WordPress or HTML?

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the basic language of all web pages, no matter how they are created.  Even Flash websites have to be inserted into HTML webpages. Until recent years, most websites were simple HTML pages.  And in order for clients to make even simple text edits they either needed to learn HTML, buy Dreamweaver (or other web page development software) or pay a web designer to make the edits for them.  Programmers then came up with something called Content Management Systems (CMS) whereby the client could edit their own page content.  There are now several types of these CMS programs available.  WordPress was originally developed as a blogging program but designers quickly figured out that they could make websites too.  WordPress is now one of the most popular CMS platforms that designers use. 

WordPress

You may have heard about the popularity of WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) for websites, which ultimately means it’s easier for the client to update their own content by themselves. Editing WordPress content does not require any special skills or software. While this is easier for the client, it still requires two things: some basic software and computer skills and TIME to do the editing. I have found that clients these days really like the IDEA of doing their own edits and thus saving money on having a professional do it. But eventually some find that it still takes time they don’t necessarily have.

WordPress websites rely on the program to be loaded onto the server, several template files to be created and a database which is where the actual content for each “page” is contained. When a WordPress web page is called up by the browser, it reads the page link, determines which template files it needs, calls the content for that page from the database and then puts it all together into the browser window for the viewer. That’s a lot of processing going on, and though these pages can take a tad bit longer to load, it’s pretty negligible.

Another issue with WordPress is that hackers like to try to get into these sites, so WordPress is regularly updating the base software to plug holes and keep sites safe. This means the software used for your specific website must be updated as these new versions come available. In and of itself, updating is as easy as clicking an “update now” button. However, updating the software can create issues with your existing website that may need to be adjusted.

HTML

All web pages that you view in your web browser are in HTML code. Even WordPress sites get converted to HTML on the fly as they are called up in the browser. Developing a custom HTML site is a more straight-forward process than that of WordPress and therefore generally less expensive. Each page is an actual file (no database required) and generally all the content you see in the browser is actually in that file.

So what kind of website do you need?

This is something that will be determined after a “discovery” conversation. I will talk with you to learn about your company, see what your website needs are and instruct you a little on how this process works. Perhaps your business already has an existing HTML website you want redesigned and you have someone who already has Dreamweaver and knows how to edit content. Or to the other end, you may not have any web savvy people and you don’t want anything to do with updating the site yourself. Together we’ll figure out what’s best.