2e1ax_elegantgreen_entry_content-management-systemsProprietary CMS’s are developed by a private team of developers with the intention of creating a customizable solution for specific clients needs. However, this “one-size fits most” approach has a wide range of pitfalls that many people are simply not aware of.  Not only does a proprietary CMS lack any developer community support, but often restricts you from owning and having complete control of your own web site.

In most cases, custom CMS’s often have a small team of developers that are tasked with simply creating the CMS, without a dedicated team to the CMS’s enhancements and/or security.

Many custom CMS’s are dependent on the agency’s hosting setup in order for the website to run and function properly. We advise to read through any custom CMS contract very carefully to ensure that you own your website, and that you are not simply “renting” the CMS from the agency. When hosting a custom CMS, you are often times required to host your website indefinitely with that company, giving you a lack of options at a later date, as well as forcing a continued reliance on that specific developer.

Often times, custom CMS’s are used as a sales strategy to get you into a monthly website maintenance contract, effectively forcing you into using that specific agency for website maintenance, instead of having the option of taking your business elsewhere, or maintaining it in-house at any point.

Ask your agency if you’ll own the website’s code, and be able to move to a different host or vendor. You may be surprised at their response; if you are required to host the website with them, that is a big red flag!

GGS offers our clients maximum freedom with our customized, but open-source CMSs that are supported (and editable) by thousands of developers. This means you can host it with us, or host it elsewhere.  It also means that there are no mandatory maintenance fees. And since we hand you the “keys to your website,” if you don’t want to work with us at any point, you have the freedom of taking your website elsewhere. Break free of the shackles of a proprietary CMS with Green Group Studio!