One of the first decisions every website builder has to make is how to manage content. There are two general categories; static HTML written in an editor like Dreamweaver (or even Notepad) and content management systems (CMS). Both methods have design, maintenance and SEO implications and have different benefits.
Static HTML
Static HTML is often the best choice for simple website needs, an online presence really only serves to provide basic information about your business and you don’t intend to change it frequently. However, most casual users need to be careful as they are likely using simple WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors like Microsoft Frontpage. Many of these programs write very inefficient HTML. This makes them a bad choice from an SEO perspective.
If you’re using static HTML, make sure you’re using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). CSS stores all of your formatting information (colors, font, etc.) in a separate file. This makes pages easier to edit and, more importantly, leaves only the most basic information, your content, in the HTML file itself. This makes the search engine’s job a lot easier as your keywords are more visible.
CMS
In contrast, content management systems (CMS) use templates and databases to automate much of the web design process. This type of software is ideal if you have a website with constantly changing content, such as B. a shop or a blog. The various CMS applications vary greatly in terms of complexity and learning curve. This blog runs on WordPress which is very easy to use and implement. My business site runs on Drupal, which is a bit more complicated. Most of the best CMS packages available are free, which is another advantage.
From an SEO point of view, CMS has the disadvantage of making it difficult to access meta tags and generating long URLs. This is usually easily overcome by choosing the appropriate add-ins for your implementation.
For example, on my blog I use All-In-One SEO Pack to manage WordPress.
Summary
The general trend in web design is towards CMS, but users with simple website needs should definitely consider using static HTML and CSS. If your needs are more sophisticated, CMS is definitely the way to go – although it’s important to make sure your website is SEO-optimized. Most CMS implementations have large user forums where most questions can be answered.
