EXPERT TALK: open-source content management system ProcessWire is our choice

19.05.21

For years, hooox used WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) for our clients’ websites. All went well until we were forced to acknowledge its limitations. After a number of experiments, we made the move to ProcessWire.

A lot of unnecessary work

WordPress originated as a blogging system. That remains the core of the system. Which means that to create a good corporate or commercial site, you need to introduce a whole series of external plug-ins. And that causes problems. For every WordPress update (of which there are quite a few), we needed to test whether the new version was still compatible with the installed plug-ins. Result: enormous management overheads.
After a number of experiments with Drupal, Craft and other Content Management Systems, a web developer tipped us off about ProcessWire. We tried it out and were sold.

100% tailored to our client

ProcessWire is not just a Content Management System (CMS), but also a Content Management Framework (CMF). This means you have complete freedom in the way you structure your website. You create the content types and fields you want. In other words, the content and the design of your website are completely customisable.

‘Contrary to other solutions, the programmer is not required to follow the existing design. You’re free to do your own thing.’

- Review on the ProcessWire website

Built-in functionalities

You rarely need extra plug-ins; most essential functionalities are already part and parcel of ProcessWire:

Custom fields: With custom fields, we can add more complex information—such as product specifications, prices and documents—simply and consistently.
Multiple languages: In a country like Belgium, it’s quite unusual to have your website in just one language. With ProcessWire, you manage all the different language versions from the same page.
Forms: A form is what the website visitor uses to contact you. In other words? It’s a very important feature.
Roles and rights: You may want to give your employees access to the CMS. With ProcessWire, you maintain complete control over who has access to which part of the website and who is allowed to make adjustments and changes. All these rights are able to be set at the level of an individual field.

Easy for client and developer

ProcessWire has an intuitive, user-friendly interface. As a result, when new developers join us at hooox quickly master the system and we keep working at a nice, speedy rate. Our new clients start working on their websites themselves after just a short introduction.

‘Both our end-clients and our designers are thrilled with the ease of the CMS. It’s very easy to update something. Apart from learning how to log in, there’s no training needed; the interface is that straightforward.’

- Review on the ProcessWire website.

Unbeatable when it comes to security

Security is the top priority for the developers of ProcessWire. They have provided a stable core that keeps working, without updates, years after it’s installed. As the CMS has so many built-in functionalities, there are almost no plug-ins needed. As such, there are no vulnerabilities brought into the system from outside. Plus, ProcessWire is relatively unknown. As a result, it’s not a very attractive target for cybercriminals who perform (automated) hacking attacks.

Did you know two of our recent websites have been chosen as the ProcessWire site of the week?

Eaglestone

The Agency

No vendor lock-in

Finally, ProcessWire is an open-source system. This means that neither you nor we pay any licensing costs. It also means you avoid vendor lock-in: a treacherous system where a web agency builds your website on their exclusive CMS. With vendor lock-in, you’re effectively unable to leave—unless you have your website completely rebuilt from scratch by your new partner. But, when you use ProcessWire through hooox, you never need to contend with this risk.

Are you sold on using ProcessWire?

Hooox is happy to make your website come to life!

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