The Evolution of Web Design in Bristol and Beyond
The digital landscape has changed immensely over the past 10 years and web design Bristol has changed with it. As more and more businesses and developers look to alternatives to traditional content management systems (CMS), such as Word press, technological developments such as headless CMS and static site generators are becoming disruptive and popular within the industry.
Word press had been the search and go to for building websites due to its user friendliness and ease of use, range of plug-in and flexibility. The web environment is no longer the same as it was, user expectations have changed to expect fast load times, good security, and consistent experiences across different channels. The question is now whether Word press is still the right solution for building web projects.
Web design agencies in Bristol are also recognizing these changes and are offering their clients more modern solutions. Static site generators (Gatsby and Jekyll) and headless CMS (Contentful and Strapi) lead a new generation of website solutions which provide better performance and scale.
This article will touch on whether Word press is still relevant or if web projects would be better suited to newer possibilities.
Why Word Press Dominated Web Design for So Long
For many years, Word Press has been the core of web design locally in Bristol and worldwide. It offers many advantages that have contributed to its popularity:
1. Easy to use interface, eliminating the need for developers to maintain content;
2. Huge library of plug-in, with over 58,000 to extend website functionality;
3. Extensive community support by developers who continually troubleshoot, upgrade and develop;
4. SEO optimized structure, as plug-in like Yoast SEO make all the best practices easy to use;
However, as websites begin to demand faster speeds and greater security, the traditional structure of Word Press may not scale as a solution. Word Press sites rely heavily on databases and dynamic rendering which only adds time to the load. As sites get slower, user experience suffers and ultimately so do search rankings.
The Rise of Headless CMS and Static Site Generators
The move to headless CMS and static site generators is driven by the need for speed, security, flexibility. Unlike word press that integrates content management, with front-end rendering, a headless CMS separates the content creation and management stage from the presentation stage. Using modern frameworks such as React or Vue.js for the front end, developers can still work with a really efficient management of the content through the headless CMS.
Static site generators build pages at deploy time, creating pre-built pages that don’t require any database queries, providing a super-fast load time, better security due to no businesses having a database that can’t be hacked without having a database, and great lower hosting costs.
For any business that is investing in web design and development in Bristol, adopting one of these technologies will give them a competitive advantage. More and more agencies/groups are now recommending this type of headless solution for projects that require a lot of performance, such as e-commerce and large corporate websites.
Benefits of Headless CMS for Modern Web Design
Enhanced Performance – By separating the front end and back end of the site, the websites load faster.
Omni channel Publishing – Content can be published immediately to websites, mobile applications, and Iota devices.
Improved Security – By not having a direct connection to a database, there are fewer attack surfaces.
Developer Flexibility – Development teams can choose frameworks and coding languages that best suits them and can do so without the CMS limitations.
Headless CMS platforms typically require more technical know-how than traditional CMS systems, but once everything is discovered, ultimately they are worthwhile investments.
Challenges of Moving Away from Word Press
Although the benefits of a new technology can be significant, changing from Word Press is often complex. Many organizations in Bristol are still working exclusively in Word Press for several reasons, including:
- Familiarity – Users already understand how to work Word Press and hence require less training.
- Cost – Setting up a Word Press site or pages is often less expensive initially.
- Plugging – Some businesses or organizations have become dependent on specific Word Press plug-in.
Migrating towards headless content management systems (CMSs) and static site generators requires relative planning. Agencies that are known for web design in Bristol help organizations transition to a new technology. Most agencies will conduct a needs analysis and recommend migration approaches that suit their organization.
When Should You Stick with Word Press?
Word Press is a good for:
- Small businesses with a simple, affordable need.
- Bloggers or content creators that can take advantage of its SEO tools.
- Users who want to use the software because it is dummy proof despite it not being ultra high performance.
For much larger, more complicated, high traffic sites, it may be worth it to consider other options.
The Future of Web Design in Bristol
As technology changes, web design in Bristol will continue to take advantage of headless and static solutions. Word Press isn’t going away anytime soon but it may not be the only option as companies will continue to priorities speed, security, and scalability.
The way forward really depends on what you need from a solution. Speaking with a Bristol web design agency will help you choose if you need a static site generator, headless CMS or Word Press.
Conclusion
Whether or not Word Press is still a solid option, will now depend completely on the type of requirements you have. For small businesses, bloggers and people wanting a simple, easy to use platform; Word Press, is and will be a simple low-cost answer. However, with web design Bristol continuously developing, more and more agencies and developers are choosing to build using headless CMS and static site generators, where speed, security and scalability is a big consideration.
If your site experiences a predictable level of traffic, or you are integrating multiple platforms for content delivery or you want your site to have near-instant loading times, then it may not be unreasonable to consider modern alternatives going forward. If your main considerations of use are simplicity and the ability to plug in lots of plug-in, then discussing whether Word Press is still worth your business will not be a high priority!
It is best to really think about your business goals, the level of technical ability and budget, before deciding on the best option for your online presence. Options, and to future-proof your online presence.
