The Pros and Cons of CMS APP Builders

So you’ve decided you want to build your mobile application with a cross-platform solution. Now what? There is yet another decision to be made: Should you build your app with a CMS?

Let’s first go over a quick definition of CMS, or content management system. What makes a CMS a CMS? First, there is usually more of a drag-and-drop feel than actual coding. An example may be dragging and dropping a text box component rather than coding ‘<input type=”text”></input>’. Next, there will be some type of dashboard. And usually you will be able to create different permissions for various users of the dashboard. For example, you may want to allow someone to be able to sign on and change some text, but you may not want them to be able to edit the styling of the application so you would edit their permissions accordingly.

Now, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of CMS app builders to help us answer the question we originally asked: Should you build your app with a CMS?

Pros
Code faster – CMS app builders allow you to build apps at lightning speed. I can build a complete app (ready to be submitted to the app stores) with a CMS builder within hours. The ease of drag-and-drop can save huge amounts of time and effort.

Client customization – This pro comes along with the dashboard aspect of CMS builders. This comes in handy when you are offering customizable apps for clients. With a dashboard, you can create a login for the client and let them sign on to their application’s backend for simple text updates or adding a blog to a blog section, for example.

Automatic updates – Getting an app through the App Store can be a frustrating process because of the length of time it takes to be approved. That’s not so bad for the initial submission, but waiting days for each update can be an issue if you have a client that is constantly wanting changes. Usually with CMS builders, you can automatically push 99% of updates (excluding splash screen or icon changes).

Cons
Costs money – One major con to using a CMS builder is that it is not free. Usually for a single app, it will cost about $50/month and will only stay live while you are paying the subscription. For reference, check out the pricing sheet for one of the top CMS builders here. You can easily see how this could get very expensive very fast with multiple apps. One thing to keep in mind is that if you know you will be creating multiple apps, most CMS solutions offer some type of affiliate program. This means you will be able to pay a higher monthly fee, but you will be able to create as many apps as you like.

Less control – Sometimes with CMS builders, you lose 100% control of what you can do with your app. For example, they may only offer a set amount of templates you can use for a page. Most will offer a blank HTML template you can code yourself to help with this, but if you are trying to avoid hours spent coding then that doesn’t really solve your problem.

So, what’s the answer? Of course, it depends. If money isn’t an issue and you want to be able to quickly create customizable apps, a CMS builder is most likely the way to go.