WordPress vs Drupal

WordPress vs Drupal. Which one should you choose? The definitive look at which CMS manager will better serve you as you launch your online campaign. We take a look at some key features to consider when deciding between the two.

Released a mere year apart, WordPress and Drupal are two of the largest contenders in the CMS market, but WordPress has gained more popularity over the years. It features about 10 times more user installs than Drupal.

As a WordPress Advocate, you will be happy to know that my partner Jim, built and researched several aspects of Drupal and will provide both sides of the argument here.

The answer in the WordPress vs. Drupal discussion really comes down to the level of skill. And succinctly: Drupal has more features that are brilliant if you know how to use them, but useless and confusing if you don’t.

Let’s go into the detail.

Ease Of Use

The biggest factor when implementing a system is determining how fast you can get it running on the clients’ site. If the client is starting from scratch, the simplest method to have it installed is using cPanel to manage the web installs. From there, most of the software/architecture can be installed with a click of a button.

From there, the top priority is familiarizing your client with the WordPress Architecture. I have found that the easiest dashboard to understand would be to use WordPress. Posts/Pages are pretty easy to explain, with most new content coming from Posts that the client will provide.

Compared to Drupal, the backend of WordPress is more user-friendly and you can have your client start blogging in minutes with the WYSIWYG editor.

Another advantage of WordPress is its plugin database. Utilizing the interface, you can install or instruct clients to install Plugins that they will need for their site.

When it comes to upgrades – which WordPress does every 3-4 months – WordPress does this seamlessly without you needing to worry about a thing. Drupal’s upgrades don’t include the code. So again, you’ll need the developer knowledge to handle this. Some upgrades require a whole redesign.

If editing on the go, WordPress has a brilliant mobile app, which lets you write, edit, and post articles as easy as if you were on your laptop or PC. Drupal’s interface is responsive, so it’s also really easy to use; it just doesn’t have an app.

Customizing Options

The easiest way to customize your website is through themes and plugins. Adding these takes it from being a blank canvas to something that fits your individual needs. WordPress is the winner here, as it has nearly 37,000 plugins and a variety of free and premium themes. The premium themes let you change almost every aspect of the website, making this is highly customizable option. We recommend looking at the offerings of Elegant them found here. Our top recommendation for making sites is through the Divi Builder plugin.

Once you see how many ease-of-use plugins and themes there are available you may become overwhelmed. There are a lot of developers utilizing this open source platform to help deliver quality post. We recommend looking through Envanto market and going with themes that are top rated. In our WordPress Business Development Course, we, of course, recommend a mix of pre-made themes and Divi Builder to create the custom website your clients demand.

Drupal offers this flexibility on page types without the need for plugins. However, if you want the convenience of using a plugin, Drupal uses modules instead of plugins and the good ones don’t come for free. Plus, there are limited themes available, so you’ll need to seek out a designer to help you turn your site into something pretty.

A developer can create something that’s unique and data-rich through Drupal, whereas there’s always the possibility that your website can look like your neighbor’s (or competitor’s) if you opt for a free theme from WordPress. This can be the easy route – it’s customizable, but is it enough?

Cost

Because of the lack of developers, Drupal customizations will cost more as there are less supply WordPress developers can have your site up and running. Check out Fiverr or Thumbtack to see a whole list of developers you can have looking at your site at no time.

They’re both free to download, but the premium plugins and themes for Drupal cost a lot more than WordPress, whereas there are a lot of free options on the WordPress market.

Bear in mind that if your website grows, you’ll need significant server resources to hold it up if using WordPress.

Security

Drupal wins this round. WordPress’ many plugins can have vulnerabilities and be easily hacked, particularly if the website owner doesn’t update to the latest version or the plugin gets old. Or simply, hackers target WordPress because it is so popular. However, there are simple security plugins that you can have installed to have your site protected against hackers and spam. We review these in our full WordPress Business Development Course.

Drupal has enterprise-level security and provides in-depth security reports, hence why you’ll find governments using it.

And The Winner Is…

For my years in website development, I have to go with what I implement most in my clients.

WordPress wins hands down in terms of ease of use, getting the client to use and update, and maintainability. Additionally, with most developers using WordPress, if you ever need help you are one Google Search away from finding out how to best implement or solve your problems.

Have you had experience of WordPress and Drupal and agree with the comparison? Would you consider switching between the two? Let me know in the comments below!