I get a lot of calls from small businesses who want a small website done.

Fine, great, I'd love to do it for you - what do you want??

Most often the answer is "uuuummmmm, not sure!"

So I explain a few options, give them some indicative price guidelines and usually after speaking to them for a short time, my recommendation.

More and more, that recommendation is to include a Content Management System (CMS).

WHY??

Because it gives them the flexibility of an astonishing array of functionality out of the box - contact forms, blogs, forums, news feeds, monthly newsletters, multiple-tiered user access, events calendars, etc ad nauseum! Oh, and I forgot to mention that they can manage their own CONTENT - they don't need to ring me (and pay me!) each time they want to make a few changes to their website.

AND... at a price that is not that much more expensive than a static site!

I call it future proofing, because one of the other major advantages is that all of this functionality can be added at a later date in a very short space of time (and for little cost)! Most often the small business owner has modest ambitions for their website, but who is to say what the future will bring? Being able to add functionality at any time with little or no hassle can make for a very successful website!

As an example, one client required the ability for help-desk staff to be able to create, search and use a comprehensive list of FAQs. They had to be able to search using certain criteria, and it had to be private information (e.g. password protected). The whole setup was completed by adding an additional module, configuring the search criteria and it was good to go. Of course, the staff had to enter all the relevant information, which may have taken some time, but the system was there and ready for use in the space of a few hours. The option also remains available for them to make some or all of that information available to the public arena - at their own discretion and in their own time.

Lastly will add - if your website is going to be more than 10 pages, it becomes cheaper to use a CMS anyway! The cost of creating 10 static pages is comparable to creating a template for the CMS!
Ahh, technology, it's a beautiful thing!!