Web Development: Why we love Umbraco

Since our birth 5 years ago on Planet Digital, we've had the opportunity to test drive many different Content Management Systems as we were web designing our hearts out. The great and the good, and of course, those 'off the shelf' ones.

For many years, WordPress has been Parachute's 'goto' platform for developing websites. And although we still love it, and use it for many new clients, we can't hide our love for Umbraco and all it's ways.

It's really important to note before we go any further - your choice of CMS shouldn't determine how your website looks and feels. If it inhibits your creative juicies in anyway, let it pass you by. If you want to represent your brand successfully - you need to choose a platform that can let those pixels run free, wild and beautiful.

Umbraco Web Development: What should I be thinking about when I choose a CMS?

There are many considerations when looking at which CMS to choose for your website,

• Security
• Costs & Licensing
• Integrations with other systems
• Accessibility

Whenever we recommend something, it will always be fit for purpose and secure. What we want our clients to be able to focus on, is their daily editing experience and making this as seamless and joyful as it possibly can.

There are many cases where we find stories of potential customers incurring costs of thousands of pounds to create a simple landing page, or even worse, it takes days to get everything looking right without any help from a trusty developer.

In an age where ad campaigns are made weekly, or daily, your CMS needs to be agile, and let you produce visually stunning landing pages with minimal effort.

Umbraco's secret? The Page Grid.

When we produce a CMS for client, we essentially treat it as if we were using a framework. A piece of software with the ways and means to extend itself into representing, and tailoring your website into the best possible platform to update and edit your content.

We treat both WordPress and Umbraco as a framework. But what sets them both apart? The Page Grid.

Our way of thinking about content architecture has evolved into designing and developing content blocks. A little bit like lego - and you can be sure it'll help you along the way to drive more enquiries, and pounds and pence.

Typical blocks could be:

• Banner Carousels
• Image Blocks
• Video Blocks
• Tables
• Related Content/Products

Imagine having all this at your disposable, being able to drag and drop it all into place and a guarantee that it looks professional.

Of course, there's much more to talk about. So if you're interested in web design, give us a quick call, or drop us a note. We'd love to talk about your next CMS with you! Check out a few of our Umbraco websites below.