Website Building in the New Millennium
23rd
November 2016, 00:23
Know what a Content Management Framework is? How about an Online Website Builder? Are they one and the same, or totally two different creatures?
A fair amount of confusion has been generated among laypersons (and even among techies!) as to what Content Management Frameworks and Online Website Builders are. And, for the purposes of the end product, they are pretty much similar. The end game is for a user to be able to maintain and update the content of a website, without the need for the user to know anything beyond how to type. Where the two differ, however, is the approach.
The result, however, was that customers decided that the whole process of uploading and editing content was just too complicated and ended up offloading the work to developers anyway. And vendors began charging a premium for the installation of a Content Management Framework.
Another effect was that soon people with only HTML and CSS knowledge could make data-driven websites without knowing how to write scripts and manage databases. So technically-trained developers who were doing web development as their day job or even as a side hustle, now found a whole lot of competition flooding the market.
And if you made any changes to the core, God help you.
Here, let's explore the modern incarnation of the Content Management Framework, Online Website Builders.
Yep! WordPress is both a Content Management Framework and a Online Website Builder. wordpress.org hosts the files and plugins needed to install the Content Management Framework, while wordpress.com is a Online Website Builder. But I digress...
But! Why stop there? Why not dumb it down even further? Why not have the installation on the cloud, and then have developers just create websites without needing to concern themselves with installation and setup? That's where Online Website Builders came in. Now not only did people not need to know scripting or database in order to build a website, they didn't even need to know HTML or CSS anymore. All that was needed was to click buttons! So simple, your dog could do it!
Not so good for some web developers who do this for a living, and even those who do this as a side-hustle (guilty as charged). Now hideously unskilled techs can churn out websites for a fraction of the price we used to charge, and even total noobs can do it by themselves if they put their minds to it.
But come on, web devs. Can you honestly say you'll miss having to do this, at times, deadly boring work for customers who don't know what they want and endlessly frustrate us with their lack of savvy? We all knew automation of this process was coming one day. And if you didn't, you need to seriously re-evaluate your participation in this industry. It was inevitable. We should take this as the impetus to move on to bigger and better things. There will always be a place for web developers with legit skills. Just not at this level. This very elementary level.
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A fair amount of confusion has been generated among laypersons (and even among techies!) as to what Content Management Frameworks and Online Website Builders are. And, for the purposes of the end product, they are pretty much similar. The end game is for a user to be able to maintain and update the content of a website, without the need for the user to know anything beyond how to type. Where the two differ, however, is the approach.
On to the comparisons!
Now before I get deeper into this, I want to make it clear that given a choice, I would rather not be using either a Content Management Framework or an Online Website Builder. Call me old-fashioned. I'm going to draw a few comparisons, but this is not going to be about their respective pros and cons. The simple reason being that, between Content Management Frameworks and Website Builders, there's no such thing as an absolute pro or con. It's all subjective. A pro can turn out to be a con depending on what you're looking for, and vice versa. As I'm so fond of saying, there are no blanket solutions in this business. You want a blanket solution, go look for Linus!A blanket solution.
What is a Content Management Framework?
This refers to a system which is a collection of resuable software components and modules, used to create websites and web applications. Notable examples are Joomla!, Wordpress, Drupal and Magento. Follow this link for a more comprehensive listing.Origins
Content Management Frameworks came about originally because some genius decided that customers should be able to update their content without the help of a developer, resulting in faster turnaround times. That certainly was the intention. Customers also found the prospect of not needing to pay maintenance packages to vendors highly attractive. Now they could change their minds every 30 minutes without being billed for it!The result, however, was that customers decided that the whole process of uploading and editing content was just too complicated and ended up offloading the work to developers anyway. And vendors began charging a premium for the installation of a Content Management Framework.
Another effect was that soon people with only HTML and CSS knowledge could make data-driven websites without knowing how to write scripts and manage databases. So technically-trained developers who were doing web development as their day job or even as a side hustle, now found a whole lot of competition flooding the market.
Hosting
A Content Management Framework is software which has to be installed on the user's hosting service of choice, including offline. In that respect, websites created from Content Management Frameworks are just like any other website. Hosting and domain name are handled by the user's provider of choice. This can be a burden, especially if there are upgrades available for the Content Management Framework. Choosing not to upgrade is not a viable choice, as this leaves the website open to security attacks. Think about it - if you could download the Content Management Framework software for free, so can everyone else. Chances are that the software you're using has already been scrutinized and reverse-engineered by hackers, and that security loopholes have been found. However, upgrading brings its own set of problems. After an upgrade, previously installed plugins may fail due to incompatibility.And if you made any changes to the core, God help you.
