When a site needs a system, and when it does not

A five part series on content management systems, simple websites, and the line between them. With sources, not opinions.

  1. 01 of 052026 08 22

    The website update myth

    "We need to edit the content ourselves." Everyone says it. Then the site launches and nothing changes for a year. What's actually going on, and what to do instead.

  2. 02 of 052026 08 22

    Who a CMS is really for

    A content management system (CMS) is sold as the ability to edit. What it really sells is a way to skip another department's queue. When you are the department, there's no queue.

  3. 03 of 052026 08 22

    CMS or a simple site, in numbers

    When people argue "CMS or a simple page," both sides quote feelings. We gathered the numbers instead. Not all of them favor the side we expected.

  4. 04 of 052026 08 22

    When a site actually needs a CMS

    The answer to "do I need a CMS" fits into two questions. Plus one number, plus one feature an AI-generated page simply has no answer for.

  5. 05 of 052026 08 22

    The honest other side: what the static-site camp leaves out

    We wrote four posts about when you don't need a CMS. Now the part the static-page camp leaves out. Us included.