There Are Two Types Of Website
1. Hand-Coded
The traditional way to build a website is by using HTML; sites built this way become your property once payment has been received and you can move your site to another web designer or host very easily. Hand-coded sites are not bound by the constraints imposed by a CMS and they can look exactly the way you want - you have the final say in the design, layout and colour scheme of the site.
The downside of a hand coded site is that skill and expertise is required to build, maintain and update this type of website; skills that are not normally found in parish councils. Because of this we offer a cost effective maintenance agreement - we do everything for you so you're guaranteed continuity. Our Bespoke, Hand-Coded and fully maintained websites impose no additional work on the clerk.
With a BHC website you only pay for the work we do.
2. C.M.S.
Providing a website that can be managed by an untrained person requires that the website be built within a Content Management System (CMS). The CMS provides a user-friendly interface which allows someone with just basic computing skills to update and maintain the site.
There are two types of CMS - open source and private and it's very important that you understand the difference.
Most of our competitors will provide you with their own private CMS which means you're locked in for life and you cannot take your website elsewhere. In many cases you don't even have your own domain. If your supplier ceases trading you may lose your website and all the content.
Financially you will pay twice for a website built within any CMS. You will pay an annual fee for the rental of the CMS and then you will need to pay either the clerk or a third party to maintain and update the CMS site.
Technically, because a CMS requires a database in which to operate they are more susceptable to hacking, they can contain bugs and holes which make them vulnerable and they must be backed up daily because, unlike an HTML site that is held locally, CMS sites sit on the server and when you're working on them you're working live!