WordPress vs. Drupal: Which CMS Is the Best?

WordPress powers a whopping 30% of the sites on the web, making it one of the most popular content management systems in the world. By comparison, Drupal only powers about 2%. So it may seem useless to do a comparison, but the truth is that both of these content management systems have their place on the web, and some are better suited for particular types of sites. 

Let’s take a closer look at some of the main benefits that both WordPress and Drupal have in common, as well as the differences to determine which content management system could be right for your needs.

Thriving Communities and Great Support

Both Drupal and WordPress are open source content management platforms, which tend to bring with them a supportive and vibrant community of not only developers, but also passionate and loyal users. This means that you can often find support for any questions you may have, which is a definite plus when it comes to comparing WordPress vs. Drupal. However, this is where much of the similarities end.

The two content management systems take very divergent paths when it comes to approaching building a website.

Ease of Use and Customizability: WordPress Wins

With thousands of themes and plugins that go beyond WordPress’ original use as a blogging platform, it easily wins when it comes to sheer ease of use and customizability. You can make WordPress-based membership sites, photo galleries, membership sites, forums and much more. 

Plus, you don’t have to stick with a rigid format or layout. There are plenty of free themes and plugins available as well as paid or premium themes and plugins that give you even greater customizability. If you can imagine it, chances are you can create it with WordPress. 

Extendability and Cost: WordPress Wins

WordPress and Drupal are both free, and in the case of Drupal, much of the functionality that you might need is not accomplished with plugins or third-party solutions, but rather built into the system itself. However, as noted above, using such plugins and solutions, WordPress can be made into the foundation of virtually any type of site. 

Unless you need something very specifically customized for your needs, WordPress is a far better and less expensive option.

Keep in mind that for enhanced functionalities, it may cost more to hire a Drupal programmer, since Drupal is not as commonly used as WordPress. Drupal is also a more technical system and so building a basic website is anything but intuitive and straightforward. 

Security and Protection: Drupal Wins

When it comes to security and protection against hacking, Drupal is much more robust and has greater security protections built in. However, WordPress itself, at its core, is very secure as well. Typically where WordPress users run into problems is with less-secure third party solutions like plugins that make changes to some kind of core functionality of the system, and therefore lead it prone to things like script injections, redirects, viruses, spam and other kinds of hacking. 

Fortunately, there are a number of excellent WordPress security plugins that you can install to add a further layer of protection if you’re worried about such issues, but when it comes to solid security out of the box, Drupal wins. One could also say that this is due to it being used on fewer websites. Fewer users of a system can mean that fewer hackers are wasting their time with it. If Drupal were more popular, it would have likely been a higher target on malicious users’ radar.

Need Something More Complex than a Basic Website? Drupal Wins

When you need something that can’t be built with WordPress and a handful of plugins or a specialized theme, it may be worth considering Drupal. As a much more technical system, Drupal is not designed for beginners. But its beauty also lies in its complexity, since it can do things that WordPress cannot (at least, not without a lot of expensive programming). 

Overall Winner: WordPress

You’ll find many of these WordPress vs. Drupal comparisons, each one with a different angle and focus and a different insistence on who the winner really is. However, based on our experience developing WordPress sites for our clients and doing WordPress maintenance and management for  companies large and small, we’ve come to appreciate the simplicity, ease of use and customization options that WordPress allows.

Moving from mostly content-focused blogging platform to a robust and full-fledged content management system is no easy task, yet in the last few years, WordPress has risen to the challenge, especially with its latest iteration, Gutenberg. By taking even greater strides in separating content from design and lowering the barrier to entry so that novices and experts alike can easily create something beautiful, WordPress truly has something for everyone. 

What If I Need Help Updating, Managing or Customizing WordPress?

There may come a time when, as you’re working with WordPress, you realize that you need something that a simple plugin or theme can’t achieve for you. That’s when you’ll want to have a dedicated WordPress developer on your side. For that, there’s WPDandy. With our easy to use admin dashboard plugin, you can correspond one on one with your personal WordPress developer to have changes made, update themes and plugins, and make customizations to WordPress, all for one low monthly fee. 

If you want to free yourself from the cumbersome burden of keeping WordPress up to date while trying to add content regularly and make it look the way you want, WPDandy is the best choice for custom WordPress programming. Let our team of experienced WordPress developers help bring your vision to reality and ensure that your site is always up to date with the very best that this robust, comprehensive content management system has to offer. 

Need help with getting WordPress up and running or want someone to take care of all of the management and maintenance for you? Contact us today to learn how affordable it can be!