Small and medium-sized enterprises face many choices when selecting a website building system: open source or closed source? SaaS or self-built? Which CMS is most suitable for their business?

This selection guide helps you clarify your thoughts and make wise decisions.

Step 1: Define your requirements

Before choosing a CMS, ask yourself a few questions:

  • Website purpose: For business display? E-commerce? Blog? Information? - Target user: Domestic users or overseas users?- Content Type: Is it mainly text? Or is it a combination of text and images?Is video the main focus? - Expected scale: How many pages are expected?How many articles? How many concurrent visits? - Technical capability: Does the team have technical personnel?Is it all outsourced? - Budget range: one-time investment or annual payment?

Step 2: Determine the deployment method

SaaS website building platform (recommended for non-technical users):Wix, Squarespace, Youzan, etc.No deployment required, subscription-based payment. Advantages: Simple, fast, no technical skills required Disadvantages: High monthly fees, no data autonomy, poor customization

Self-built with open source (recommended for teams with technical capabilities):WordPress, AnQi CMS, Drupal, etc.Deploy and maintain it yourself. Advantages: Free functionality, independent data, low long-term costs Disadvantages: Requires technical skills or outsourcing costs

Hybrid solution:Used for quick launch, later migrating to an in-house system. Suitable for enterprises with limited budgets but willing to operate in the long term.

Step 3: Evaluate the function

Small and medium-sized enterprise website construction, the following features must be considered:

  • Content management: easy to use backend, supports rich text and Markdown - SEO features: TDK management, pseudo-static, Sitemap - Mobile adaptation: responsive design or independent mobile end - Image/media management: upload, categorize, search - User permissions: multi-administrator collaboration, permission levels - Data backup: automatic backup and recovery function

Step 4: Evaluate Performance

Performance directly affects user experience and SEO ranking. Pay attention to the following indicators:

  • Page loading speed: First screen within 2 seconds - Concurrent processing capability: Can handle traffic peaks - Resource usage: Server configuration requirements - Scalability: Can it expand smoothly after traffic growth

Step 5: Evaluate Costs

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) includes:

  • Software cost: Open source free or with licensing fee? - Server cost: Calculated annual cost based on configuration - Development cost: Template customization, feature development - Maintenance cost: Daily operations, security updates - Plugin/theme cost: Cost of third-party extensions

Recommended Plan

Sufficient budget, with a technical team:AnQi CMS Business Edition + Custom Development. Excellent performance, complete features, good Chinese support.

Limited budget, with a technical team:AnQi CMS open source version. Features are sufficient, AI functions are free, and deployment is simple.

No technical team, sufficient budget:SaaS website building platform goes online quickly, can be migrated later.

No technical team, limited budget:Hire an outsourcing company to build based on AnQi CMS. One-time investment, low long-term cost.

Summary

There is no absolute right or wrong in selection, only suitability. The key is to clarify the requirements, make a comprehensive assessment, and control costs.AnQi CMS performs exceptionally well among open source CMS, and it is a worthy consideration for small and medium-sized enterprises.