Are you planning to build a website or blog but do not have any understanding related to coding? Relax, you can use one of the available Content Management Systems (CMS) in the market.
A CMS is considered as the backbone of any website as it allows you to create and modify the contents of your website. These CMS are user-friendly, and you can work on them even if you have no experience in HTML or coding.
Several options of CMS platforms are available in the market that can create confusion. Most popular CMS platforms that are user-friendly include WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. All three CMS platforms have distinct features. You should know these features if you are planning to use any one of these.
This blog will help you explore three CMS platforms- WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. We will compare them on distinct features like their ease-to use, cost, features, security, designs and more.
Let us start with a brief introduction of each CMS platform along with their advantages and disadvantages.
WordPress
If you are new to website development, then WordPress is a boon. It is an incredible tool that helps you create and manage a website or blog. In 2023, WordPress was introduced to the world. Since then, it has ruled the industry. It is a free-to-use and open-source CMS that makes it a choice for most website owners.
Today, over 43% of websites on the internet use WordPress, and it has a 63.1% share of the CMS market.
WordPress is simple and user-friendly, and it is easy to use without any knowledge of coding. Even if you are a non-technical person, you can easily create and manage a WordPress website.
There are a wide range of customizable themes available for WordPress use. To be precise, there are over 20,000 WordPress themes and out of these 11,000 themes are available for free. Divi is the most popular and highly used for website development. These themes provide flexibility to the WordPress user, and they can create any website on it like- e-commerce websites, blogs, business websites and more.
Everything in the world has some advantages as well as some disadvantages. It applies to WordPress as well, and we will discuss it to help you make the right choice-
Advantages of WordPress:
- No prior technical knowledge required
- User-friendly
- Flexible to customize
- SEO friendly
- Best customer support
Disadvantages of WordPress:
- Hosting, themes and plugins are available at an additional cost
- Not well suited for large websites
- Highly vulnerable to security threats
- Compatibility issues while using plugins and updates
- Sometimes hosting and setups can slow down WordPress
Joomla
Joomla is the second most preferred content management system (CMS) after WordPress. It is a free, open-source CMS that helps in building websites, and different online applications. The tool has several amazing features and provides a relaxed user experience, and this results in a higher demand for Joomla as a CMS.
Joomla was launched in 2005, and it was built using PHP and MySQL. It offers a huge range of templates, modules, plugins, and more that make website designing and customization easy. It is a reliable CMS platform that is used for building a website or blog for any size business.
According to recent statistics, there are around 2 million active users of Joomla. This CMS platform is multilingual and offers more than 70 languages. Users have the freedom to use external template frameworks that they can customize as per their requirements. Joomla offers over 8000 extensions that you can use to add distinct functionalities to the website. Around 3% of the internet use Joomla to build their websites.
In the previous section, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of WordPress. Now, it’s time to see the positives and negatives of using Joomla as a CMS platform for building and managing your website.
Advantages of Joomla:
- Offers easy customization and flexibility
- High-end security
- Multilingual- offers more than 70 languages
- Provide distinct features and functionalities
- Boosted community support
Disadvantages of Joomla:
- The learning curve for Joomla is steep
- Slower for operating big websites and heavy traffic websites
- Prior technical understanding is required
- Complex as incorporating a custom design requires expert knowledge
- Hosting, plugins, templates and themes are available at an additional cost
Drupal
Drupal is a content management system that helps you build a website without any experience in website development. If you are looking for an open-source content management system then Drupal can be your CMS platform. It was launched in 2001, written in PHP and built on a database like MySQL. When it comes to Drupal usage as CMS, it ranks 6th.
Drupal can be used for developing professional-looking websites because of its intuitive interface and advanced features. It has a vast library of themes and modules (approximately 40,000) to improve the functionality and appearance of the website.
According to recent reports, around 1.7 million websites are running on Drupal. There are about 500,000 live websites that use Drupal and these include government websites, personal blogs, businesses, e-commerce websites and more. It has several tools and resources that help you build an exceptional website for different businesses and corporations.
