Do you ever feel like you are locked into a business relationship with your web designer because they hold all your files, have specialised CMS (content management systems) and/or charge you through the roof every time you want changes made? Open sourced website software like WordPress can give you the freedom to host your website where ever you like and make changes yourself or easily find someone who can do the work for you. Some of the other benefits include:
- there are thousands of developers constantly updating the systems to incorporate the latest website developments and add-ons
- once you have created the site you can switch to a new design relatively easily without having to recreate the content therefore cutting down costs for future re-design projects
- the ability to add on new features to the site as they are created with the knowledge that they have be tested by a wider community prior to release onto the web
Once you have decided that having the ability to make some changes to your own site then the next question to ask yourself is do I want to be locked into a relationship with this website company for the life of my website. Many sites will need to be completely redesigned in order to be moved away from a non-open source CMS. If no is the answer then find yourself a designer who uses open-sourced website design technology and you will have the power to move that site should you ever need to – maybe even manage it yourself in the future if you are confident enough!