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WordPress and Drupal are two of the most popular CMS platforms. In this article, we examine WordPress vs. Drupal in more detail.
Both WordPress and Drupal are well-known names in the CMS world. However, choosing the best platform for your new site can be challenging.
So, it is necessary to gain more detailed knowledge about Drupal and WordPress. Only then can you decide which one is best for you or offers 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. When it was launched in 2003, WordPress 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.
Many notable entities 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 look at some advantages that WordPress can offer 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 on 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 can easily extend WordPress. Some people claim that WordPress will do everything Drupal can if you use the right extensions.
- 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 has no huge market share like WordPress. Drupal powers 2.3% of all websites and 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. However, 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: Drupal version 8 includes multilingual functionality as a core feature. However, WordPress is different; it requires 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 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.
- However, 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.
- WordPress is secure, but the dependability of WordPress to third-party extensions makes it more vulnerable than Drupal.
- Not keeping up with updates can lead to vulnerability. 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 two of the most popular CMSs. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
It is almost impossible to determine which one is the best. However, we can modify the question to “WordPress vs. Drupal, which will suit my website?”
When you want a website, you must decide whether to hire a developer or develop it yourself.
Choosing WordPress will be better if you are not a developer without development knowledge.
However, if you are more concerned about your website’s security and are willing to spend money on it, Drupal could be your best choice.
Final Verdict
As we mentioned earlier, both WordPress and Drupal are the best. Both have different pros and cons. So, to decide which one to choose, you must first make your priorities clear. What do you want? Then, select the one that is the most suitable and fulfills most of your requirements.
Author Bio: Mashum Mollah is a tech entrepreneur by profession and a 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 an info-holic, this blog is for you.