However, there are some limitations of using Drupal that you must be aware of before choosing Drupal CMS for your website development. Let us check out the advantages and disadvantages of Drupal
Advantages of Drupal
- Easy customization
- Robust security
- High scalability
- Advanced functionalities and features
- A huge community of users
Disadvantage of Drupal
- Prior technical understanding is required
- Limited user support
- Complex in terms of learning
- Resource-intensive and slow in some scenarios
- Hosting, themes, plugins etc. available at an additional cost
Comparison between WordPress, Joomla and Drupal
Ease of Use:
All three CMS- WordPress, Joomla and Drupal are easy to use but there are some differences that we need to compare
| Features | WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| Easy to Install | Most hosting providers offer one-click WordPress installs and users can start a website within hours | Most hosting providers offer one-click installs | Technical expertise is required for installation as it is complex |
| User Interface | User friendly interface | User-friendly structured interface resulting steep learning curve | Complex user interface, difficult for beginners to work on |
| Content customization | Content creation is straightforward with visual editor | There is a balance between ease of use and flexibility with simple interface | For custom content creation technical expertise is required but it provides more controlled content management |
| Community support | Large community of users offering support and resources | Large community of users offering specific support, resources and tutorials | Active users offering support, resources and tutorial |
Customization:
For all your specific requirements, all the CMS platforms WordPress, Joomla and, Drupal offer customization. Though customization capabilities are different for all. Let us compare these capabilities-
| Features | WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| Extensions/Plugins | Various free (59,000) and paid plugins and extensions are available. Features like forms, social media integrations, e-commerce, and more | Both free and paid plugins are available to add functionalities like forms. | Both free and paid extensions and modules you can use to add functionalities like workflows, e-commerce, etc. |
| Themes | Customize your website theme from available free and paid themes. Change colors, layouts, fonts, and more | Easy customization with free and paid modules. Play with fonts, colors, etc. to get desired layouts | Free and paid themes and templates are available that allow design and layout customization. But the process is complex |
| Permissions/Roles | Easy to customize and create custom permissions and roles | User can customize and create custom roles and permissions | Advanced features to create custom roles and permissions |
| Code modification | Editing the code for advanced customization | Editing the code for extensive customization | Editing the code for advanced customization |
Localization and Multilingual Support:
All the CMS platforms are available in different languages and support multiple languages as well.
| Features | WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| Support multiple languages | Good platform to build a multilingual website. Does not support multiple languages. Additional plugins can help create a multilingual website | Capable of handling multilingual websites without any additional plugin | It is built to support multilingual websites. Need to enable locale and content translation module |
| Available in different Languages | Available in more than 57 languages. Other languages can be added from Admin area | Joomla is available in 103 languages which make it accessible to 99% of internet users. Translation can be added from Admin area | Available in 100 languages and 4 core modules for language and translation support |
Security:
Security is one major factor that should be considered when choosing a CMS as each website available on the internet is highly vulnerable to security threats. Here, we have compared different aspects of security for WordPress, Joomla and Drupal
| Features | WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| Responding capability | Built on very secure code, and responds very quickly against any security vulnerability | Actively respond to security vulnerabilities and fast patching time | Consider security an important parameter. Publish the report of vulnerability discovery and patch on their website |
| Update frequency | Frequent and regular security updates | Publishing security updates regularly to ensure security of the platform | Publish security updates at fixed intervals to ensure security of the platform |
| Third-party extensions and plugins | Several security-focused plugins and extensions are available to minimize the risk | Offers several third-party extensions available and users can choose the right option. This will ensure secure code development | Various third-party modules and plugins are associated with Drupal to provide robust security |
Cost:
