Editor’s note (2/28/2013): For a more in depth comparison check out Part 2 of this article WordPress vs. Drupal
Thanks to content management systems (CMSs), building a website has never been easier. You can finally say adios to the days of hand-coding your website because CMSs do most of the heavy lifting.
The CMSs that lead the pack are undoubtedly Joomla, WordPress, and Drupal, all of which are open source platforms that have their respective communities, themes/templates, and plugins/extensions.
To ensure the success of your website, you need to do your homework and select the right platform for your needs. Below is a breakdown of the most popular CMSs out there.
Drupal
Drupal is one of the most powerful CMSs for developers who love to write code. Drupal used to be incredibly user un-friendly, but thanks to the introduction of Drupal 7, it is now far easier for end users to work with. However, Drupal is still far less popular than WordPress for the following reasons:
- There are fewer ready-made plugins available
- The themes are yawn-worthy
- Developing and maintaining Drupal sites is substantially more difficult and expensive
Joomla!
Joomla, which began as a fork from the Mambo CMS in 2005, was once considered a CMS leader because it combined the accessibility of WordPress with the power of Drupal. But Joomla has lost its luster and has become outdated over the years. To put it bluntly, Joomla sucks. It’ll take you hours to do things with Joomla that would take you minutes with WordPress.
Downsides of Joomla include its lack of out-of-the-box SEO features, built-in comments system, and good plugins that are free of charge. Joomla is an SEO nightmare, with its ugly URLs. Other Joomla headaches are its clunky, illogical interface and lack of documentation for developers who are new to the platform. Why people still use Joomla, I don’t know.
WordPress
WordPress started out as an open-source blogging platform, but it is now a complete, full-fledged CMS used by everyone from the New York Times (Blogs) to obnoxious teen idol Miley Cyrus.
WordPress is hands down the most popular of all CMSs because of its extremely easy-to-use interface. It is by far the most supported and extendable CMS every made. WordPress plugins and themes enable you to customize your website and achieve the right look and feel, even if you have minimal technical knowledge.
Here are some of the most compelling advantages of WordPress:
- Has almost as many plugins as Joomla and Drupal combined
- Has a multitude of attractive themes
- Is simple to administer
- Has a large community
- Virtually anyone can install it
You can also be sure that you’ll find the help you need whenever you run into trouble with your WordPress website because there are a slew of forums, websites, and blogs out there that offer tutorials and assistance. Just search the wild web and you’ll find a number of excellent tips and tutorials suitable for everyone from beginners to advanced users:
10 WordPress Tips to Make Your Blog Look Like a Website (for Beginners)
How to Put a Custom Header in Your WordPress Blog
How to Create a WordPress Template in 5 Minutes
Embedding WordPress into OS Commerce
On the other hand, the communities surrounding more developer-focused CMSs tend to have a holier-than-thou air about them, so there is less hand-holding.
If you’re building an online shop of gargantuan proportions or a complex, feature-rich website, you might be better off with Drupal. But if you’re one of those not-so-technical folks who needs a simple website solution, WordPress is your best bet because it is by far the easiest CMS to install and manage.
Contact our Incredible Development Team for questions and answers!
www.incrediblemarketing.com or 800-949-0133
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