When first looking into the creation of a new website for your business, one of the first points to think about is how you want to interact with your website. [artBreak] Will you be working with your website, or will it just sit in the background backing up your branding?

There are two main websites on offer for business, a static site that is "as is" , or a Content Management System built site that you, as a customer are able to change the content, add new pages, and build as large as you need  / want to.

Generally, there is an increased initial setup fee involved in using a content management system, and generally an increased hosting cost (if it is a hosted solution). Whereas a static website is often cheaper to setup, and the hosting is generally cheaper.

Here comes the part that a lot of businesses have trouble with when planning a website: How large is your site going to be in two years time?
Although it is hard to plan everything that far in advance, it is an important factor in deciding how you want your site to be created, and the overall costs involved. 

If your answer is something along the lines of "we want our site to have updated calenders that will be archived, and we will be adding new products and services to our site", then a content management system is the way to go for you, as you will be saving money on future webmaster fees in constantly updating your site.

If your answer is something like "we need a 5 page site to work as an online business card, we may make one or two changes or additions to it per year", then a static website should be more than enough for you, and the extra costs involved with a CMS are not really warranted.

The way the web is going, pretty much all business' need to update content regularly if for nothing else, for the sake of search engine food. So, more and more, there is a call for content management systems to be used. On the whole, a CMS makes everyones life easier, and can end up saving you a LOT of money long term. But, like any part of business, all avenues should be explored after a business plan has been created.

Contact us for further explanation or advice.