Web development heavily relies on Content Management Systems (CMS) in the digital world. CMSs allow individuals and businesses to manage and publish updated digital content efficiently. The decision between custom and open-source CMS often boils down to your budget and specific business needs. You can either choose on your own or seek guidance from a professional web development company.

In this article, we will examine the details of Custom CMS vs. Open Source and the Pros and Cons for your convenience.

Definition: Custom CMS and Open Source CMS

Custom CMS

A custom CMS is a completely fresh package developed according to the needs and demands of website owners. It offers a groundbreaking platform that can show you the best possible solution. However, you need to invest more to get all the good outcomes from a custom content management system. Examples: Sitecore, Kentico, Adobe Experience Manager.

Open Source CMS

An open-source CMS is a type of content management system that contains free source codes that are publicly accessible. As a result, you need not think about building this from scratch and possible additional investment from an open-source CMS. It’s because most of the time it offers a free platform. However, there’s a catch. Due to its collaborative nature, it lacks the space for greater customization which might frustrate many website owners. Examples of this CMS include WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, etc.  

Benefits and Drawbacks: Custom CMS and Open Source CMS

Before jumping into the final decision, we recommend you check out the diversified nature of both custom and open-source CMS. Below are the details of those for your convenience:

Pros of Custom CMS

If you are thinking of using a custom CMS platform then you will enjoy the following benefits:

Massive Diversification Opportunity

If you seek a fully customized content management system, consider a custom CMS platform in a broader sense. A Custom CMS can provide you with the best-tailored functions and features, with an opportunity to build every component from scratch. This CMS can enhance your business opportunity by providing your target users a unique experience with greater functionalities.  

Firm Grip on the System

Custom content management systems provide site owners with total possession and authority of their digital property. Businesses have complete control over the architecture, style, and functionality of their websites using significant CMS systems. In other words, it is not a system where specific functions may be limited by licensing agreements.

Greater Safety

One of the most prominent merits of custom CMS is its outstanding security features. Security issues can become a significant concern while developing CMS. From the beginning, a custom CMS solution includes strong security features. Bespoke CMS platforms can be secured against certain dangers. Additionally, these can guarantee an increased degree of security than open-source mediums.

Cons of Custom CMS

Despite providing the above advantages, you need to think about the following drawbacks of custom CMS too:

Cost Issue

You should consider the cost issue before adopting a custom CMS solution. As an entirely new platform, a custom CMS will require a considerable investment and detailed business plans for both the business owners and web developers. Please do it properly to avoid a massive downfall in the business's growth and survival.

Time-Consuming

A custom CMS also takes a lot of time to get ready for action. More precisely, it takes time for professional and experienced developers to comprehend the organization's needs. Also, its time-consuming nature may cause the system to begin slowly. Then again, it requires thorough testing to guarantee flawless operation.

Require Skilled Professionals

You may dream of building your customized content management system with a solid plan and significant investment. However, finding the right professionals to help you develop this CMS is tough. If you can’t manage it, you will need to depend on less experienced developers. Therefore, we recommend that you keep this drawback in mind before making any final decision.

Pros of Open Source CMS

Here, you will know what open-source CMS can offer for a new business owner who requires less effort to build his website:

Investment Friendly

If you are considering cost-effective CMS, an open-source platform will be the ideal choice. In most cases, these CMS software are available in free versions, offering standard customization and optimization tools. As a result, many startups and small businesses regularly prefer open-source CMS for its investment-friendly nature. 

Active Community

Open-source CMS has a dedicated community involved in its continuous development, making it more reliable and easy to use for beginners. Moreover, this community-oriented strategy certifies regular security updates, various ongoing enhancements, and bountiful plugins and themes created to increase the content management system's total functionality.

Greater flexibility

This CMS usually offers uninterrupted and faster performance than other platforms due to its flexible integration with different business natures. Furthermore, open-source CMS can manage greater traffic and blog material with more functionality as these are highly scalable.

Cons of Open Source CMS

Regardless of numerous benefits, an open-source CMS also retains some realistic disadvantages which are mentioned below:

Lack of Security

Open-source content management systems possess too many users globally. Also, it provides frequent security upgrades by the community, which is why they are not resistant to flaws. Due to publicly available source codes, these CMSs are more prone to face hacker exploitations and security loopholes.

Less Customization

One of the significant drawbacks of open-source CMS is its inability to provide extensive customization opportunities to its users. This happens because most users lack proper web development knowledge, but advanced customization requires extensive coding expertise.

Which One Would Fit You: Custom CMS or Open Source CMS?

