Good content has become the greatest asset of any company to attract the audience towards them. This content is only effective when the platform of content management aligns with the needs of the company. The content management system has to fit the requirements of the creator. Two of the most content management systems that are usually pit against each other are WordPress and Drupal. Both of them are killed at the helm of content management systems and rightly so in the individual aspect. But only one can be chosen by a company. How to make this choice?
What is similar between the two of them?
1. Free to use and customize
One of the biggest constraints any company has among its resources has to be money. Companies are always on the lookout for cutting down their costs. Both WordPress and Drupal are free to use for all and they can be customized as per the needs of the user. What’s even better? Drupal to WordPress conversion and vice-versa is also possible.
2. User-friendly
The interface of each of the management platforms is easy to understand for even a layman. This means both the platforms are incredibly user-friendly for a first time user as well as a professional.
3. Easy access to developers
Both WordPress and Drupal are so popular worldwide that it is very difficult not to find a developer who will help you in customizing your platform. In case of any problem with the platforms, any developer can be approached as the two management systems have mass appeal.
How to make a choice based on their differences?
1. Cost of development
The cost of customization and development greatly depends on the needs of the business and how much work is required to be done. You might need to convert site to WordPress or even revamp the whole look of the website. Drupal is a little expensive to customize because it requires a developer or a professional who is well versed in coding if you want to keep it for long-term use.
Heavy customization is handled better in Drupal and thus, it is a better choice for a long-term solution. Wordpress on the other hand is much cheaper because it doesn’t necessarily require a developer to make changes in it.
2. Security measures
It cannot be spoken outright that one of the two platforms is secure while the other isn’t. This is simply because both the platforms have been made keeping security of business in mind. However, Drupal wins the security race by the closest of margins. This win is not because wordpress isn’t competent enough on the security front.
A lot of people take a few false steps that end up causing security threat to their content. Be it drupal to wordPress migration or uploading a third party plugin, the site becomes open to malicious threats. This is what ends up creating a sense of danger towards hacking and security breach. Other than that, WordPress too is a secure platform for content management.
3. Ease of creating content
This is a hand where we have a clear winner and rightly so. It takes time for anyone to learn the nuances of working with a new content management system. When WordPress and Drupal are compared, WordPress comes out as a clear winner. It is better to convert site to WordPress if convenience of use is what you are looking for. It becomes a little cumbersome to work with Drupal because it is not beginner friendly and the language that is used to create content in Drupal is anything but elementary.
4. Extension of the platform
WordPress has more than 5000 free themes in comparison to Drupal’s 2500. WordPress also exceeds Drupal in terms of free plugins with 53000 over 39000. Greater themes and plugins offer greater functionality to the user without having to to shell out big bucks.
What does the user want?
anyone can give you a thousand reasons to go for one of the content management systems but if the other has features that fit your needs, go for that one. There is no one fit for all platforms when it comes to content. The choices made by each are very subjective and ultimately depends on what the user is looking for. If it is for a long term use with heavy customization or a highly secure platform, Drupal should be a better choice.
If the user wants to manage the content without involving a developer in the mix, WordPress can definitely work out better in this scenario. It all rests upon the user to make the choice based on what is needed by him or her. That is the ultimate criteria and no feature trumps it. If you are the one having trouble while choosing between Drupal and WordPress, make a list of what your preferences are and then sort out the platform for a better fit.