14 May WordPress VS Joomla VS Drupal: Which is the Best CMS for Websites?
If you had asked a website developer to build a website for your business some years back, it would have taken a lot of costs and precious time as well. But the present is different! It is no longer about just developing single static web pages with separate images, links, codes, and combining them together to build one specific website that meets your goals and requirements.
When Content Management System came into the vision, it changed all the functionalities and methods. CMS development services divided the whole website into 3 levels of code, layout, and content. Splitting the website into these stages makes it easier for you to develop a high-class website for your business to stand out the rest and grow sales.
What Makes a Good CMS?
First of all, you need to have a good knowledge of all the options that you have before rushing to a decision. It’s better to search for the key features in your CMS options rather than going for popularity.
Here are the 6 key features you need to look out in your content management systems:
- Easy to use content editor
- Multiple user management
- Marketing features
- Plugins of 3rd party integrations
- Mobile support
- Design flexibility and core functionality
Let’s now dig into the top 3 CMS and compare them to see which one is the best for websites.
WordPress
WordPress was released in 2003 by Matt Mullen Wegg and powers more than 35% of the entire CMS based websites on the internet. It is an open-source content management system that is licensed under GPLv2 according to which anyone can modify or use it for free. WordPress is the most popular for eCommerce development for online stores. Apart from this, it is extremely useful in the creation of business websites, resumes, portfolios, social networks, membership sites, and forums, etc.
Source: WordPress
Have a look at the basic benefits and drawbacks of using WordPress:
Pros | Cons |
| User-friendly | Not much functional |
| Easier to understand | Dependent on plugins |
| Easier to update | Tightly integrated |
| Robust community support | Slow page speed |
| No extra learning or skills | Website vulnerability |
Joomla
It causes you to assemble ground-breaking dynamic sites and applications. It has an instinctive interface that lets you utilize its highlights, features, and usefulness without limit. Joomla was introduced in 2005, it has effectively caught the gigantic attention of the users and positively has more than 99+ million downloads till today.
Source: Joomla
Have a look at the basic benefits and drawbacks of using Joomla:
Pros | Cons |
| Multilingual | Specific learning curve |
| Easier to use | No store for themes |
| Responsive in nature | Basic knowledge required |
| Security | Issues in extensions & browsing |
| Powerful customization | Security concerns |
Drupal
Drupal is an open-source and free platform that can be utilized by people or a group of clients – even those lacking specialized knowledge or learning. It can effectively generate and oversee numerous kinds of sites such as portals, eCommerce sites, forums, blogs, personal websites, etc.
Source: Drupal
Have a look at the basic benefits and drawbacks of using Drupal:
Pros | Cons |
| Very secure | Complex interface |
| Strong modules | Less high quality free designs |
| Sorting abilities | Difficult familiarization |
| Can handle heavy load of traffic easily | High system requirement |
| Professional online community | Takes time to setup the proper website |
Similarities between WordPress, Joomla & Drupal
- All these 3 platforms are open source and free software that is licensed under the General Public License(GPL)
- All these three support MySQL for database management systems. MySQL is exclusively supported by WordPress whereas Drupal and Joomla can also support other database management systems.
- All of the three are developed using PHP language.
- For better visual representation and features of the websites, all these three use different modules, extensions, or plugins.
- All these are community-based software.
Comparison between WordPress, Joomla & Drupal
Each one of these three is a fantastic choice in most cases. Be that as it may, your own situation will require various abilities, which likely makes one of these three platforms the ideal fit.
1. Easy use
Easy usage isn’t provided by all of these three options. We are going to explore which one is the best at the user-friendliness and smoothness.
| WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| It is considered to be the smoothest when it comes to the ease of use and user friendliness. The dashboard of WordPress is the simplest that allows you to perform specific tasks such as customizing themes, creating posts, or pages in an effortless method. It comes with a 5 minute install which makes it fairly straightforward for the beginner. | The installation procedure of Joomla is not as simple as WordPress but it also has got the very easygoing installation steps or process. There are many hosting providers that offer only one-click installation of this. After the installation, the user gets to see multiple options and menus to click for a task to be done which as a result makes it inconvenient. | The installation of Drupal is somehow matching both. The user downloads it, uploads the given package and runs the installation. It offers prepackaged subscriptions with configurations and modules. For a beginner, the experience after installing it might be complicated. adding content is easier but changing the appearance is not obvious for many users. |
Which is the best? WordPress.
