Choosing the right CMS platform is a decision many business heads find difficult to make. In this article, we compare – in simple terms – the 3 most popular platforms in the world today.
1. Age: Drupal's the oldest among the mighty three. Launched in 2001 by Dries Buytaert, Drupal had a head-start over WordPress and Joomla, which were launched in 2003 and 2005 respectively.
2. Level of technical expertise required: For those who have worked on the 3 platforms, it's clear that Drupal requires the highest levels of technical expertise. This is because Drupal is easily the most powerful among the 3. If you are not a quick learner, you may want to steer clear of Drupal – there is a learning curve that needs getting used to. WordPress is the easiest to use, which explains why it's so popular as well.
3. Examples: These 3 platforms have been used to create some of the world's finest websites. The table below showcases 3 well-received websites for each of these platforms. It's worth noting that the US government has converted several of their agency sites to Drupal after Obama came to power.
|
Drupal |
Joomla |
WordPress |
|
The White House (www.whitehouse.gov) |
Linux |
Mashable |
|
Virgin Group |
United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) (www.unric.org/en) |
Travel Portland (www.travelportland.com) |
|
The Prince of Wales www.princeofwales.gov.uk |
IT Wire |
Toronto Standard (www.torontostandard.com) |
4. Speed and Caching: All 3 platforms are PHP-based with strong caching capabilities. You can expect similar performance and scalability levels across. Boost/Authcache, JotCache and WP-SuperCache are the primary caching plug-ins for Drupal, Joomla and WordPress respectively. You can also use Varnish as a front-end cache along with any of the them.
5. Deployment: If you need to make a complicated website that will require loads of functionality, then go the Drupal way. Drupal provides in-built modules for eCommerce and SEO, making it quite sought after. Joomla and WordPress, on the other hand, are known to be very social media-friendly.
Hope this comparison helps you make the right decision when it comes to choosing the perfect CMS solution for your business!
Comments
Hey Jojy, this seems to me
Hey Jojy, this seems to me biased decision.
I think you are more inclined towards Drupal.
Thanks for writing in!
I boil it down this way:
I boil it down this way: Wordpress is the most user friendly and quickest to have up and running, but is the least customizable without massive amounts of custom code and is the most basic in terms of functionality. Drupal is the least user friendly and can take a long time to implement properly, but is the most customizable and has unbelievable functionality. Joomla is generally between the two.
That said, unless it's just a basic 3-4 page static site, I'll take Drupal. I like knowing that if a good foundation is in place, I can expand on it at any time without having to redo the entire site.
I agree!