Website Development - Custum HTML/PHP or Wordpress

[smc]

For those that know web development or have had it done any thoughts on WordPress versus custom HTML/PHP?

I have two quotes for the development from reputable companies. Both initially provided quotes that were above my budget. When I asked them to come down in price, one suggested a WordPress build and then the simply reduced the features that the site would have. Since we will not have a huge budget for future changes I am leaning towards wordpress since I have built several wordpress sites in the past and know how to do it. That being said you can get it trouble with WordPress updates breaking your site and with hackers.

Thoughts on which approach to use? a budget HTML/PHP or a Wordpress site built on a good well supported template?

[ga16i]

I think that will depend on your requirements. What technical functionality do you need above static pages?
In general, I think if you just have mostly content pages to stick with Wordpress. I wouldn't try to turn Wordpress into an e-commerce or data driven site though.

[tch7]

Wordpress with a good template. It's such a versatile backbone, and becomes especially handy for adding/maintaining content versus a fully custom site.

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by ga16i
I wouldn't try to turn Wordpress into an e-commerce or data driven site though.

In terms of making it into an ad-affiliated site it's not impossible, there are 2 different Wordpress options, one is free with no ads allowed for personal use, the other is ad-enabled personal use with a fee and the possibility to own your own domain iirc.

In anycase, A790 would one to pm about this stuff.

[smc]

Not an e-commerce site, mostly content and information sharing for a scientific research network.

[mr2mike]

Use whatever Toma uses for his website.
It's cutting edge. Clipart, geocities, the works.
http://www.dynomotive.ca/
:angel:

[A790]

I use WordPress exclusively for the sites that we deploy for clients. You can easily expand the functionality via plugins, and it can be built to be quite secure assuming you don't mind taking a few minutes every now and then to update plugins/installation files.

WordPress can also be an EXCELLENT e-commerce platform. Again, the right plugins will do the job. When we did www.cornelsworld.com we used Woocommerce, which is a free e-commerce plugin (though you need to pay for "modules" to expand its functionality beyond anything more than the basic). It's fast, easy to work with, etc.

I love WordPress because, speaking candidly, as a developer it lessons my post-deployment support requirements. I can train you on how to use it, how to use the editing software we bundle in, etc. and then you are now able to make your own changes, add new sections, etc. This empowers you as a business owner/webmaster as opposed to limits. There's nothing worse than paying someone $65/hr to make basic text/image changes.

If you want to DIY grab a premium theme from Themeforest.com. A lot of the time the theme developer offers support to help you get your site running smoothly. A theme like Avada or X has excellent post-sale support. If you've got the time you can probably build something decent :)

Just remember that every web developer is an "expert" and have their own expert opinions. Were I in your situation, I'd sit down and hammer out my requirements first. Be honest, and also be specific. Once you know what you need you are then in a position to determine if you can DIY or if you need a pro. :)

EDIT: Oh, and if you do decide to hire a pro, do not shop based on price. There are many ways to bring the price down on a website and it isn't always in your favor. Work with whomever is going to meet your needs the best. This is YOUR website- if you spend a little more than you anticipated to get a solution that meets your needs that's money well spent.

[ga16i]

Originally posted by smc
Not an e-commerce site, mostly content and information sharing for a scientific research network.

Pretty much what A790 said, try to nail down specific requirements and go from there. He can probably help with spec'ing business needs. What do you mean by information sharing for a scientific research network?

Is it information written by one person to be distributed to multiple people? Or are there multiple authors involved and files should have a checkout and version control system in place? Do authors and readers require logins before accessing the information? Do they require different permissions/levels of access, be condoned off into groups, files/entries be read-only once submitted, access needs to be logged, support strange characters in all fields, etc. Depending on what the answers are to some of those example questions, Wordpress may or may not be the easiest solution. At the end of the day, you can make Wordpress do pretty much anything since it's so open and extensible. On the same note, you can also swap any engine into any car given enough time and money. Try to talk with someone (possibly A790) about what features you absolutely need and what are just some nice-to-have's and what fits into your current budget.