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WordPress vs. Drupal – Which CMS Is Best for You?

WordPress and Drupal are 2 of the most popular CMS platforms on the market. In this article we take a closer look at WordPress vs. Drupal in a little more detail.

Both WordPress and Drupal are well-known names in the CMS world. It can be difficult to choice which platform is best for your new site build.

So, it’s necessary to get some more detailed knowledge about both Drupal and WordPress. Only then can you decide which one is best for you or which one will offer most of the things you are searching for. 

What Is WordPress?

Do you know what the world’s most popular content management system is? It is WordPress. In 2003, when WordPress was launched, it was a blogging platform. It now powers 39.5% of all websites and controls 39.5% of the content management systems known to the market. 

There are many notable entities that are using WordPress for their web presence. Some of them are

  • Sony Mobile
  • The New Yorker
  • Whitehouse.gov
  • TechCrunch 
  • Mercedes Benz
  • University of Washington

Advantages of WordPress

Let’s have a look at some advantages that WordPress can offers us.

  • Easy to Use: WordPress is much more user-friendly. It is especially beneficial for those with little to no knowledge of web development.
  • More Options for Getting Help: WordPress has a massive global community. So, it is easier to get help for any issues or problems that you face. You can search for help in social media as well, along with other pros of social media. 
  • Extensibility: WordPress has a third-party plugin and theme community. So, without custom development, you will be able to extend WordPress easily. Some people also claim that if you use the right extensions, WordPress will do everything that Drupal can do. 
  • Fewer Development Costs: You will get more “out of the box” solutions. WordPress developers charge less than Drupal developers. 

What Is Drupal?

When researching Drupal vs. WordPress, you can discover that Drupal is much older than WordPress. It was launched in 2000 but does not have the huge market share like WordPress. Drupal powers 2.3% of all websites, and it also has a share of 4.6% of the content management system market. 

Some famous websites that are running on Drupal are

  • State of Colorado
  • Nasa.gov
  • The Economist
  • University of Colorado
  • Dallas Cowboys

Advantages of Drupal

Now, let’s get to know what advantages Drupal has.

  • Flexible Custom Content: WordPress does offer custom post types. But the users consider the custom content of Drupal more flexible than WordPress.
  • User Permission or Access Controls: The single site of WordPress has five fundamental user roles. To create new roles using individual permissions, Drupal comes with a built-in access control system. So, Drupal got one more point here in the Drupal vs. WordPress game. 
  • Core Solution for Multilingual Sites: In Drupal version 8, you will get the multilingual functional as a core feature. But it is different for WordPress; it needs to use third-party software. 
  • Can Handle Lots of Data with Taxonomy: Drupal is much more accurate for handling a lot of data. As it has a more flexible taxonomy system. 

WordPress vs. Drupal

 WordPress Usage:

  • It is super easy to find a niche-specific theme in WordPress.
  • The user interface of WordPress is straightforward and quick to grasp even by casual users.  

Drupal Usage:

  • Drupal is the opposite of that. Most of the Drupal websites offer a custom codded theme or a highly customized theme.
  • So, you will need a developer to look good. 

  WordPress Functionality:

  • WordPress calls them plugins.
  • There are 53,000+ free plugins along with 1000 more premium plugins.
  • For themes, there are more than 5,000 free themes, and with premium, you will get one thousand more.

Drupal Functionality:

  • Drupal calls them molecules.
  • Drupal has 39,000+ modules and 2,500+ themes.
  • But if you calculate the modules compatible with Drupal 8, the number will be more than 4,000 modules and only 250 themes, which is fewer when you compare WordPress vs. Drupal. 

  WordPress Security:

  • A study says that 74% of hacked websites used the WordPress content management system.
  • Actually, WordPress is secure, but the dependability of WordPress to third-party extensions makes it more vulnerable than Drupal.
  • Vulnerability can occur by not keeping on top of updates. This can be outsourced to a dedicated WordPress Support Service

Drupal Security:

  • The main reason behind Drupal’s popularity among government institutions is its lockdown security level.
  • As per the same study, Drupal has only encountered 2% of known hacked websites.

WordPress vs. Drupal – Which One Is Best?

Drupal and WordPress are both two of the most popular CMS. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. 

So, it is almost impossible to determine which one is the best. However, we can modify the question as “WordPress vs. Drupal, which will be suitable for my website?”

When you want to get a website, you need to decide whether you are capable of hiring a developer or you are going to develop it on your own. 

If you are not a developer and do not have any development knowledge, it will be better to choose WordPress. 

But if you are more concerned about the Security of your Website, and you are willing to spend your money on it. Drupal could be best for you. 

Final Verdict

As we have mentioned earlier, in the race of WordPress vs. Drupal, both are the best. Both have different pros and cons. So, to decide which one to choose, you first have to make your priorities clear. What do you want? Then select the one which is the most suitable and fulfills most of your requirements. 

Author Bio –

Mashum Mollah is a tech entrepreneur by profession and passionate blogger by heart. He is on a mission to help small businesses grow online. He shares his journey, insights, and experiences at Search Engine Magazine. If you are an entrepreneur, digital marketing professional, or simply an info-holic, then this blog is for you.

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