What a CMS does
A CMS separates the content from the code. Your team works in an editor with fields like headline, service description and photos. The CMS stores that content and the website displays it in the right design. Nobody touches HTML to change a price or add a page.
Two kinds of CMS
- Editor and website in one system
- Themes and plugins add features
- WordPress is the common example
- One server does all the work
- Editor separate from the website
- A front end built for speed
- Keystatic, Sanity and Payload are examples
- Content can feed several channels
WordPress runs about 40% of all websites, according to W3Techs, and it is free, open-source software. Headless systems are newer. They hand the content to a fast front end built with tools like Astro or Next.js, which is how we build most sites.
What a good CMS setup gives your team
- Fields that match your content, like price, service area and FAQ
- Sections you rearrange without breaking the layout
- A preview before anything goes live
- Roles, so staff edit content but not settings
- A history of changes you can roll back
Good example. A dental office's CMS has a Services collection where each treatment has fields for price range, recovery time, FAQs and photos. Staff add a new treatment in ten minutes.
Bad example. The same office's site needs a developer to edit a page-builder layout every time a price changes.
How we choose
We pick the CMS that fits how your team works. Keystatic, Sanity, Strapi and Payload suit custom sites. WordPress fits teams that already know it or need its plugins. Either way, every section of your site stays editable, and you own the content.
Read code vs CMS. Our web design projects include CMS training for your team.