Building a website, or web application using a content management system (CMS) has multiple benefits: little or no programming required, you have visibility of site’s content, timely update, and basic administrative tasks. But when it is about customizing a CMS-powered site, a developer’s skills can turn a basic, out-of-the-box site into a totally unique, powerful website. In this blog, we’ll compare two renowned CMS platforms, WordPress and Drupal, to help you make a decision.

Introduction to WordPress

WordPress slowly transforms itself from a blogging platform to a robust framework that’s powered by HTML, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, AJAX, themes, and plenty of plugins. WordPress developer performs theme customization, installation, and migration to build an engaging website. They perform timely version & plugin updates. Renowned websites including TechCrunch, Walt Disney Co., and LinkedIn blog are all powered by WordPress.

Introduction to Drupal

Drupal is a powerful CMS, some consider it as a framework that lets users to launch, customize and scale websites and applications. It is the most recommended CMSs for enterprise-level projects. It’s powered by PHP and also requires little to no programming experience to implement a low-level functionality. Drupal’s extended functionality comes from the additional modules that build off of its Core package. To take benefit of all these functionalities, you’ll need help from Drupal experts. Websites that are powered by Drupal comprise of The Economist, Weather.com, and some US government sites.

Before discussing the differences, let’s talk about the similarities of both CMSs.

Free and open-source. With WordPress CMS, you will need to manage hosting and domain work, but the software is free to use. You have to pay for the Premium themes and plugins. Drupal is free, as well, with similar back-end configurations.

Require installation, setup, and hosting. Unlike Wix and Squarespace, both these CMSs require a download, installation, and set up of hosting and domain.

Mobile responsive themes. Drupal mobile websites perform better when running on a mobile platform while a WordPress site requires an additional step to run on a mobile platform.

Excellent SEO features. SEO features are not platform-specific; it’s more developer-specific. Drupal can be more complex, if not properly handled regarding SEO, on the other hand, WordPress makes a bit easier to do. Overall, WordPress’s technical SEO result is exceptional.

The point of differences between the two CMSs are:

Drupal is complex. It takes a bit of expertise to get used, but it’s definitely a better option that WordPress for larger projects and enterprise-level websites. WordPress is simple to learn and use and it has options to manage admin features if you need them.

Version updates are performed differently. WordPress code gets an upgrade, once the database updates happen in the background. Because WordPress updates are released on a regular basis, it is a great feature for beginners. Plugins do need to be updated regularly, though. Drupal updates need expert guidance and because they don’t comprise a code update, the process is time-consuming. In some cases, the whole website needs a redesign for an update.

Drupal is secure. Drupal is known for its advanced security and reporting, which makes it valuable for big enterprise websites having more animation elements. A few third-party services provide WordPress security elements but note it is more open to hacks if plugins are not updated on a regular basis.

Mobile responsive. Drupal mobile websites perform better when running on a mobile platform while a WordPress site requires an additional step to run on the mobile platform. WordPress has a native app for making the website mobile responsive. Drupal does not need that but has a responsive mobile admin dashboard.

Wide Range of functions. Both CMS offer a streamlined installation, can be specialized through additional extensions. While WordPress’ major focus is to offer services for the development and management of the blog articles, while Drupal is more concerned with community and social publishing applications. Drupal supports diverse multi-user functions right from the initial version. WordPress only supports settings for user roles and rights.

Who is the winner?

At the end of the day, the requirement of your business is the clear winner. And, in reality, the people who are exploring your website. When your team is implementing a CMS that suits your style and business needs, the results will be reflected in the user experience. Whether you like to deal with things from a high-level perspective, or if you are more interested in the creative domain, the choice is up to you. Taking serious consideration of what you need is how you’ll make the right choice. If we analyze the above points, Drupal is far superior to the WordPress CMS because it is more secure, advanced, mobile-friendly. Drupal needs more effort to get the best from it and make use of its amazing features.

Author Bio –

Aayushi Gill has great experience in Drupal Technology. She works with Drupal India – a renowned Drupal Development Company. She loves to share her knowledge with all about the latest tips, trends and best practices.