I have Facebook, so I can manage a CMS. Right?

It's no surprise that both small and large business are slowly switching to a CMS website. After all, most of us have a Facebook, so we're used to managing content... right? Before I start with my song and dance, let me begin by letting everyone know that the following information comes from my first hand experience in this topic. Well... most of it.

I know that both small and large businesses have dealt with their share or web designer nightmares. Whether it be lack of control, cost, or the shear fact that you once designed a project in Microsoft Front Page for a group project in the second semester of your junior year of college. And, you got a B+, so you're clearly ready to tackle something as simple as a Content Management System! My advice is to leave it to the designers and coders. There is a reason you're doing what you do and they are doing what they do.

Suppose your approach to a CMS is that you want to be able to manage your own content, thus keeping costs of updating your site down because you're doing it yourself. Well, that sounds like a great idea on paper, but what happens when you break something and have to go back to that designer to have them fix it? You're right back where you started right? I'm not saying that you can't learn the software, but you're putting yourself in a situation with a high possibility of future frustration.

Managing a CMS, such as Wordpress or Joomla, is not as simple as managing the content that's on your Facebook. It's one thing to learn how to setup a CMS by yourself, so that you learn the ins and outs before it's even complete. It is however another have a professional designer or firm build you a complete site so that you can take it over with little or no knowledge of how it works.

So, when you decide that you need a new website, or that your current one needs a re-vamp... leave it to the professionals and save yourself money in the long run.