So you’re excited to start a website, and you’ve selected a perfect hosting provider, but you don’t know which content management system (CMS) you should choose. In this blog, we’ll look at two popular CMS; Drupal and WordPress to help you decide the perfect fit for your upcoming site!
A Little Market Research
Before looking at the strengths and weaknesses of these two CMS, let’s first look at which is more prevalent in the market. When looking at google trends, WordPress is by far the more popular platform in all regions. WordPress takes approximately 59.8% market share versus 4.6% for Drupal. Although this fact is enough to confirm WordPress is the best choice, understanding the specific features of each CMS can help you make a more informed decision when choosing the right one for your site.
Why is WordPress Popular?
WordPress is popular among bloggers and small and larger enterprises because of the following advantages:
-
Ease of use: WordPress is known for its ease of use and does not require high technical expertise when first starting out.
-
Learning curve: WordPress is a simple interface. Its themes and WYSIWYG tools allow users to start from scratch and have a fully functional website in just a short period of time.
-
Large support community: It’s easy to get support and help with any issues because WordPress has a large group of users who are well connected on different internet groups. There are so many forums out there to search on so you can get expert help quickly.
-
Affordability: You can develop a WordPress site on your own or you have the option to hire WordPress developers. Luckily WordPress developers can be much more cost-effective compared to Drupal developers due to its popularity.
-
Extensive plugins and themes: You can extend your site's functionality, look, and feel with over 50,000 WordPress plugins and 5,000 Themes!
Why is Drupal STILL a choice?
Many government agencies and large corporations still prefer Drupal because of its outstanding security features and content taxonomy. Here are a few reasons why Drupal is still a choice:
-
Security: Drupal’s security is its top-selling point. It offers security reports and is much more transparent on its security features compared to other CMS. Drupal ensures data security with frequent security updates, including SSL and CDN support for full website protection.
-
Multi-Language support: Drupal supports character sets and easy language management variants without the need for an external plugin to help websites in different geographical locations.
-
Taxonomy: Drupal’s taxonomy allows for better content categorization and works really well for large content websites to facilitate faster site search.
Drupal or WordPress: Which Is The Best For Me?
Now that you know a little bit about the benefits of both CMS, it’s time to decide which one is best for you. Here’s a little checklist to start you off:
-
What's your website for?: This is probably the first thing you need to determine as it can help you decide how complex your site needs to be and the duration you need to develop it.
-
Who will build the site?: Are you planning to develop the site yourself, hire a developer, or get a managed hosting provider to do it for you? If you plan to do it yourself then we suggest you pick WordPress. It's easier to use, has tons of plugins, and has many WordPress hosting services to choose from. Plus a WordPress developer tends to be less expensive than a Drupal developer so you may save money in upfront costs.
-
Are you trying to start your site alone?: Working with an open-source tool means you may need help with errors or improvements. Choose a tool that has great support groups for beginners to even advanced-level users. Also, check if your hosting provider offers help for your selected CMS.
-
Who is your web hosting provider?: Almost all hosting providers offer hosting platforms for WordPress and Drupal these days. If you have chosen a hosting provider, check with them on options or support given for the CMS. We recommend Hosting.com because of its excellent support and prices!
Now that you’ve gone through this quick checklist, it’s time to decide: WordPress or Drupal? Overall we recommend WordPress as the first choice for anyone who needs a CMS to develop a professional and attractive website quickly!
Conclusion
Before selecting your tools and platform, it’s vital to understand your website’s commercial and business goals. The right hosting provider and CMS are important when developing faster and cost-effective websites to gain a better online presence. Hosting.com supports both Drupal and WordPress hosting, offering unbeatable speed for your site. Check out our WordPress hosting packages today and feel free to contact our sales team with any questions!
Related Resources
How to Install WordPress Using Softaculous
How to Install WordPress On Managed WordPress Hosting
