What is the best CMS for your Website?

If you as websites they will tell you that the best CMS for your website is the one they know how to use, typically Wordpress, Drupal or Joomla. The problem is, that term CMS is used loosely and does not mean you really have any better tools than if you just used a program on your computer and manage the files via FTP.

Sure, some system like Joomla allow you to add files, manage directories and view the website as a directory tree, but how many site owners actually understand any of that?

How many site owners actually understand HTML or managing external css files or javascript? Can they build a slideshow by uploading images to a directory, modifying the html and setting the paths for the javascript?

That is what most CMS platforms do for you.

Rather than having tools to add pages, menu buttons and elements you want, you have to create files, manage directories and content just the same as you would on your computer.

These CMS interfaces allow you a clean web GUI that shows you where files are, what they are and the ability to delete them, replace them or add more files.

And for professional webmasters that is great, because it emulates how they work on the website in the first place but it gives their clients full access to a bunch of stuff they don't understand.

Sure they include a WYSIWYG editor so you can make some basic changes in pages, but they are complicated and can result in more of a mess than anything else when used.

The problem here is that webmasters don't see the world the same as other people.

They don't understand that this is all foreign to most people ad having the ability to upload files into a directory does not mean anything to most people.

What do webmasters need from a CMS?

• Easy way to upload files

• Create directories

• Quickly edit PHP, CSS, Javascript and other Text files

• Ability to install programs or modules

• Plugins that are compatible with the CMS

• Something they understand how to use.

Now what do business owners need from a CMS?

• Ability to add pages

• Ability to edit pages and make changes

• Ability to add products and manage ecommerce

• Ability to add photos to slideshows or galleries

• Someone to help when they are confused or don't know what to do

• Something they understand how to use.

When it comes to webmasters, they have different expectations than the rest of us. They have a different understanding of how websites work so they need different tools to build what they need.

Business owners on the other hand just want simple tools. An easy way to do the things they need and now at all what the webmasters are thinking of.

The fact is, webmasters don't have the same considerations for what you should have in a CMS or Content Management System.

So there is a huge gap between what they choose and what an ordinary person might choose.

Lets compare it all to something more common like driving a car.

Some cars have automatic transmissions and some have manual transmissions. Today, many people just can't drive manual transmissions. They want something easy, simple that they don't have to think about.

For professional drivers using a manual transmission is better. You have more control of power, save gas and have a better driving experience.

But for the driver than never learned how to shift and use a clutch it creates a nightmare scenario when they are lost, crash and don't know how to get the car in reverse.

For those of us that know how to drive using a clutch, we just don't really understand how difficult it is for those uneducated non professional drivers.

And webmasters have the same problem.

What seems like a simple concept to them, uploading files into the correct directory based on file paths, well, it is not so easy for the rest of us.

We want a simple button that says, "add a page" and we click it and just like magic, the page is added. And better yet, when we do that, we want it automatically added to the menu and we want a simple way to add stuff to the page.

Webmasters don't ming opening an html editor and creating a page and uploading the file to the website using FTP. It is what they do and it makes perfect sense.

So as you do research online you will find article upon article of what the best CMS is for a website, but those articles were written by webmasters. By people that have a better understanding of how websites are built and files are managed.

When webmasters see something like pageBuzz, they hate it. Because it is like an automatic transmission. You put it in gear and drive. It makes life simple, but it takes away all the control that webmasters usually have. They have to work a little harder to make pages that fit the CMS and make managing the website easier for the business owner.

Professional webmasters just like professional drivers may never like automatic transmissions, but the rest of us certainly do.

Whether you are driving a car or a website, the easier it is the more pleasurable it is and the better the results. People don't want complicated tools, they want simple tools and programs like Wordpress, Joomla or Drupal do not offer that at all.

But programs like pageBuzz do make it simple, easy and user friendly. And one thing nobody ever talks about is that there is no support for those open source CMS programs. So when your webmaster finished the website, you are on your own. You have no help, no support with a complex website.

With system like pageBuzz, sitebuilders that are developed by commercial companies, you get to call real people, ask questions and get help when you need it.

When you don't know what you are doing, that can be the difference between staying in business and going out of business.

So the next time a webmaster mentions Wordpress, Joomla or Drupal make sure you find out if that is going to work for you. Because in most cases, you will never be able to do much with them at all.