levels of support and training for their products. This can often be lacking with open source providers. Further, if you've been using an in house open source developer to customise applications particular to your requirements, real issues can arise when the developer leaves taking their knowledge with them. Often their work is not as documented and forward planned as with commercially focused developments.

4. Supposedly Open Source is cheaper! Often this might be the case, especially if the website's requirements haven't involved any custom developments. However, if they have, then for the reasons above, long term costs can start adding up as updates and fixes impact on the customised areas of the site. Also, a criticism levelled against commercial CMS's is the on-going annual fee. Some certainly do have annual fees, but itis important to note that not do, and in some cases where they do, it is there to cover maintenance and support. When you consider the cost and peace of mind that annual maintenance agreements provide versus the cost of contracting a developer when changes and updates are required, it maybe the more cost effective option.

5. With a commercial CMS, there is accountability - generally before any release, they will have gone through many rounds of testing. After all, there is a name to be sullied if the product fails! In addition, if there are defects or issues, you know precisely who to talk to. Often accountability with open source developments is much harder to track down, especially as many of the ‘community' developers are not professional developers, merely ‘hobbyists'.

6. A commonly cited strength of open source is that it has a much wider install base and is therefore tried and tested. This fact cannot be denied - the open source community is huge and open source solutions abound everywhere. However, a good commercial system that has been around for at least several years, will also have a tried and tested client base. And remember, it's not always the number of clients that count, it's the satisfaction levels of these clients that really matters! Think of those little Russian cars (I won't mention them by name!) but you'll probably know who I mean. They sold in their millions over many years, but it doesn't mean that their customers were happy!

7. Open source applications are typically developed for the 60 - 70% of common functionalities, meaning that further development work is required to achieve precisely what the client might need. Commercial applications on the other hand, certainly in Contegro's case, are written for the 90 - 95% of common functionalities within each module. This means the solution is generally a turn key solution from the start and the need for any development modifications minimised.

So, we've discussed quite a few reasons now regarding the conceptual choice for your CMS. Whatever your initial preferences might be, our suggestion is always to ask the various providers to demo their CMS platforms to you. As it's you who will be managing your site ongoing, does it present well? Does it look easy enough for you to use? Does it have the flexibility you want? Does it contain work flow options? Our advice is to ask as many questions as you can at the demo, don't just sit back and allow yourself to be taken through the standard demo routine. Asking questions outside of the norm will really reveal how flexible the system is.

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Article Tags: cms, commercial or open source, commercial vs open source, content management system, web cms



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