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What should you choose for an online shop? A CMS or a framework?

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What should you choose for an online shop? A CMS or a framework?

If you want to launch an online shop, it is important to decide which engine it will run on. Before you go looking for developers, work out what will be better for your shop — a CMS or a framework? 

We will go through the advantages and drawbacks of each technology so that you understand which to choose. 


A CMS for an online shop. How does it work and what are the advantages? 

A CMS (a content management system) is a software environment that makes it possible to build and run sites even for people with no programming skills. Modern content management systems offer visual page builders and hundreds of functional add-ons for configuring a site. 

Such a solution will be best for simple sites with a standard feature set. That might be a shop selling textiles or tableware, a pizza delivery site or a flower boutique. 


The advantages of a CMS: 

  • many of the site's functions are available from the very start;

  • the site's design is easy to change by simply installing a new theme (which can be paid or free);

  • technical support is available from the developers of the CMS (if you use Magento), and there is a large community of developers and users (for WordPress and Joomla);

  • there is a large set of paid and free add-ons (especially for WordPress and Joomla). 

Drawbacks: 

  • a non-standard site design is hard to implement;

  • licences for paid content management systems or add-ons have to be renewed every year;

  • in some cases the CMS will carry functionality you do not need. 


What will building a shop on a CMS cost? 

The question of price is one of the main factors in the choice. With a CMS there are two options. Let us go through each in more detail.  

Building a shop on a ready-made theme is the simplest, fastest and cheapest path. The main drawback of that solution is that there can be no talk of a unique design. Competitors can take the same theme. In this case you pay for hosting, the domain name, a web developer's work configuring the site, and the theme itself. 

A shop on a bespoke theme. Here you will have to pay for a design built from scratch specifically for you. In that case it is important to understand clearly what you want from the theme and which tasks it will solve. If a CMS does not provide 60 to 70% of the functions you need, think about a shop built on a framework. 


A framework for your site. What is it and who does it suit? 

A framework is more complex software for building and administering sites. It makes it possible to implement non-standard functions and keep a site running steadily under heavy load. Popular frameworks: Yii2, Laravel, Symfony.

This technology suits companies that sell non-standard goods and use complex business models and accounting systems. 

Advantages: 

  • Sites on a framework make it possible to implement any wish the client has. 

  • They make it possible to present and sell non-standard products and services.

  • On a framework you can build projects with a unique feature set. 

  • When new functionality is added, the sites lose almost none of their performance. 

  • Shops on a framework work faster than their CMS equivalents. 

Drawbacks: 

  • You need highly qualified specialists who can deliver the project to a high standard.

  • Building the shop and launching it will cost more.

  • You will not be able to make refinements yourself. 

  • Sites on a framework have a client side and a main admin panel. Because of that development takes more time. 


Conclusions. Which technology should you choose? 

As you can see, the choice in favour of one technology or the other has to take several factors into account:

  • the project's budget;

  • the time available to deliver it;

  • the functionality required.

If the shop is run without an admin panel, through an accounting system, it pays to order development on a framework. 

Think, too, about not becoming heavily dependent on developers. So do not choose solutions that are too complex and too expensive for you. 

Whatever you choose, think about good hosting. Host4Biz will give the site reliable storage and steady operation. 

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