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Business Catalyst versus WordPress?

by lerxtjr
8 replies
A new client is thinking of moving her website from Business Catalyst to WordPress. I'd love for her to move to wp as it's my fav cms. But, is there any compelling reason feature-wise that she should? Thanks in advance for any comments.
#business #catalyst #versus #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Bratcher
    Explain to her why you prefer WordPress. If you are her service provider, that is an compelling reason since you are the expert.

    Here's a few reasons too:

    Wordpress is open-source so it is updated more often and has millions of users for support.

    WordPress is more flexible that Adobe Business Catalyst because it is open-source and thus easy to customize.

    WordPress provides a very user friendly interface for your client to post or schedule updates.

    There's 3 reasons. Pick your favorite!
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    • Profile picture of the author lerxtjr
      Ahh, so BC is not open source. That tells me a lot right there. Does anyone happen to know if you can have multiple CSS files added? I'm seeing consistency being a problem while viewing on different browsers.
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  • Profile picture of the author pamon
    Nothing Adobe does is ever open source. Even reader is proprietary. Use WP, you'll like it a TON better.
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  • Profile picture of the author BlackVoid
    A bazillion plug ins to solve lifes simple problems. And the engines love good wp.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChocolateCheese
    Your client probably is just hesitant about the change because she knows BC and has no trouble with it. Getting her to move to WP is the right choice. I would just ask her what her concerns are and then help to clear these issues up (which is another opportunity to showcase the many benefits of WP).
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    • Profile picture of the author lerxtjr
      haa, she used to be on wp and somehow her designer got her convinced BC was better.
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      • Profile picture of the author hotpressweb
        Hi Lerxtjr,

        I'm happy to comment a bit on this as my firm has been exclusively working with BC for 4 years now. WordPress is just a CMS - BC is an integrated Online Business System with CMS, CRM, E-Comm, Email Marketing, and Analytics built into one platform. Its also hosted, so you can launch sites very quickly without having to deal with things like installing or upgrading the platform on an ongoing basis. BC takes care of security (including PCI). You don't have to visit pages like these:

        wordpress.org/news/category/security/

        And continue to invest in upgrading client sites because that is Adobe's problem.

        Yes, you can have as many CSS files as you want, you have complete control over your templates, content holders, and the way modules are designed. There is also an API that allows us to build applications on top of BC. For the business owner, it allows them to manage their content, commerce, and email campaigns from one place. It is also supported via a live chat and ticket system from Adobe - which means you can get help when you need it.

        Which system is better is really dependent on your experience and also your clients needs. If you don't have experience with BC and you are going to be supporting this client for the next 3 years, then you need to put the client on what you feel comfortable with. Just saying that "WordPress is better" is rather short sighted...we have transferred many clients off of WordPress because the business owners hated it - most likely they hated their provider that put them there. Either way, its all about discovering what your clients needs are and being able to put them on the system that works best for them and for you to continue to manage them.

        To give you an idea of the type of client work we do, you can visit some of our work on BC:

        breckbrew.com
        spaviadayspa.com
        coloradoballet.org
        steubens.com
        lauer-krauts.com
        sanitysolutions.com

        As you can see, much of our client base not only has rich desktop experiences, but also custom mobile experiences as well. Most of those sites have some kind of e-commerce and we also do a lot of email marketing for these clients through this integrated system. On top of that, all of our clients update all of their content - and not just blogs or pages, but in the Breck Brew case, they have complete control over their beer catalog (which as you can see is kinda cool).

        Just my two cents, feel free to reach out directly to me if you have any questions or need any guidance: brent@hotpressweb.com
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Originally Posted by ChocolateCheese View Post

      Getting her to move to WP is the right choice.
      Why?

      It may be the right choice for the OP, because the OP prefers WordPress, but that doesn't mean that it's the right choice for the client.

      It's possible that the client was switched over to ABC because that was what was easier for the previous designer.

      And the client may have been on WP before that because that was what was the preferred choice of the previous designer.

      Instead of all these designers looking out for what is best for them, how about they look out for what is best for the CLIENT?

      Just because the designer prefers WordPress doesn't mean that that's the best choice for the client. Maybe it is, but maybe it's not. But, when you have designers looking for what is best for them rather than for what is best for their client, you just don't know.

      I know that I have sites that are not on WordPress and if a designer suggested I move them to WordPress, that designer would be fired.
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