Websites Don't Use Carburetors Anymore

It used to be that cars were simple. If your car broke down, a guy could pop the hood, check a few wires, hit things with a hammer and actually get things to go again. Modern car engines have come a long way, and now are a complex system of 500+ components. Gone are the days of carburetors. Now we have fuel injectors.

Modern websites are essentially the same. It used to be, if you needed to change something on a website, you'd FTP in, find the file you were looking for and make the change. All it took to be a web expert back in the day, was a working knowledge of HTML and some computer skills. These days these simple websites have been replaced by content management systems and frameworks. Troubleshooting, repairing and boosting performance on these systems is not simple, and that's lead to the rise of cartoons like this:

Credit: http://www.bedroompublishing.com/2011/01/25/open-source-cms-learning-cu…

This illustration is simultaneously funny and true... and irrelevant. If the primary mission of your website is to make sure that the CEO can "get into the code and fix things", you're company is probably on the wrong path. Conversely, if you are paying professional to build, host and maintain your website, who cares what it's built in?

When it comes to your website what really matters is:

1. Are you locked into a single vendor?
2. What kind of licensing fees do you have to pay?
3. Are you on a platform that continues to bring value?

Ultimately, I don't need a car with a carburetor, because for better or worse I rely on other people to make it go for me. The same should be true of your website.