I am planning to create a website, and was undecided whether to use CMS (or pre-made scripts) or just write everything from scratch. It is going to be a lot of work to start from scratch, and using CMS/scripts would be better, but I feel that using a non-unique script already eliminates that chance of being "very successful" already. I feel that if the site is using CMS that can be found or purchased, then there is nothing special or unique about the site. I was wondering if using CMS/scripts could have an affect on how successful I could be, will it be limited because I use a script that I did not write myself? Or am I just being too paranoid?
With the right research and information, most CMS' can compete with each other without huge complication. Try one of the more popular ones for a larger support community to fall back on.
I used to think this. You do NOT need to code a site from scratch for it to be successful. A great starting point for many, MANY powerful sites is Drupal. With effort, no one will have any idea which CMS you are using. The reason you can spot a CMS on most sites from a mile away is that they didn't start with their own theme, they used an out of the box theme and integrated the functionality you see on 99% of the sites using that CMS. Take a look at the CMS, KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH and what the CMS is capable of. Create wireframes, create a plan of action. Then, integrate all of your custom functionality and build your custom site. Wordpress, for example, could be used to create a facebook clone if you wanted. You would just need to a lot of knowledge to do so. (Drupal, of course, would be a better starting point if you wanted to use a standard CMS).
Hi, Are you concerned about what users think, or about how the search-engines will perceive your site? Both are interested in valuable, well organised, easy to access and read, content, and neither is concerned about how the site was built. If you can find a CMS that does everything you need it to do (or you can modify it to achieve this), there's no reason why you can't be successful with a CMS. Paul
Thank you everyone for the comment and suggestion. This has really changed my views on CMS. Thank you very much!!!