You can choose between any option from Custom CMS and Open Source CMS. However, it's entirely your preference. Generally, if you are more concerned about time and budget, you need to consider open-source CMS. On the other hand, you can choose a custom CMS if you want to build your business website from scratch with extensive and sophisticated customization. Our recommendation is to seek professional help if you feel less confident or lack the necessary expertise in this matter.

Why Should You Depend on Glossy IT to Choose Between Custom CMS vs. Open Source CMS?

Glossy IT’s expert web development professionals regularly provides skilled and authentic services to our respected global clients on countless CMS issues. These extensive services range from selecting the best CMS for individuals according to their needs and preferences to developing a proper CMS platform from scratch or using different open-source platforms. Glossy IT will also provide you with effective consultation, scalability options, and budget-friendly plans to make your CMS choice easier.

If you want to know more, check our Web & CMS Development Service page

Finally, an open-source CMS offers a less complicated atmosphere where the framework is completely unbarred which ensures greater flexibility. On the other hand, a custom CMS will offer you limited access to your website’s backend which guarantees better security. So choose carefully what you need for your business growth. And, remember that you will be one step ahead if you take our 24/7 expert help on this matter.

Crafting a unique content management system from scratch is called custom CMS. And, you might think it is an adventurous matter to delve into. However, have you ever wondered what could happen if the security is broken? Well, today it is indeed one of the biggest concerns globally.

Understanding the potential risk factors regarding custom CMS is always wise to prevent a potential safety breach. We recommend reading this article to realize how applying these Security Tips for Custom CMS Development can save you from future cyber threats.

Know the Potential Security Threats on Your Custom CMS 

If you are planning to use a custom CMS or have been using it for a while, you should keep in mind that global hackers are actively trying to trap web users on their vile mazes. Therefore, understanding the basic types of security threats will keep your site safe from possible infiltrations by online intruders. Below are some significant types of threats for custom CMS:  

Ransomware and Malware

A ransomware program seizes control during a cyberattack and encrypts the target's data. The data is then unreachable until the innocent party pays the demanded ransom. In more severe circumstances, the ransomware may remove the protected data for good once the payment deadline has passed.

On the other hand, malware attacks are carried out by hackers who secretly activate vicious software without the site owner’s authorization. These hacks are efficient enough to exploit the vulnerabilities in your software framework. Therefore, they can access system resources, steal information, or use your server as a jumping-off point for more significant breaches.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

You may already know that CMSs are vulnerable to XSS attacks. It’s because of their nature of being collections of pages. Moreover, the CMS front-end websites with the highest traffic are frequently the targets of evil hackers.

XSS is a type of injection attack that includes malicious codes. It can create compromised pages on targeted CMS websites with those harmful codes. After the hacker's initial ambush, the evil server attacks your custom CMS. It then causes damage to your site’s server and apps when it processes the malicious content masked in this data.   

SQL Injection Attacks

Your custom CMS may face another kind of attack, which will likely originate from SQL queries. Here, SQL injection can badly modify the CMS front end. More precisely, the attackers insert the malicious SQL queries into the user text-accepting portions.    

Brute Force Attacks

Another significant attack is called the Brute Force Attack, which usually happens inside the user accounts and CMS login pages.

Here, the hackers perform ‘hit & trial’ technique, generating millions of fake usernames & passwords. They keep doing this trick if they find the matched combination of those two pieces of information from millions of global users. Nowadays, some modified brute force attacks can also be seen globally and these could be credential stuffing, dictionary attacks, simple brute force attacks, and many more.

Some Proven & Effective Security Tips for Custom CMS Development

Now, we will show how to avoid security breaches in your custom CMS development process. Here are some proven points from our experience:

Regular Update

Updating the custom CMS on a routine basis will ensure security and close the gaps between various loopholes on websites. These small yet practical tips play a fatal role in making any vulnerable site less prone to cyberattacks. 

We recommend updating your site manually, as the CMS can be effectively inspected whenever a new version is released. You should ensure the new version is compatible with your apps and procedures. Then, you can test it in a test environment, guaranteeing that the user experience on your live website is unaffected by the recently released version. 

Strong Authentication

Apart from routine upgradation, your CMS should also retain stronger authentication procedures to keep it safe from potential cyber dangers. At this point, we recommend establishing a multiple-factor authentication system for your users on your website. This will enable them more secure access and less vulnerability to viruses.    

Genuine Plugin & Theme

While choosing various plugins and themes, you should be more rational and need to avoid concentrating on marketing gimmicks. Doing this will give you an edge over your competitors as you will be less susceptible to potential security threats. As a result, you should select those plugins and themes that are reliable and offer dependability from popular developers.

