Which is Better: Hand Coding or Pre-Built CMS?

The debate between using custom code versus a pre-rolled CMS (content management system) such as WordPress or Drupal is one that takes place in almost every office that has been faced with needing to build a presence on the Web. There are some clear advantages to each of these solutions, as well as several key disadvantages.

Apple’s primary Web site is almost entirely done by hand. This requires a lot of time on the part of the responsible department each time an update needs to be made to the site. This also requires a great amount of work when interfacing with a database like MySQL.

The upside to doing things by hand is that it’s easier to get exactly what you want and create a truly custom template for your site to build from moving forward. If you don’t expect a lot of changes to be made to it, a static Web page can be much easier to cache and serve during heavy periods of visitation. In short, the less dynamic your content is, the faster and more reliable your site will be.

On the other hand, pre-rolled CMS solutions like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and others are great building blocks on which a more dynamic site with frequently changed information can be built. Blogs, galleries, online commerce, and other dynamic content can be easily served from an optimized and frequently updated CMS.

In terms of getting up and running faster, a pre-rolled CMS can take you from no site to a fully functional site in minutes. Switching out a default theme for one of your own creation can be done more easily, and the support structure for the backbone of the site is much stronger in numbers and availability. If something goes wrong with WordPress, a large community of developers is available to address and patch the problem.

Custom sites developed by hand may be harder to support unless the original developer is on hand throughout the lifetime of the site’s operation. Everyone has a different style of coding, and it can be hard for some developers to determine the structure of someone else’s scripting on the fly. That isn’t to say it can’t be done, but it would be a lot harder.

You can easily hire programmers with experience in WordPress or Drupal. These programmers should also have the ability to code something by hand, but they may find navigating around and troubleshooting issues with these more recognizable CMS back-ends much easier.

Ultimately, the choice is up to you, the site owner. Do you think hand coding is better for you in the long run, or would you rather have something with a larger support structure and a faster setup?

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10 Sites You Have to Check Every Day

Once you arrive at the office, how do you start your morning? You probably don't dig right into your work. (If you do, you deserve a raise.) More realistically, you hit the coffee machine and then peruse your favorite websites to catch up on the news you missed while logging your virtuous eight hours of dreamtime.

Even at most media company offices, their browsers aren't always tuned to their own site. In fact, many of the must-read sites aren't even tech-related. Shocking, right? But it's our duty to be up on all the news that's fit to tweet. Besides, those Facebook friend requests aren't going to confirm themselves.

Remember, visiting these sites is important information gathering, not woolgathering. That way, later at the water cooler (read: on IMs to people in the same cavernous room at the office), you can show off your command of popular culture.

After a random poll, PCMag came up with a list of sites we just can't live without. So before you dive into your morning workload, be sure to check these 10 essential websites.

1. FacebookNot that you need our encouragement—it's the most popular site on the Internet, according to Alexa traffic rankings. There are more than a billion people active on Facebook per month and for some of them, Facebook is the Internet. It's where kids and adults both go to check in with friends and family around their campus, city, country, and the world; organize events; share pictures and video; and more.

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2. Reuters
If you're looking for sober, unbiased news coverage that's less infotainment, less political activism, and more pure journalism, then the international news agency with 160 years of history as the world's most respected wire service is probably your best choice. Established in London in 1851 to provide financial market data, Reuters built a reputation as the first to report international news scoops, including news of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Reuters online is multi-lingual, employs thousands of reporters, and hits all the highlights without the fluff. It's like normal news, except for grownups.

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3. PinterestPinterest is a bit like Hotel California: "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave"—it's that consuming. On the social pinboard site you "pin" images from around the Web to your categorized boards, and others can then repin your pics. It's a way to collect your thoughts, bookmark recipes and tips, or just get inspired. If you're not already pinning, check out how you can get started.

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4. Lifehacker
Your life needs some hacking and this Gawker site has the low-down on how to do it. While there's a lot of emphasis on improving your digital well-being, there are also plenty of other worthwhile tips and tricks to be found for bettering your life overall, in areas such as food, creativity, work, and travel, to name a few.

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5. The Verge
Former Engadget Editor-in-Chief Joshua Topolsky launched The Verge to be an accessible technology site, but one with longer, in-depth features and reviews where the design is as important as the writing. Mission accomplished. The Verge may not have the most traffic among gadget blogs (yet) but it's definitely got the buzz; it even won five Webby Awards last year. The site now also features The Verge Video, with regular video updates about the gadget world.

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6. Slate.com
One of the very first online magazines alongside Salon, Slate's come a long way from the days when it was owned by Microsoft. In its 17 years the online magazine has covered or argued about everything you can imagine in politics, tech, business, art, and life. It couldn't make paid subscriptions work but succeeded in podcasts, and became an award winner at the National Magazine Awards in 2011.

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7. CollegeHumor
Perhaps you wish you could relive your college glory days—the good times when everything was a riot. Luckily there's plenty of that fun to be had at this comedy site, home of some of the most consistently hilarious sketches and series of today. Most of the time they are NSFW (not safe for work), so check it out before the boss gets in.

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8. Twitter
There was a time when only a handful of the PCMag staffers had Twitter accounts. Now Twitter is a full-time companion for just about everyone here, and you're probably no exception. Even if you don't tweet anything yourself, it's the best place to read breaking news from media outlets, pithy comments from celebs and comics, and some solid lunch longreads. In fact, if you follow your favorite sites on Twitter you probably don't need to store them in your bookmarks bar.

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9. Consumerist
When a tech product is flawed or an online service doesn't work like it should, you'll read about it in PCMag's review. But when customer service reps refuse to listen to your cable troubles or restaurants are overcharging for their meals, you'll read about it on The Consumerist. Now owned by Consumer Reports, it's updated throughout the day and is chock-full of useful shopper information.

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10. Grub Street
If you're a foodie and want to keep up with restaurant and industry news, keep an eye on Grub Street and its local editions for New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. The short blurbs on this New York magazine blog are repurposed from just about everywhere. If it concerns a food law, a restaurant, a chef, or even a chain of gas station supermarkets, it'll show up here.

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