With business shifting from static website to dynamic website, the rise in the use of Content Management System (CMS) is clearly visible. CMS is an open-source and a free to download and use platform. It is the preferred choice for designers and developers as it gives them the flexibility to build a website as per client’s requirements.
It is also popular among businesses because once developed, companies can do the modifications as and when required without having to rely on a web developer or a designer. But which CMS platform should you choose?
What is a CMS?
In simple words, a CMS helps you create, manage, and modify the contents of your website without the need for any HTML or CSS coding skills.
Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal are the most widely preferred and used CMS. However, choosing one best out of these three can be a tough call. Therefore, we have tried to help our readers make the right choice of the best CMS platform by giving a comprehensive comparison along with some of their similarities.
Let’s start.
Wordpress vs. Joomla vs. Drupal - The Hunt for the best
Wordpress clearly dominates the market with 58% of all the websites built on this platform. Second in the row is Joomla with 7% of CMS market share and third stands Drupal with 4% of all websites using this platform.
Looking at the above figures, you might think Wordpress is the clear winner, but there are several aspects in which Wordpress falls behind. Let’s take a look at the similarities first.
- Drupal, Wordpress and Joomla are open source free software licensed under GPL. Hence, you have the freedom to download, use and modify it as per your requirement.
- All these platforms are based on PHP and MySQL.
- These CMS platforms use templates for the design plugins/modules/extensions for adding functionality and features.
- They have created a community of designers, developers, users, trainers and volunteers to make these platforms better by knowledge sharing, supporting the users and resolving issues etc.
Now that you know the similarities, let’s make your choice of the best Content Management System even more easy by listing down their differences.
- Wordpress - A popular CMS platform, Wordpress is perhaps the most powerful blogging and website content management system in existence today. This platform is known for five minutes install. This makes it even more popular among users who want to start a new blog or website. Additionally, it is user-friendly that makes it easier for users to update, manage and maintain their website through an intuitive dashboard. There are several reasons why Wordpress is considered as the best CMS for developers - it is cost-effective, offers robust security, SEO-friendliness and provides quick and simple web maintenance. On Wordpress, users can access several free and premium plugins and themes that makes it easier for them to add different functionalities and create professional and responsive websites in relatively less time. Some of the renowned websites created on Wordpress are:
- Sony Music
- The New York Times
- BBC America
- Mercedes Benz
- The Walt Disney Company
- The Rolling Stones
- TechCrunch
- Joomla - Unlike Wordpress which started as a blogging platform and later evolved as a CMS, Joomla began its journey as a CMS. While Joomla installation may not be as quick as its counterpart, the steps are more or less similar. Once installed users land on a control panel that is not as straightforward as Wordpress. However, Joomla allows you to build a site with more content and structure flexibility than WordPress offers. It has a powerful and user-friendly admin interface to manage large amounts of information. In Joomla,most hosts offer installations using cPanel that require you to have no prior technical knowledge. It is a well-suited platform for a multi-user environment like a college or university site. But unlike Wordpress most plugins in Joomla are paid;it offers very less customizable options for feature and functionality. It is a good platform choice for small and medium size eCommerce sites. Few of the popular websites created using Joomla are:
- Linux.com
- Harvard University
- The Hill
- IKEA
- ITWire
- Holiday Inn
- UNIRC (United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe)
- Drupal - It is the difficult yet most powerful platform among all CMS platforms. It is best used for building complex websites which requires solid experience and expertise. One of the biggest advantages of this platform is the flexibility it offers. You can build a simple blog, a powerful eCommerce system or complex website with millions of users using Drupal. As compared to Joomla and Wordpress, Drupal websites load faster. It offers superb SEO capabilities making your website search engine friendly. It offers strong Access Control List capabilities and version control because of which several enterprise customers prefer Drupal as their CMS. But Drupal can be complex to use as compared to its counterparts. You need to have basic HTML, CSS and PHP knowledge to use this platform. Drupal is mostly suitable for large scale, enterprise level businesses. It is a good choice for complex and advanced websites where scalability and stability is more important than user interface. The set up process of Drupal is time consuming and lengthy. Want to know which popular brand uses Drupal? Here you go:
- Tesla Motors
- The Economist
- McDonalds Australia
- The University of Chicago
- Webster Bank
- The Emmy Awards
- The Australian Government
- NASA
In Conclusion
Undoubtedly, these three platforms are most popular these days. We can’t say which is the best CMS framework because that totally depends on your business requirements. If:
- you want to create a simple website and looking for a platform that is easy and quick to install, go for none other than Wordpress.
- you want to create a social network site or ecommerce portal, choose Joomla. It is best for someone who understands PHP but easy for anyone to use.
- you want to create a complex and advanced website for large scale enterprise level business Drupal is the right choice.
We hope this article helps you create a powerful website with the right platform.