Proper Monitoring & Auditing

While maintaining the custom CMS, you must understand how User Activity Monitoring (UAM) works. This should be considered a pivotal security point for properly monitoring and auditing user activities on the website. Some common uses of UAM are insider threat detection and reducing those threats accordingly. Moreover, realizing that UAM can assist with legitimately accidental errors and harmfully designed actions is critical. 

Routine Backup

Backing up your site’s valuable data will save you from multifaceted risks. Otherwise, you will face unprecedented cyberattacks aimed at your site’s user security and brand reputation. Various types of malware and ransomware are two of the most renowned and dangerous attacks nowadays. Here, the hackers use specialized encryption to detach your access from your own CMS and eventually set it off. As a result, our recommendation is to work closely with your hosting provider or get help from experts in this field for sound backup and regular maintenance.

Strong CMS Installation Process

Sometimes it becomes very tough for the custom CMS owners to maintain and secure their platform simultaneously. Therefore, we recommend establishing a sturdy installation procedure for your CMS to avoid those complications. Some effective ways to do it are:  

• Removing unnecessary plugins

• Create all files in read-only mode for the users

• Activating a firewall compatible with CMS

• Modify login page location

Safe Hosting Condition

A dedicated hosting server will give you an advantage over shared hosting providers. This activity can keep data aloof from threats, effectively keeping data and information safe from vulnerabilities and malfunctions. Another important aspect is securing the server and configuring specified activities for better optimization. 

Systematic Vulnerability Checking

Periodic vulnerability scans are crucial for stopping security breaches. They find and assess known vulnerabilities that put your systems, apps, and networks at risk of cyberattacks. Additionally, these scans must be performed often to detect any vulnerabilities within your website's security posture. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of these scanning actions hinges on how well the security teams regularly address the incursions they find.

Proper Use of CSP 

As you already know, cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks are among the most complicated in custom CMS. To prevent this attack, we recommend using a Content Security Policy (CSP) with your content’s meta tag. This will efficiently prevent your site from attacks originating from cross-site framing.

How Glossy IT Can Make Your Custom CMS More Secured?

If you still find the security tricks and tips a bit confusing, we recommend you seek expert and experienced help. At Glossy IT, our outstanding team of skilled technical professionals has been serving clients across the globe with greater reputations in this matter. No matter how far or complicated your issues are, our professional team is ready to provide you with the best possible service.

Feel free to contact us with any queries and assistance regarding Security Development on Your CMS.

In a nutshell, developing a custom CMS is always a better decision than using an off-the-shelf CMS to receive better user interactions and increase brand value. However, maintaining and securing the custom CMS could get harder if you don’t know how to deal with it. Therefore, it is wiser for you to remember the above tips for securing your website effectively. Otherwise, you should get help from specialists in this field as soon as possible.

A Custom CMS, or Content Management System, is important software designed to streamline a business's digital content production and distribution. This specialized CMS allows you to efficiently create, organize, edit, approve, and publish content tailored to your business needs. While open-source CMS can be beneficial for beginners, they may not fully meet all your requirements. In such cases, opting for a custom CMS is advisable to ensure future growth and success.

Before jumping into building a custom CMS process, you just need to understand the primary reasons behind Content Management in Custom CMS.

Purposes of Content Management in Custom CMS

You can add the features you require and remove the ones you don't when you build a custom CMS as a bespoke solution. Additionally, it allows you to build the interface with your staff's needs in mind, making it incredibly easy to use.

Additionally, a few other purposes are mentioned below:

Functionality

You can effectively manage your content for better functionality. Due to the limitations of existing CMS platforms, it is wiser for you to make a concrete plan for building a customized CMS. As a result, a unique content management system will provide you with a full set of customized features for better user engagement.

Performance

You need to give priority to better site optimization in the long run. To achieve this, we recommend a customized content management system that will provide better performance than off-the-shelf CMS in the market. Except for that, your site performance will also be enhanced in connection with better speed and controlled resource management.

User-Friendliness

If you plan to use an existing content management system, we recommend you think twice. A notable point here is that an off-the-shelf content management system retains numerous bulk features that you would probably never use at all.

On the other hand, it’s always feasible to create a custom CMS that can build a user-friendly interface to reflect your brand identity with only the necessary features you need.

Better Security

With a ready-made content management system, it is often risky for websites as cyber attackers are more prone to launch frequent strikes on this type of website. In contrast, one of the biggest purposes of creating a custom CMS is its less threat to security issues as the underlying code for this type of CMS is private and state-of-the-art.

Easier Scalability

Scaling an off-the-shelf CMS might be difficult due to limitations or various restrictions. However, with a customized one, you can create a platform that meets your company's demands both now and on the road. This would also guarantee easier scalability.

