CMS or Framework

So you've decided that you need to create a website to develop your business. But how to choose a tool and a developer who will understand you and implement your ideas as accurately as possible?

There are a lot of technologies available today, but it's not easy to figure out which one best suits your needs.

First, you need to define the terms. At the start of the project, any developer will ask you: framework or CMS? Both are designed to help the developer implement your idea, but the difference between them is significant. A framework is a set of tools for developing a website from scratch, while a CMS (Content Management System) is a ready-made solution that requires minimal modifications to meet your requirements.

We will not consider the option of developing a website in a pure programming language, such as PHP, here. If you are offered this option, it usually means that the developer is not a professional.

Frameworks significantly accelerate the development of any project compared to using a "pure" programming language, although "out of the box" does not provide any functionality for the client.

The most famous backend (server) frameworks are the following: Symfony, Laravel, and Yii. Today, they are all very similar in essence, but differ in their internal mechanisms. As a rule, they are used to solve extraordinary tasks in the development of various APIs, as well as in the design of corporate solutions such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), as they provide maximum flexibility, customization, security, and individuality for each project.

There are also frameworks that can be used to develop client applications. Among them are AngularJS, React, VueJS, bootstrap. They help developers not only create attractive interactive website interfaces but also significantly optimize the work of the client side of the website.

Another important aspect of using frameworks is that most of them encourage developers to write good and flexible code, use OOP (object-oriented programming) and design patterns, which greatly simplifies further development and support of the project.

None of this is meant to imply that it's impossible to write incorrect code or make mistakes using a framework, but this method helps reduce the number of incorrect code.

One of the disadvantages of using the framework is the need to spend more time on project development.

In contrast to development with the help of a framework, you can use ready-made solutions based on CMS. The main feature of a CMS is that each of these projects is essentially a complete solution that you only need to deploy on your server, configure through the administrative panel, connect the purchased theme, and as a result, get a ready-made website without the participation of developers.

For example, if you host an OpenCart CMS, you will get a ready made admin panel for your online store with product and order management. If you use Wordpress, you will get a management system for your blog.

The peculiarity of CMS is in the fact that you can buy or find a free theme on the developers' websites that will connect a ready-made "layout" design to the website and provide all the necessary functionality in the admin panel for management.

However, using off-the-shelf solutions has its drawbacks. Among them are the following:

• Using a set solution, we restrict ourselves to the limits provided by the CMS itself. That is, by installing a CMS for an online store, you will get an online store, an admin panel, and all the available functionality will be "customized" only for this task (it will be quite difficult to create a blog on OpenCart).
• Since most free (and sometimes paid) CMSs are developed thanks to a community of enthusiasts, and as you know, not all developers are equally good, sometimes instead of a well-crafted solution, we can get a monster that consumes server resources, especially when a project becomes a high-load one.
• We need to describe how turnkey CMS templates work. Very often, template developers are chasing the speed of their design and don't pay attention to how they are made. Therefore, maintaining a project created on a CMS using pre-made themes can be more expensive than maintaining a project written from scratch.

So is a framework better than a CMS, or vice versa? Unfortunately (or luckily), there is no clear answer to this question. When choosing a platform for your future website, you need to take into account the specifics of the task and business process. The only thing that can be said for sure is that you shouldn't blindly trust the advice of your friends and acquaintances, even if your internal processes in the company are similar to those of people who already have a ready-made solution. One little thing can change the entire process of development or platform selection, so we recommend contacting specialists who will provide you with detailed advice. We can give an example with doctors and treatment. You wouldn't take a medicine that your friend takes just because it helped him, would you question the doctor's qualifications if he or she prescribes treatment without conducting examinations and only hears symptoms? Therefore, the situation with choosing a website platform is the same.

We will help you choose the best tool for your needs, advise you and assist you in understanding the importance of a particular aspect of the project, because we are no less interested in your success than you are!