Components
Content Management Frameworks make extensive use of plugins and, of course, a Content Management System where users can type in text content (which the plugin will convert to HTML) and upload images. The selection for any given Content Management Framework is vast, especially if the software is built on open-source scripting, such as PHP or Ruby. Of course, as mentioned earlier, there are no guarantees that those plugins will still work after your next upgrade, or that they are at all secure.Control
Content Management Frameworks come pre-packaged with certain features such as W3C Compliancy, cross-browser compatibility and responsive design. In the case of Content Management Frameworks, the user is pretty much allowed to do as he pleases. Need to customize a carousel? Sure. Need to implement some server-side scripting? Go ahead. Need to disable those annoying validation checks in the interface? You're the boss. But, but, if you up breaking something, a messy re-installation is in order.Here, let's explore the modern incarnation of the Content Management Framework, Online Website Builders.
What is an Online Website Builder?
An Online Website Builder is an online platform with tools for creating and updating websites. It could even be considered a dumbed-down version of the Content Management Framework, because installation is not required. Notable examples are Weebly, WiX, Google Blogs, Shopify and WordPress. Follow this link for a more comprehensive listing.Hold on, WordPress?
Yep! WordPress is both a Content Management Framework and a Online Website Builder. wordpress.org hosts the files and plugins needed to install the Content Management Framework, while wordpress.com is a Online Website Builder. But I digress...
Origins
The natural progression from Content Management Frameworks, was Online Website Builders. Sure, Online Website Builders had their humble beginnings as part of the (now-defunct) Yahoo! Geocities web portals. But they only truly took off after Content Management Frameworks established a foothold on the market. As mentioned earlier, with some knowledge of HTML and maybe CSS, and knowing how to click buttons, one could now build a website simply by installing a Content Management Framework.But! Why stop there? Why not dumb it down even further? Why not have the installation on the cloud, and then have developers just create websites without needing to concern themselves with installation and setup? That's where Online Website Builders came in. Now not only did people not need to know scripting or database in order to build a website, they didn't even need to know HTML or CSS anymore. All that was needed was to click buttons! So simple, your dog could do it!
Website building? Bitch please.
Hosting
Online Website Builders are hosted online (well, duh!). Users log in to access the interface for creation and updating of websites. Online Website Builders take care of the system updates, security and hosting. The tradeoff is that you have less control (more on that in a bit). Of course, that can count as an upside, because you no longer need to bother with pesky installation details such as PHP version, database compatibility and so on.Components
Like Content Management Frameworks, Online Website Builders make extensive use of plugins of which a Content Management System is included. The plugins available for an Online Website Builder tend to be more limited in selection. This only makes sense, since the Online Website Builder is ultimately responsible for the security and compatibility of your product. It goes without mentioning (but here I go, mentioning it anyway) that plugins installed on an Online Website Builder should still work if the Online Website Builder's version is updated. And if something doesn't work, it's most definitely the vendor's fault, not yours.Control
Customization is severely limited because in order to ensure security, controls have to be imposed. If you just want a site with the default settings, you're good to go. For anything else, you'll find your hands severely tied. Those restrictions are part of the package. The Online Website Builder is responsible for security and compliance, and certainly can't take the risk of you doing one of the thousand and one things that could break the site. Think of it as a sandbox for your website design - a very small sandbox.In a Nutshell
Whatever your choice is in the end, it all depends on what you need. Look past the glossy packaging and do your homework. Now everyone can build a website without depending on cranky and sometimes unapproachable techies. It's all good, right?Not so good for some web developers who do this for a living, and even those who do this as a side-hustle (guilty as charged). Now hideously unskilled techs can churn out websites for a fraction of the price we used to charge, and even total noobs can do it by themselves if they put their minds to it.
But come on, web devs. Can you honestly say you'll miss having to do this, at times, deadly boring work for customers who don't know what they want and endlessly frustrate us with their lack of savvy? We all knew automation of this process was coming one day. And if you didn't, you need to seriously re-evaluate your participation in this industry. It was inevitable. We should take this as the impetus to move on to bigger and better things. There will always be a place for web developers with legit skills. Just not at this level. This very elementary level.
What a terribly ex-site-ing development,