A Complete Procedure for Content Management in Custom CMS

You should keep in mind that a custom CMS building procedure requires a multi-phase approach. It is recommended that you maintain the following sequence:          

Formulating the Idea

Making a powerful and customizable CMS requires a clear concept formulation to begin with. Here you need to evaluate your current architecture, form contemporary content management procedures, and select the kind of content you require for assistance. Then again, you should specify any project objectives that will determine its success or the desired outcome in comparison to what the store-bought alternatives provide. Once the scope is specified, you will have a formal plan to move forward.

Planning Development

Typically, planning development entails laying down the features and specifications unique to the content management expectations. In addition, you should choose a tech pile, evaluate costs, and create a schedule. Moreover, if you need to win over other corporate executives, develop a business case. You should also decide which KPIs you'll use to extend performance.

Drawing Prototypes & Workflows

In this stage, your main target should be to create a summary of the total architecture and content management workflows. Just after that, you can formulate prototypes and evaluate them for serviceability. 

Launch the CMS Development Process

If you have completed the above steps, then you are ready to launch the CMS development process. Here, you need to choose between two execution strategies. A platform-based outcome is expected to perform better if the existing CMS feature can meet your expectations. Again, developing a total custom CMS is superior if you require a more individualized solution with plugins that aren’t commonly available from the ready-made solutions. 

Conduct Quality Assurance & Testing

In this step, you will create test cases and scenarios that you may use to evaluate the first content management system design's functioning. Also, you can analyze usability, usefulness, unifications, and complete performance. After that, you need to search and resolve any problems found to strengthen the CMS before launching it.

Execute Data Migration

As you are now ready to upgrade to a custom CMS, you must relocate your content and relevant data. However, you first need to search for the exact content that you want to migrate and you can do it by selecting a small sample. Then, you need to look for any discrepancies which may arise from those data. If everything goes in the right direction and with the proper mindset then it will be easier to migrate all of your necessary content to their new hub. 

Execute User-training & Launch

As soon as your content management system is prepared for release, you must write instructions for its use in document form. Furthermore, it makes sense to provide training sessions to train users with the new platform and its procedures since this expedites adoption and lowers the learning curve. Besides that, you should gather input along the route to identify areas that need work and implement any helpful adjustments. Consequently, you can effectively launch the new content management system.

Give Post-launch Assistance

Keep in mind that, it is your responsibility to help your users with regular assistance regarding customized CMS. In addition, you should receive feedback from your users and identify the solutions for effective customer management. It is also important to perform systematic updates to the CMS to bridge the gap between the company’s needs and user expectations. Also, the updating aspect will resolve the security issues too.

How Glossy IT Can Give You the Best Service for Developing Custom CMS

You may find the above process a bit technical yet complicated, but don’t worry; we've got your back. At Glossy IT, our team of expert and experienced professionals has been working relentlessly to provide the best Custom CMS Service to our respected clients all over the world. You can seek any assistance from our dedicated support staff and we are ready to provide you with the best possible way out. Feel free to contact us for a perfect CMS solution.

Summary

At this stage, you'll likely have total control over your CMS, so you can easily modify it to meet your changing needs as your business expands and changes. Then again, one last thing to remember is the cost which includes team costs, software costs, and server costs. However, it may vary in numerous ways. As a result, you should keep this aspect in mind as well. Last but not least, we will always recommend you seek expert help if you ever feel confused about any issue regarding the new content management system.

Joomla is a popular open-source CMS used worldwide for creating and managing websites. It uses MySQL or PostgreSQL for its database and is developed in PHP. With a vast library of extensions and templates, Joomla allows users to build and manage websites easily, even with minimal technical knowledge. It also functions as a framework, enabling modifications without disrupting essential components. You can customize Joomla's functionality without being an expert in PHP, making it easy to upgrade settings.

This article covers important aspects of Usability testing in Joomla.

Discover the Power of Usability Testing in Joomla 

To improve your Joomla site's performance and prevent future issues, regularly conduct usability checks. Joomla version 4 has introduced user-friendly plugins for easier usability testing by users and developers. This makes it simpler to adjust backend settings from a user's point of view.

For Backend

In this part, you will learn how a developer can get help on the usability testing from the backend. To know more, you need to understand the following features:

Individual Settings for Accessibility

You will be surprised to know that every user can enjoy the backend area operation according to their needs in Joomla 4. More importantly, you can utilize each of the four parameters separately or in combination in accessibility settings. For instance, you can modify the backend's colors from blue to black and white when it is in monochrome condition. Again, removing some background, from the high contrast will brighten the overall contrast. Thirdly, all the links in the backend are given boundaries and underlining by Highlight Links. Finally, increase the font size to 18px as the default font size is set to 16px.