If you are a beginner then cost is one major factor you need to focus on while choosing the CMS for your website. Check out the cost comparison for WordPress, Joomla and Drupal
| Features | WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| Cost of Software | 100% free of cost for download and use. No additional licensing and subscription charges | Open-Source CMS with free download and use. Users have permission to customize the software when needed | Open-source CMS with free download and use. Easy to modify and share with others with no licensing fees |
| Cost of Hosting | Choice of hosting provider decides the cost. Pick the one that suits your budget | Choice of hosting provider determines the hosting cost. Different plans are available to fulfil the requirement and fit the budget | Cost depends on hosting provider and you can find various options to meet your requirements |
| Cost of Themes | Price ranges between $0-$250 | Price ranges between $0-$200 | Price ranges between $0-$80 |
| Cost of Plugins | Price ranges between $0-$200 | Price ranges between $0-$70 | Price ranges between $0-$100 |
| Maintenance cost | Depends on type of service | Depends on service required | Depends on cost of service included |
Support:
For beginners and experienced users, reliable support and resources are very important. If you are new, then some stages can be complex to handle, and support will be needed. Here is a comparison of support options for WordPress, Joomla and Drupal
| Features | WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| Community Support | Strong community of active users. Support is available via various support forums and WordPress-dedicated groups | Active and large group of helpful community offering assistance through Joomla.org | Active users and community providing assisting via Drupal.org. Different online forums and communities are also available |
| Resources | Websites like WPBeginner, Seahawk, Codeable and more. Assistance is provided through video tutorials, and articles | Third party resources, development agencies and paid training are available online | Professional Drupal services by developers and companies |
| Documentation | A thorough and detailed official documentation available on the WordPress website | Detailed official documentation is available on the Joomla website and it contains guides and tutorials | Visit Drupal.org to check official documentation that is supported by user-created resources |
Popularity:
The popularity of the CMS is also an important factor that will decide your selection. Let us compare different aspects of the popularity of WordPress, Joomla and Drupal
| Features | WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| Market Coverage | Used more than 43% of entire internet | Covers 1.7% of entire internet | Covers 1.3% of entire internet |
| User Community | Largest and highly active user community | Active user community but a size smaller than WordPress | Small user community but technically skilled |
Websites and Businesses Using CMS- WordPress, Joomla or Drupal
Today, every business has its online presence, and you can find each business is using a different CMS for their business requirements. Curiosity reaches the top when you visit the websites of famous brands and companies. So, we have compiled a list of brands and businesses that are built on either WordPress, Joomla or Drupal
| WordPress CMS based Business website | Joomla CMS based Business website | Drupal CMS based Business website |
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Things to know before setting up your CMS (Bonus Point)
Website designing and Web development require detailed planning; otherwise, you might miss something important. A left-out point can destroy all the efforts and ideas implemented in website development. So, here is a stepwise plan to follow to start developing a website using the CMS of your choice-
- The first thing you need to do is to find a domain name and website hosting. It does not affect the CMS you will use.
- You can use website hosting from Bluehost or SiteGround.
- Check out support documents to learn about the basics of WordPress, Joomla or Drupal
- Connect with the user community to stay updated and find instant resolution for any query
Conclusion
We hope this article helped you find the right CMS for your website development. This article listed all the features and parameters that one must consider while comparing WordPress, Joomla or Drupal.
All these CMSs have their distinct features, strengths and weaknesses. It is important to compare and conduct detailed research to find the right CMS as per your requirements.
References:
- https://www.cloudways.com/blog/wordpress-vs-drupal-vs-joomla/
- https://www.wpbeginner.com/opinion/wordpress-vs-joomla-vs-drupal-which-one-is-better/
- https://websitesetup.org/cms-comparison-wordpress-vs-joomla-drupal/#expertise
- https://colorlib.com/wp/wordpress-statistics/
- https://techjury.net/blog/drupal-usage-statistics/
- https://www.drupal.org/8/multilingual
- https://dj-extensions.com/blog/general/20-most-popular-websites-using-joomla
- https://smartbees.co/blog/who-uses-drupal-20-famous-drupal-websites
- https://www.hostinger.in/tutorials/best-wordpress-website-examples