2. Support Options
The help and support from any software or platform are very crucial for a user or any beginner. So, here we’ll be looking at how useful support options are in these three systems.
| WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| You can easily find the help option of WordPress on documents, official support forums, handbooks, slack channels, codex, WPBeginner Engage Facebook group, etc. There are many articles or tutorials available on internet for the help and you can ask for free support as well. WordPress professionals are always there to give you a hand in any issue regarding WordPress development services.
| Joomla has a large community of help and support. Extensive documentation is also available for the user guide. You can also join support groups, mailing lists, forums, etc. Professional assistance might be difficult to find. Moreover, if you are hiring a developer it can cost more than WordPress. | A very dynamic community of support and provides all help options as other two do. Documentation is available for a complete guide along with mailing lists or forums. You can also connect with the companies or developers for an expert solution. However, taking professional help is costly in Drupal. |
Which is the best? WordPress.
3. Functionality and Design
Themes or templates are widely used for managing the design by these three platforms. Similarly, to add more features and functionalities, they use modules, plugins, extensions, etc.
| WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| With regards to design and functionality effortlessly of utilization, WordPress stands apart from the other two. The vast majority of the WordPress web design is subject to the theme. There are many templates or themes on the web which implies boundless design prospects with WordPress. In an official theme directory, it contains a vast collection with 4500+ themes that are free and 9500+ premium themes. The unlimited plugins are utilized for adding functionalities and features to the site such as marketing, SEO, security, etc. | With respect to design and functionality, Joomla does not provide many options and it also does not have any official directory for themes or templates. There are only fewer free themes and 950+ premium themes available which makes it quite simpler and minimal. To add features, Joomla provides 7500+ extensions that are free and paid as well. The dashboard provides direct access to the extensions. | Drupal is superb with respect to features and flexibility. It has an amazing core software that is security demonstrated and has upgraded the functionalities. To include more specifications, you need to introduce modules. The whole structure of a Drupal site is dependent on the theme. It has an enormous theme collection with over 2000+ free and 450+ paid themes. It offers 37000+ modules for features. You can avail any module for any feature that you require on your website. |
Which is the best? Drupal.
4. Language and Localization Support
Many beginners are in search of a CMS that is capable of handling or supporting multiple languages.
| WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| It does not support many languages however, there are some worth trying plugins available in it to build a multilingual website. There are 57 languages and new other languages can also be inserted from the admin area. There are also templates or themes that are available in different languages. | It accompanies out of the crate ability to deal with a multilingual site without introducing any extensions. What you have to do is go to the language manager and add a language on which you have to create the content of your website. There are many translations available for the languages which can be installed without any confusion. | It has built-in support for handling multilingual sites. There are modules of locale and content translation that you will need to enable. From configuration, you can add languages of admin and site interface. |
Which is the best? All of the three have a tie.
5. SEO and Security
These three platforms are developed keeping in mind specific standards of security.
| WordPress | Joomla | Drupal |
| WordPress oriented sites can easily be hacked. In any case, WordPress is based on extremely secure code, and it reacts to issues of security rapidly. With an auto update, WordPress websites get automatically updated if there is a new security patch. It can be secured with suitable practices, two factor authentication, and proper backups. With respect to Search engine optimization, WordPress is clearly winning at the top as it was also started as a blogging base. It includes a friendly system with tags, categories, and a lot of plugins. | It is fundamentally the same as WordPress with regard to security. They effectively react to any security issues. By following proper methods, you can secure the Joomla websites and there are extensions available for more security and backup. Have vast modules and plugins regarding SEO or marketing. | It adopts an intense strategy to security. They distribute security vulnerabilities on their own site as they are found and fixed. Includes vast modules and plugins regarding SEO or marketing. |
Which is the best? Tie between all these three with respect to security.
The popularity of the three CMS platforms:
- More than 35% users use WordPress.
- More than 2.8% users use Joomla.
- Less than 2% users use Drupal.
Expenses on these three CMS platforms:
- WordPress plugins range from $0 to $200 and themes range from $0 to $250.
- Joomla plugins range from $0 to $70 and themes range from $0 to $200.
- Drupal plugins range from $0 to $100 and themes range from $0 to $80.
Example Websites Built On WordPress, Joomla & Drupal
Which is the Best CMS for Your Website?
WordPress is a jack of all trades. You get multiple features with ease of use and support while building a website for your business.
If you need your site ought to be dealt with by numerous users, at that point Joomla is best since it can support user management scheme well.
In the event that you are a specialist or know specialized stuff, at that point you ought to make a site with Drupal.
Without a doubt, these three stages are the best CMS stages accessible today so getting anyone won’t be an exercise in futility. It will be really insightful if you can draw clear differentiation and pick the one that really meets your requirements.
READ MORE: 10 Remarkable Examples of Mobile Apps for Business Management