Which CMS to choose for a website ?

1. CMS for a website, what are we talking about?

What is a CMS for a website?

First of all, to understand each other, let's start with a definition.

The CMS is an interface that will help you manage the content of your website. We could compare the CMS to the back office of your store when the window is similar to what the Internet users see.

Your back office will contain your products, your texts and all your images. It is through this that you will be able to feed the pages of your website.

So, precisely :

1. Why is a CMS interesting to create a website?
2. Is it mandatory?

Mandatory, no, not necessarily. But it is highly recommended! All updates will be much more accessible and practical with a CMS.

A bit of history... The first CMS dates back to 20 years ago! Among the most famous and that you have inevitably heard about, we can mention :

• Wordpress
• Wix
• Prestashop
• Shopify
• Wagtail

Some CMS will be more adapted to make a showcase website while others will be recommended for an e-commerce website.

Why this difference?

Well, because we don't ask the same thing to an e-commerce website as to a showcase website! The options and features are different.

In any case, even if you simply have the project to create a website today, it is not definitive! You can enrich your CMS with options to create an e-commerce website over time and as you develop.

Why use a CMS for a website?

As we said, the essence of a CMS is to help you easily take control of your website. Of course, you can do without a CMS and create a "hard" website: it will be hand-coded.

In this case however, you will need to have some knowledge of HTML/CSS or of course to surround yourself with professionals who master this subject.

The CMS will be very useful because after its set-up and configuration by a professional, you will be able to be autonomous. You will be able to focus your attention on the essential, the production of content and natural referencing.

But that's not all! The advantages of using a CMS are numerous:

1. Once the settings are made and the website is online, it is easy to use, similar to a word processing program. It's child's play to make a modification!
2. All CMS offer a "basic" version and it is possible to add bricks to your tool called "plugins" (or modules). For example: a contact form, a payment module...
3. They are used everywhere in the world and by many professionals. It will therefore be easy to get support or assistance from the community in case of a problem. When you have a specific problem, you can for sure type the name of the problem with your CMS on Google to find a result!
4. CMS allow website creators to easily update the service. That is to say that the latest features made available by the CMS editor are easily downloadable.
5. Finally, from a security point of view, CMS are a good option as long as you opt for properly configured, updated and well developed CMS. To do this, it is important to surround yourself with competent web professionals

2. The Wagtail CMS

Wagtail is an open source CMS that we like at Snoweb. It is a tool that uses the Python language.

This CMS is known for its very thorough approach to website creation. The websites developed with Wagtail are very robust.

That's why Google, NASA or the NHS use it in their own digital ecosystem!

We decided to use this CMS that we find particularly adapted to the need of creating a website.

What are the advantages of the Wagtail CMS?

1. Wagtail is the reference CMS to create websites with an intuitive navigation and architecture.
2. For the end user, after training, the CMS is easy to learn and allows true customization of pages, text blocks and images. The interface is elegant, easy to use and accessible even to beginners.
3. The technical capabilities of this CMS surpass all the others: the websites created with Wagtail are really powerful and are fast to load. A strong argument because Google nowadays penalizes websites that take too long to load.

The big advantage for the user is the possibility to build your own pages as you wish.

Choose your own layout, adding a new paragraph, a quote text, a large image...

Where other CMS give you a structure that you feed with content.

Thus, you can end up with 5 pages of content organized according to your needs.

Each page with its own design, without hidden cost or extra.

For a better user experience!

Another advantage and not the least: Wagtail uses the Python language and the Django framework. Thus, it is possible to add all the additional functionalities desired for a really flexible website.

For us, Wagtail is simply the most adapted and professional tool to offer you reliable, aesthetic and performing websites!

Discover in a few minutes the creation of page with Wagtail

The Meriverse website is a Snoweb website made with the Wagtail CMS. Exactly like the blog you are currently reading. In this video, discover the steps from the installation of the site to the publication of the homepage.

3. The Wordpress CMS

Wordpress is another world-renowned CMS that is widely used in the creation of website.

The advantages of the Wordpress CMS to create a website are the following :

• The set-up and configuration of the CMS are simple to achieve and it is easy to be accompanied because the Wordpress community is large.
• The tool is rather easy to learn. The CMS is originally used for the creation of blog posts. To add content, the interface uses the codes of the classic word processor.
• There are thousands of Wordpress themes available for free that you can install yourself without having great development skills.
• To add a special functionality, add-ons exist and can be added to the back office.

To ensure the security of your Wordpress website, it is essential to keep it up to date. This is an important point of vigilance that you must take into account and that will necessarily make you subscribe to a maintenance package with a provider.