On the Internet you can find a lot of articles which describe benefits of different CMS or Frameworks. It depends on the specialization of the company which has written that article. Although we don’t use CMS in development, we will try to tell you the truth about both options and maybe help you make the right choice for your needs.
Let’s start by comparing the main differences:
The first question: What’s your goal of development?
What exactly do you want to create? Is this a typical thing (like a blog of an online shop)? Or do you have a great idea for a new project with a lot of new features?
So, if you need just a blog or personal page with a portfolio or an online magazine then Wordpress is your right choice (even if there will be some simple payments like subscriptions, it’s a good option). In case when you need some online shop, then use a specialized CMS like PrestaShop/Magenta or better Shopify (please, do not use Wordpress for an online shop, that’s really a weird idea).
A landing page? Then it might be simple HTML pages without any CMS at all (just a few PHP scripts for sending feedback or orders will be enough). But certainly, that’s not a good solution :) The better way is to use online web pages constructor, for example, Google Sites or any others (just google it).
Do you need a simple website for your company? Maybe with some price-calculator of your services? Then try Drupal or Joomla, they might be suitable for your needs.
In other cases, it’s better to think about a Framework.
The second question: How long and how much can you pay a developer? Can you?
Before starting a project you have to ask yourself: How long and how much can I pay a developer? In other words, what is your budget? Even if you are a developer itself and you can do a project yourself, nevertheless, you will be investing your time, and time costs money. Isn’t it?
The budget is really important here. If you don’t have so much money, then it’s a good idea to start using a popular CMS (like Drupal). You might get troubles with performance in the future but only if your project will have a lot of visitors. That, BTW, can be a good and cheaper way to test your idea without spending a lot of money for the development. This way is called MVP (Minimal Viral Product). We know some good cases when people built MVP on a CMS and after getting the first incomes remade their project on a Framework. Anyway, just keep in mind that your first MVP built on a CMS after a while will be thrown to trash (no possibility to scale). But this can be a cheap way to test your business idea.
The third question: Do you plan to integrate some 3rd party API?
There are a lot of APIs now on the internet. Some of them have existed for a long time and have become very popular so there are a lot of available modules for CMS (like MailChimp, etc.). But if you plan to work with some specific API (maybe some new booking service) then you will need to implement this integration yourself. In this case it makes sense to use a Framework and an experienced developer.
The fourth question: How important is website security?
If your website/project will have any payments/financial features then be careful with using a CMS. As we have mentioned above, it makes sense to use Shopify (online store builder) or a specialized CMS for online shops. But for a Framework use the 3rd party Payment Gateway service, like Stripe.
Please have a look at the chart below which is an example of websites hacking statistics.
Note: most of the vulnerabilities occur because of plugins but not because of a CMS itself.
Conclusion
As in any other part of our life the decision, obviously, requires the analysis (oh really, such a surprise!)
If the web development is new for you, we do recommend starting with using a CMS. It will be cheaper to develop and you will waste less time and money in case you fail it (first time, hah?). But if you have some good and tested idea (better yet, some sponsors) or your future project must have some complex features then Frameworks are your choice.
