As a legal marketer, you get solicitations from vendors all the time. Some you ignore; others you entertain. The goal is to conduct your due diligence to decide whether the company selling its services has your firm’s best interests in mind. Unfortunately, when it comes to web development, some vendors are out to hold you hostage.
Ask a law firm that has built a website using a vendor’s proprietary platform, and you will likely hear a horror story or two. Oftentimes, when using a vendor’s proprietary content management system (CMS), any fix or update to the website must be conducted by the same vendor because they are the only developer with knowledge of the system. Furthermore, because there is a lack of competition, they are able to raise their prices beyond the standard rate, sometimes gouging marketers for fixes that would normally cost significantly less.
With so many open-source web development platforms available, including time-tested players like Drupal and WordPress, there is no reason not to build your website on an open-source platform. Customizations are limitless, and switching vendors is relatively easy. That means you can get the site you want at a competitive price.
Want to learn more about selecting a CMS for your website? Read our posts: “Deciding What Platform to Use for Your Law Firm Website” and “Common Pitfalls to Avoid when Building a Law Firm Website.”
How Can Jaffe Help You with Your CMS?
At Jaffe, we don’t just build you a website; we want to make sure that what we create achieves your business objectives. That’s why our team of digital strategists and content experts starts by working with you to understand your law firm’s specific needs and goals to build a comprehensive content strategy. From there, our website developers help you select and customize a CMS in a way that best fulfills your needs.
Once we build the platform, we can either train your personnel on how to operate the CMS or manage website updates ourselves on behalf of your firm. Because we are a full-service agency, you also can receive the benefits of expert content strategy, creative design, SEO consulting and analytics reports.
Want to learn more about how Jaffe can help you with website development and CMS selection? Contact Melanie Trudeau at mtrudeau@jaffepr.com for more information.