A HighRankings Forum thread has one member asking if SEOs prefer to code new pages by hand or to use an CMS (content management system). The difference is often very minor, but there is no doubt that you have more control over a specific page when you code it by hand. On the other hand, it is often harder to create some order and structure to a site coded all by hand.
Personally, I have always been about building a strong foundation through technology and then letting the foundation help you with your SEO. That means, building a very search engine friendly CMS and using that CMS to ensure you create new pages that are SEO friendly. That means a CMS that does not generate duplicate URLs, duplicate content, has search engine friendly URLs, the navigation is user and search spider friendly and so on. A good CMS, in my opinion, can offer huge advantages.
On the other hand, there is something to be said about having ultimate control of every line of the source code of each individual page. Of course, a CMS can give you enough control of every page, but not over 100% of the page in most cases.
Which do you prefer?
Forum discussion at HighRankings Forum.
