Hosted CMS or Open Source – What’s the Difference?

When you hear of a content management system, you’re basically talking about a platform that allows one or more users to access a library of content and adjust what is shared and how on the owner’s respective website. They can be accessed remotely and rarely require software downloads, access rights can be granted at multiple levels and they are on the whole the fastest and easiest solutions for website construction and operation.However, there are in fact two types of CMS that are categorised under the standard open source and hosted headers, so what’s the difference between the two?     The Open Source CMSKicking off with what some might call the classic, an open source content management system is a software program/platform that allows a person to build a website for free. More often than not the whole platform exists online, but can in some cases be downloaded to work offline. As many people as necessary can be given account access to the CMS which makes remote cooperation both possible and easy.Some of the most popular examples of open source content management systems include:

• WordPress – Initially built as a basic blogging platform and now the world’s favourite CMS for building all manner of websites. Its popularity is simply unrivalled.
• Drupal – Slightly more demanding in terms of prior experience and knowledge of the website building process, Drupal can be used to make very powerful and complex sites.
• Joomla – Downloaded over 35 million times and still growing in popularity, Joomla is another example of a CMS that’s built with amateur users in mind and is very easy to operate.
• Alfresco – Somewhat mid-level in terms of complexity, Alfresco is extremely powerful and is very popular for higher-level business application.

And perhaps the most important benefit to note with all of the above CMS examples – they’re all 100% free!The Hosted CMSAs far as the hosted CMS goes, it’s technically the same principle except that instead of just getting the software with which to build the website, you also get a web hosting service that must be paid for. Or in other words, you pay a fixed fee as set out by the provider and in turn get your CMS and hosting all together in one package.Common and popular hosted CMS examples include:

• Vae – Great for marketing and Ecommerce, Vae has a solid reputation for consistent performance.
• Webvanta – A theme and template-based CMS that makes the setup process easy, Webvanta is again popular with Ecommerce site owners and businesses of all shapes and sizes.
• Squarespace – Easy to use and with no admin panel, this is perhaps an option more suited to blogs, business portfolios and smaller business sites, though is hugely easy to use and set up.

The Takeaway…In terms of establishing which of the two makes more sense, it’s all about what it is you intend to do. When you choose a hosted CMS package, you to some extent sacrifice a good degree of flexibility and also may find yourself using a platform that’s far from the world’s number one. But at the same time, you gain a great deal in ease of use and convenience.