For Authors and Editors

In Joomla, you will find a handful amount of significant plugins that are not only useful but also easy to use. The jooa11y is one of these types which is default in nature and highly optimized for authors and editors.

jooa11

As we mentioned earlier, this is a default plugin that assists in giving accessible content on your Joomla website. As a system plugin, it can be found in Joomla version 4.1.0. Here, you can indicate which particular area of your website has been checked. In addition, you can include or exclude a few regulations if necessary. However, we recommend sticking with the predefined settings if you are new to this plugin.

If you use the jooa11y plugin, then it is highly likely that various visitors, authors, web developers, and agencies will benefit from it. For example: your site visitors will get barrier-free content as the audience, and the authors can generate seamless content easily. In addition, the agencies and developers get barrier-free content in their products.

You can activate this plugin by turning on the ‘Accessibility Check’ button in the Joomla toolbar. Enabling this will give you ease of access to every icon that has a description. This might often come along with suggestions for standard procedures or ways to fix the problem. 

For Users

Use of different plugins

Use of Skip-to-navigation plugin: You can find this Joomla plugin by default in the backend. However, you can use it from the front end. Another useful feature of this plugin is that it helps keyboard users navigate to different sections of a Joomla website easily.

Use of Accessibility plugin: The accessibility options can help customize the backend to the needs of each Joomla user. However, you can also provide your page's visitors with accessibility options for better engagement. Moreover, the extra accessibility feature-related plugin can be accessible from the front end and back end. While configuring this plugin, you will see that this plugin creates a new button at the bottom of the page.

To enhance the readability of the information, the site user can adjust the font size and text spacing using this plugin. Additionally, the user has the ability to change the color scheme of the page, enlarge the cursor, highlight all the links, enable a reading aid, and change text to speech efficiently. Then again, you will find a function for modifying the page containing grey hues. It can also be used in Chrome or Microsoft Edge. However, you will find it being deactivated in Firefox. Some of the below set of hotkeys will help you with this purpose as well:

Toggle Menu CTRL + ALT + A

Gray Hues CTRL + ALT + G

Underline Links CTRL + ALT + U

Big Cursor CTRL + ALT + C

Reading Guide CTRL + ALT + R

Text To Speech CTRL + ALT + T

Speech To Text CTRL + ALT + S

Remember, it's essential to develop your Joomla website correctly from the start for better accessibility. Adding accessibility plugins later won't fix existing issues. Disabled users often rely on specialized tools like screen magnifiers, screen readers, and braille embossers rather than plugins.

Many elderly persons with low vision will find the text enlargement option supportive. Again, the accurate contrasts on the Joomla website will not be replaced by the contrast option. Nonetheless, it could be useful for those who visit your website, specifically, in a bright area, or for those with impaired vision. The links must be highlighted too. 

You should remember that WCAG does not require those links to be underlined. However, highlighted hyperlinks might make the Joomla website more accessible to those with concentration issues or vision impairments.

TinyMCE

You might not know that TinyMCE is one of the most updated WYSIWYG editors online. In Joomla’s usability aspect, also plays an important role in user accessibility. In short, it is a tag that highlights a part of a text as ‘other/foreign language’. Search engines and screen readers can use it to determine whether to adjust their accent or language.

To configure TinyMCE, you can specify the languages you use in your writings with the TinyMCE plugin, but it’s not easy for the editors at first glance. However, you can make this easier for the editors by moving the language symbol to the symbols that your editors are permitted to use. And if you don’t do it, then your editors have to highlight a language with the format button and reach down there by scrolling.

How Glossy IT Can Assist You Further On Usability Testing in Joomla? (H2)

We have tried to cover almost all the major topics regarding the usability testing features in Joomla. However, it is still natural to remain confused on a few aspects as these are not easy to execute to some extent. Therefore, you might be wondering how you can get your problems solved. Glossy IT owns a solid team of experienced professionals who have been working with solving clients' Joomla Web Development and Testing issues with a great reputation. This expert team has members who are capable of fixing all of your Joomla-related problems within an attractive budget. 

Give us a shout to know more about our dedicated Joomla Usability Testing Services.

Closing Verdict

We talked about the multiple functions and attributes of the Joomla system in this article. Consequently, you can implement and carry out these Joomla tests by adhering to some of the recommendations that have the potential to produce outstanding results over time. Despite Joomla’s open-source nature, it still retains somehow a complicated usability method for amateurs. For that reason, it is your responsibility to figure out what type of expert suggestions you need for better improvement.