What it means
A content management system separates the content of a website, such as text and images, from its design and underlying code. Staff can log in to an editing screen, change a page and publish it without involving a developer.
WordPress is the best-known example, and thousands of ready-made themes and plug-ins add design and functions such as forms, payments and search optimisation. There are two main versions.
WordPress.org supplies the free software, which the business installs on its own hosting, while WordPress.com is a hosted service where the provider looks after the technical side for a fee. The first gives more control and the second gives more convenience.
From a finance viewpoint, "free" software is not free to run. The business pays for domain names, hosting, premium themes and plug-ins, security tools, backups, developer time and content creation.
Adding these up gives the total cost of ownership, which is the real cost of having and running the site over a year or longer. Risks need managing as well.
Because WordPress is so widely used, it is a popular target for attackers, and out-of-date plug-ins are a common weak point. Regular updates, strong passwords, restricted access and backups are basic controls that finance and operations leaders should expect to see.
The choice of platform is a business decision. A custom-built site may suit a company with complex needs, while a hosted website builder may suit a very small business with no technical staff.
Comparing WordPress with alternatives on cost, control, speed and risk gives a better decision than choosing the most familiar name. Governance matters as well.
Someone in the business should own the site, hold the administrator logins, approve who can publish and keep a record of which suppliers have access. When a freelancer leaves, their access should be removed the same day, in the same way as a company bank mandate would be.
In practice
Real-world examples.
Example
A consulting firm uses WordPress for its website and blog. The marketing assistant publishes new articles each week without a developer, and the firm pays an agency a fixed monthly fee to apply updates and security checks.
Example
A boutique retailer adds an online shop to its WordPress site using a free e-commerce plug-in. The owner budgets $1,200 a year for hosting, payment tools and support, and compares it with the sales the shop brings in each month.
Example
A finance team reviews the costs of five company websites that were each built on WordPress by different suppliers. It finds that the sites use 14 separate plug-in subscriptions and combines them into a shared set, saving about $2,000 a year.
Formula
Calculation
Annual total cost of ownership = Hosting + Domain and themes + Plug-ins + Maintenance and security + Content cost
Suppose a small business spends $600 a year on hosting, $60 on a premium theme, $300 on premium plug-ins, $1,800 on a maintenance and security service and $240 on backup tools. The annual total is 600 + 60 + 300 + 1,800 + 240 = $3,000. If the site generates 50 leads a year, the cost per lead from the platform alone is 3,000 / 50 = $60.Case study
Seen in the real world.
Brightfield Services is a fictional accounting practice, and this case study is illustrative. Its website was built on WordPress by a freelancer, and nobody had applied updates for two years. One morning the site was defaced through an out-of-date plug-in, and the practice lost three days of enquiries.
The managing partner signed a maintenance contract at $150 a month, or 150 x 12 = $1,800 a year, which covered updates, backups and monitoring. The practice also moved to better hosting costing $600 a year. The illustrative lesson is that a low-cost website still needs a budget for upkeep, and the cost of a single incident can exceed a year of maintenance.
Watch out
Common mistakes.
- Believing that free software means a free website, when hosting, plug-ins, upkeep and time all cost money.
- Installing many plug-ins without checking whether they are maintained, which increases security risk and slows the site down.
- Leaving updates and backups until something goes wrong, when regular care is far cheaper than recovery.
Questions
People also ask.
What does CMS stand for?
It stands for content management system, which is software that lets non-technical people create, edit and publish website content.
What is the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?
WordPress.org is the free software you install and manage yourself, while WordPress.com is a paid hosted service that handles the technical work for you.
Is WordPress suitable for a business?
Often yes, especially for content sites and small shops, but the right choice depends on your needs, your budget and your ability to maintain it securely over time.
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