What CMS Should You Be Using: Wordpress vs. Drupal

If you have decided to take the plunge and create a website, undoubtedly you have been met with a lot of choices. Such as: Will you build it yourself, will you use a content management system (CMS), or will you hire a web development agency to help you tackle that task?

Each avenue would result in you having a website at the end of it. It all depends on what you are looking for in a site, how long you want it to take, and how much work you are willing to put in. However, for the purpose of this article, let’s say you’re building it yourself. If you’re looking to create your own, without the need for excessive coding, you may have arrived at the option of a CMS.

Although there are quite a few to choose from, two of the most popular platforms are WordPress and Drupal. WordPress powers about 30% of websites; whereas, Drupal powers about 2.2% of websites. So, which one would be the best fit for you? That would entirely depend on what you are looking for.
As a writer for all things web design and development, I am going to face-off WordPress and Drupal with some of the most common inquiries when it comes to a CMS. Which one will outshine the other? Let’s dive in and analyze these two platforms:

Simplicity

If you’re an on-the-go, busy individual, odds are you don’t have a ton of time to sit down and create your website. WordPress provides a platform that is easy to use and accessible for a user with any level of technical experience. Unless you want something custom built,, you will not need the help of a developer for WordPress. There are a number of stunning themes or plugins that you can add to create your site.

However, when it comes to Drupal, if you are not already a developer, there is a learning curve. While you can create a WordPress site in a day, I cannot say the same for Drupal. When it comes to this platform, most of its themes have to be custom-built.

And if you’re a member of the general populous (read: not a developer) then this option isolates you. Therefore, for any range of experience, WordPress would be the more favorable option.

Winner: WordPress

Cost

Your budget for your website’s creation also determines which platform would be the more appealing option for you. Both platforms are free and open-sourced; however, when you start customizing and adding more to them, that’s when they start to differ in price.

WordPress offers a number of free plugins and themes. The platform requires hosting fees; however, the other additional costs that you may encounter would be if you wanted premium plugins, themes, and extensions. Or if you needed assistance from a WordPress design and development company.

With WordPress these costs are all potential ones. You are not required to buy premium themes or seek out this additional help. Drupal, on the other hand, has costs that are non-negotiable. The most glaring cost would be for a developer, if you are not one yourself. Yet, if you want to buy premium themes on Drupal, that would be another cost to consider.

If you weight out all the additional costs that you would need with Drupal, it starts to make creating a website into a costly endeavor. Due to the fact that I cannot say the same for WordPress, that platform is a winner in my book.

Winner: WordPress

Customization Offered

If you’re taking the time to create your website, you most likely want a number of themes and customization options to choose from. WordPress offers 56,000+ plugins and over 5,000+ themes. Drupal, on the other hand, has around 41,000+ modules (their equivalent of a plugin) and roughly 2,600+ themes.

(Screenshot from WordPress’ website)

WordPress offers more themes and plugin options for users to integrate into their sites. However, with Drupal, customization for the platform is mainly built into the main themes, so it doesn’t need as many add-ins.

Drupal comments on their difference as a CMS on their website. They say, “In general people expect a much richer user experience around content creation than Drupal offers, much of the functionality that people consider standard for a CMS is simply missing.”

Drupal acknowledges this stratification between their platform and easier CMS options. If you did not have extensive experience developing a website, then Drupal most likely would not suit needs the best.

Yet, it all depends on your experience and what you are looking for from your platform.

Winner: Depends on your preferences

The Winner’s Circle

Tallying up the scoreboard, we see that you should be using WordPress to start up your site. In comparison to Drupal, WordPress provides a solution that is accessible to all, easy to use, and cost-effective.

Now that you decided on your platform, you should also choose whether or not you are going to use an agency. If you want assistance with nurturing your WordPress site, you should get in contact with a WordPress design and development company.