Nowadays most websites are created by means of two the most popular ways which are HTML web-programming language and content management system. It is a well-known fact that CMS platforms have been developed in order to simplify the process of creating and managing websites. Any content management system is considered to be more advanced and easier to use than a static HTML website. But anyway there are lots of sites built with the help of HTML web-programming language. That is why we are going to analyse static/HTML and dynamic/CMS websites (Joomla CMS in particular) in order to find out which one can fully satisfy users’ needs.
HTML: Things It Can and Cannot Be Beaten For
Let’s discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a static HTML website by checking out this table:
Pros |
Cons |
| There is nothing that will run as fast as an HTML site due to the fact that there is no databases, server scripting, etc. | It is a really hard task to run a large amount of web pages and to keep everything consistent. In this case you have to know HTML language perfectly. But even then it is possible to damage the code and destroy the whole website. |
| It is more difficult to hack such sites than a scripted page. | Plugins or extensions are not available for HTML sites. In this case, you will have to code every piece functionality. |
| You have a stricter control over your website structure, files, SEO, etc. It means that if you know what you are doing, you are able to influence all the key points of SEO directly on the page. | SEO can be a disadvantage if you don’t know anything about it. For instance, if you forget about SEO on some part of your content, it will be your task to come back and redo everything from the beginning. |
Joomla: Its Strong Sides
While speaking about Joomla CMS platform, it should be said that this software is considered to be an easy-to-use web builder utility. With Joomla it is possible to create a community with a membership area, newsroom, forums, online stores, etc and it is not necessary to have any coding skills.
These are the features which differentiate Joomla from HTML site:
- Joomla CMS platform is a user-friendly content management system.
- It provides you with lots of extensions which can be used in order to improve the website look and functionality.
- With Joomla, you are able to change the site design completely without too much efforts. It can be done in a few mouse clicks.
- You can make site updates without the fear to destroy it or to lose the data.
- With Joomla you will pay more attention to the content of a web page and not to its structure. As the result, your website can potentially gain big traffic and ranking.
HTML vs Joomla: The Winner is…
As you can see, both HTML and Joomla websites have their advantages and drawbacks. So, if it comes to the choice, which one would you prefer? If you are planning to have a small website which will consist of 5 pages, then it is recommended to use an HTML language. And vice versa, if you are going to have a website with lots of pages, then Joomla is what you need. Plus, you should remember that to work with HTML site, you have to know this coding language.
In case you have created an HTML website but now for some reasons you would like to change it, there is an option for you. In other words, if want to convert your current HTML website to Joomla, then you can use CMS2CMS automated migration service. With this tool you will be able to move your current website to the new one effortlessly, accurately and incredibly fast. So, don’t wait up and try a free Demo Migration which will show you how easy it is to perform HTML to Joomla conversion.
A few key points that were missed:
1. You can damage the html on Joomla just as easily as on a static site. If you use/purchase a theme, whether for Joomla or a static site, and modify it without experience this is a possibility. Joomla does not guard you in this regard whatsoever.
2. SEO starts with good content, urls and html structure. While Joomla has SEF urls, this is inherent of static websites. Whether on Joomla or on the static site, it is your responsibility to write good titles and content. Joomla cannot help with that. In the case of the html, you are either depending on the theme to provide good structure or on your own experience to do so. Again, a matter of the quality of the theme, Joomla won’t help here either. Also note, performance is now taken into consideration for SEO, as you said nothing beats the performance of a static site.
Joomla is useful, but not for these reasons. A good example is if you need user accounts or other features that require a database because then most of the work is done for you. Even then you will still rely on a theme or your own html knowledge.
Cristina, thank you for a very sound input. Your points are hard to disagree with, definitely.
What the post aims to show is that managing an HTML site can require a bit more work than the CMS-based one, but both need certain level of knowledge to be managed successfully.
صباح الخير impress