Way back in the early years close to 2006, we used to develop the majority of the websites using WordPress which was the only known user-friendly CMS available at that time.
The admin panel had a clean layout for the users to manage their websites without having any technical skills or expertise.
Although WordPress was used mostly for blogs and simple website development, both website developers & webmasters were extremely satisfied with its features.
Moving forward, when the website developers and webmasters felt the need for a robust CMS platform for their complex website development, WordPress seemed to have less compatibility with their requirements which led the programmers to switch to Drupal.
Nevertheless, WordPress also came up with upgraded plugins and features to accommodate the needs of modern users like scalability, security, and performance.
Today, both the CMS platforms (WordPress & Drupal) offer a variety of advanced features that your developer may need to build any kind of website, whether it’s a complicated web portal or a marketplace.
When you contact a few website developers, some of them may suggest you use WordPress however others may recommend other CMSs such as Drupal.
If you are not sure which CMS platform you should choose for your website development, this blog post may help you!
In this blog, I am going to share some of the parameters on which we can compare WordPress with Drupal so that you can decide upon the appropriate CMS to be used for your next website development.
#1 Website security
When it comes to security, Drupal used to be the preferred option for the website developers to use over WordPress.
You can find numerous government websites that have been built using Drupal which again shows that Drupal was always ahead of WordPress in terms of website security.
But with the updated framework and dozens of great security plugins, WordPress has also become one of the secured CMS platforms to create a website.
So, if you need a secure CMS platform for your website development, you can definitely rely on either WordPress or Drupal.
#2 Development complexity
Over a decade ago, when my clients used to ask me about an appropriate CMS platform to build complex projects or websites, I used to recommend Drupal because of its ability to handle complex customizations.
Back in those days, WordPress was primarily known for blogging, not much for website development.
But today, you can build any kind of (really any kind of) website using WordPress as well. No matter how complicated will be the features of your website, WordPress can handle them efficiently.
It’s just that you need to hire a professional WordPress developer to deliver a great product (website or web application) for you.
Of course, Drupal is still being used to build complicated projects but the cost of website development using WordPress is much affordable than Drupal website development.
So, if you are looking for an affordable web design solution, WordPress is for you!
#3 Admin interface
When it comes to the admin interface of a website, WordPress is my favorite choice because it comes with an easy-to-manage, clear & simple admin structure.
Any layman who doesn’t have any technical knowledge can also easily manage the website using WordPress CMS, as and when required.
Drupal backend is not very difficult to manage but it takes some time for the webmaster (especially for a layman) to learn its features and become familiar with the features available in the Drupal backend.
So, if you are looking for a CMS with a low learning curve, WordPress is for you.
#4 SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a necessity for every business and therefore it is always a wise decision to think about it before getting started on website development.
WordPress has a fantastic & SEO-friendly framework that has the ability to attract search engines which makes it easier for a website to rank quickly.
In other words, WordPress is loved by search engines.
At the same time, it could be wrong to say that Drupal is not good at search engine optimization however there is a little work involved for the SEO consultant or website developer to configure optimized settings in the core files of the website for eg. robots.txt, sitemap.xml, etc.
In other words, we can say that Drupal-based websites need a lot of attention from website developers in order to ensure the SEO-friendliness of the website.
The key is to hire an experienced Drupal developer who knows search engine optimization techniques as well.
#5 Website design
Although there are lots of themes available for both WordPress and Drupal websites however WordPress always wins when it comes to the number of themes available to create a website.
Not only that, but WordPress themes are also easily customizable with a little knowledge of CSS skills however in the case of Drupal websites, you will definitely need the assistance of an experienced website designer who can customize the design theme of your website.
Additionally, most WordPress themes are responsive (mobile-friendly) and tested for loading speed and browser compatibility.
Conclusion:
Considering the above comparison between Drupal and WordPress, we can conclude that both the platforms have some positive as well as negative points, however, to sum up, I would say that if you need a great yet affordable website design for your business, you should definitely choose WordPress.