The website hosting platform impacts numerous factors down the line such as cost, flexibility, performance, and security. Updating a website is almost impossible on certain platforms, and sometimes it is cost-prohibitive. Choosing a content management system (CMS) is a business decision that usually occurs once every several years. Having an opportunity for the right choice is why it’s critical to make the right choice the first time.
Below we describe our CMS and website architecture selection processes, and provide more detailed, extensive guidance pertaining to each of these processes.
Selection of Content Management System (CMS)
There is not one CMS that is the best. The right CMS is determined by the business’s budget, growth plans, and the capabilities and comfort of the business’s personnel. Medium to large businesses are advised to stay away from WordPress, and should instead consider offerings from specialty CMS vendors that would be better suited for complex e-commerce or web applications.
Read more: Choosing a CMS for Your Business →
Site Architecture and Technical Foundations
Selecting a CMS is typically about 50% of the work. Without proper site structure, a CMS is largely irrelevant to both users and search engines. Well structured sites incorporate a good URL hierarchy, sensible internal linking, and clear on-site content structure. Many of these considerations must be made at the CMS selection level.
Structure and CMS:
It is important that post breakdown and selection of the CMS, template structure makes sense from a site hierarchy perspective and incorporates an orderly internal linking and URL structure. Structures of this nature must be designed at the CMS selection level.
Why This Matters Right Now
Despite a drop in market share from 2022, in 2026 WordPress still held 42% of global market share for website builds. The primary cause of this drop was the shift of businesses using WordPress to some of the more purpose built platforms like Shopify and Wix. This illustrates the need for a more thought out CMS choice, rather than a default one.