WordPress v. Drupal, And the winner is…

WordPress and Drupal are big players in the CMS market but WordPress has gained a lot more popularity over the years. Its user base is almost 10 times that of Drupal – but is it 10 times better? The answer in the WordPress vs. Drupal discussion really comes down to level of skill. And succinctly: Drupal has more features that are brilliant if you know how to use them, but useless and confusing if you don’t.

Ease Of Use
A deciding factor on which to choose could be how easy it is to use. If you know you have limited knowledge of website development and you need to get to grips with your CMS straight away, put simply there’s no point in choosing Drupal. Its back end is a lot more complicated than WordPress’ user-friendly one. With WordPress, you can start blogging in minutes using the WYSIWYG editor.

Another advantage of WordPress is the brilliant community who are there to help you with queries. Such passionate people want to give others advice based on their own experience, which is great for learning how to make your website better. Drupal has a community too and it’s in no way small; it’s just smaller than the one WordPress has.

Customizing Options
The easiest way to customize your website is through themes and plugins. Adding these takes it from being a blank canvas to something that fits your individual needs. WordPress is the winner here, as it has nearly 37,000 plugins and a variety of free and premium themes. The premium themes let you change almost every aspect of the website, making this is highly customizable option.

Cost
Drupal developers are less easy to get ahold of than WordPress developers and can therefore charge a lot more. They will have had to go through the steep learning curve of getting to know Drupal and they’ll be looking for payback. And remember, you’ll very likely have to fork out this expense unless you’re a technical whizz yourself and are able to build your own website.

Security
Drupal wins this round. WordPress’ many plugins can have vulnerabilities and be easily hacked, particularly if the website owner doesn’t update to the latest version or the plugin gets old. Or simply, hackers target WordPress because it is so popular. However, there is a paradox solution: install third-party plugins that increase your security.

Which Does Google Prefer?
Search Engine Optimization isn’t platform specific but there are a few tricks that make one better than the other. Both have SEO built into them. It has been said that Drupal was built specifically to be search engine friendly but WordPress has a multitude of plugins that can enhance this.

And The Winner Is…
The main factor – and it’s a big one – is the ease of use. If you don’t have the experience to develop your own website, or don’t have the time or money to pay someone else to, WordPress is the option for you. You can basically ignore the extra features of Drupal!