Open Source CMS Vs. Sherpa Custom CMS

Freedom from Dependency – you can shop the work around to many different vendors and not rely solely on the original developer
Dynamic and highly Customizable - always new contributions, new updates, new ideas that flow into the open source CMS. New modules, plugins, templates
Freedom of Security – more developers are at risk, thus more are trying to analyze their code
Free (or inexpensive) – many are free or as for a token fee with paid options allowing lower risk of entry
Quality -  with so many developers using the source code, bugs are being detected and fixed constantly
Speed – you can build simple websites very quickly

Cons of Open Source

Less Secure/Hacking – because there are so many people using popular (WordPress, Drupal etc.) CMSs that they become a desirable target for black hat programmers. A successful hack could expose thousands of websites

Platform Death – you could find a platform that’s the next “big thing” but if enough users don’t adopt the platform it can die on the vine

Platform Diversity (too much of a good thing) – there are many options from which you can choose, but each one is different and requires unique understanding and programming skills
It’s not Bespoke Programming – almost all shops using open source are not actually highly skilled at programming, they are merely using platforms and modules. If you ask for a website to behave in a very specific way… if there isn’t a module available, you have to settle on the functionality
Cookie Cutter – websites look the same, because there is a finite number of good templates, they get used over and over again so your website could be very “me too” looking

Pros of Custodian CMS

Unique Design/Best UX/UI – data driven design and more than 20 years of experience means you get a design 100% unique to your needs that looks great and is intuitive to use

Agility/Familiarity – because the CMS was authored and architected by Sherpa we know every single line of code, if an error is foHTMLund, you don’t have to wait for the open source community to fix it, we can apply hotfixes in short order

Economies of Scale – we are on our 7th generation of our CMS, this means that we’ve done hundreds of successful projects and have likely already programmed a component that we can modify to your needs precisely without starting from scratch and incurring huge costs
Secure – with relatively few (in global terms) users, our CMS is not a target for exploitation. Sherpa also employs 3rd party firms to perform security audits to make sure we are employing best practices. Also by using the Microsoft stack, we receive the benefits of all the hard work they expend protecting their systems
Azure – your site can be hosted on Microsoft Azure platform for enhanced speed, security, redundancy and reliability. If it’s good enough for the United Stated Government, it’s good enough for you
It’s More Open than You Think – there are tens of thousands of Microsoft .NET developers in the world. Once your project is complete and paid in full, Sherpa can release the source code and you could engage another firm 
Bespoke – Sherpa delivers exactly what you want, we tailor our code to look and function exactly how you want
Extensible/Expandable – you aren’t limited to the finished product. Because Sherpa designed and architects the website we can always modify and add functionality

Cons of Custom

Slower Development – custom work takes more time, after all we are delivering exactly what you want

Price – because it takes more time, and time is money, Sherpa’s custom projects typically demand more budget
Hard to Break Up – because a website is often connected to complex internal systems, it can be hard to leave your website partner
Less Choice – fewer skilled vendors from which to choose