This White Paper explains the differences between a custom-built Web site and a Content Management System (CMS) site like DotNetNuke (DNN).

Definitions

A custom-built site starts with a “look and feel”, which includes graphics, colors, and navigation that are all pre-selected and crafted into an original design. The site is built on a Template, so that each page has the same masthead (header), navigation, and footer, and any of these elements can be changed site-wide with a change to (typically) a single file. Other than the template, each page is a “blank canvas” onto which is placed the content, including graphics, formatted text, forms, and functions like audio and video. There is typically no limit to the way that elements can be placed on the page.

A CMS site starts with a “skin” that has already been created by a third party. The skin defines the basic structure of the page, including header, navigation, and footer, as well as how the content area is divided (typically into two or three columns, called panes). Each skin has a color scheme, which can usually be changed by SPWS. Adding pieces to the site consists of selecting free or for-purchase modules which are embedded in the content area. Essentially, a CMS-driven site uses a database to store information and build pages for visitors “on the fly”, which isn’t detectable to users, but offers specific advantages. Typically, SPWS builds the entire site in the CMS for you, then shows you how to modify it after that.

Advantages

A custom-built site is all about flexibility. For a highly-visual site (or site owner), a custom site can create a site unlike any other on the Web, built to “wow” the visitor. And if advanced functionality is required, a custom site can be wrapped around the most complex back-end code.

A CMS is, in almost every case, less expensive to build, and to maintain, than a custom site. By its very nature, it removes the subjectivity of a custom site, which eliminates the time spent conceiving of, building, and tweaking the look & feel as well as the functionality of the site. You, the site owner, have the ability to do virtually anything with your own site – this consists of primarily adding or editing text, but can include adding modules that contain certain functionality, and even adding entire pages to the site. You can still hire our company to make changes whenever you don’t have the skills, or the inclination, to make your own changes, but you’re not held hostage to our availability and hourly rates.

Limitations

A custom-built site has no limits on the front end, but changes once the site is built can be time-consuming, especially if they involve navigation.

A CMS-driven site needs to be hosted on our server, or one that supports DotNetNuke (it’s a very popular tool, so you have a number of choices). And as far as “what can be done with a CMS”, a given idea will either be very easy to implement, or nearly impossible. (We never say that ANYTHING is impossible, but in some cases, it requires a change to the code that was written by a third party, so we have to dig into it ourselves or have them edit it.) Finally, if a piece of code isn’t working properly, we have to go back to the third party who created it, which may take more time and money than code that we wrote ourselves. Each module we purchase typically has many users around the world, so it’s likely that others are experiencing the bug as well and the developer will be motivated to fix it.

Other considerations

DNN is search-engine friendly, and is written in asp.net, which is the “next generation” of coding language, so it won’t become obsolete any time soon. It’s “open source”, meaning that the basic code is free and is developed by a worldwide community of contributors, so it is continually being enhanced.

The bottom line: if you can find a skin that you like, and we can find modules that contain the functionality that you’re looking for, then a CMS site will save you money now and in the future. And if your site stays fairly straightforward, you can even change skins down the road, giving your site a new “look” without having to start from scratch!