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Which Content Management System Is Right For You?

10/06/2021 posted in Web Solutions

Having a successful website includes having a fully functional CMS – content management system. A CMS will allow you to create web content, exhibit your information to your audience and document it accordingly. Depending whether or not you are a techie or just an ordinary user, choosing a CMS, - content management system – can become a rather complicated decision. With so many options out there, which one is the best? Or rather, I should say which one could possibly be the best for you…

Here are three Content management systems that are among the most popular:

Drupal
Joomla!
Wordpress

Now I am sure, if you have done your research, you already know that those three are the most widely used and talked about CMS systems, you cannot even mention one without the other two right behind. Each offer thousands of plugins and are open source written in PHP. However, which one will be able to fulfill all of your needs?

So time for the decision, Oh Decisions, decisions…
Take a look below at each summary and hopefully by the end you will be able to figure out which will benefit you and your skillset the most.

First up to bat is:
For Advanced Users -The Most Tech Savvy

Installation: A little difficult but rather easy if you follow the guidelines

Drupal – Heaven for a developer would be Drupal because it is directed towards developers rather than designers. Drupal is famous for being one of the more complex CMS systems, technically you do not need any programming skills although more advanced users tend to use it. With a Drupal CMS system, it is adaptable and not built around a framework - which has limitations. If you are looking to apply a larger more interactive website then Drupal should be your number one choice. It is very effective and scalable, however, it can be very costly to employ. Drupal may be hard to master if you are not technically skilled although if you take the time to learn it then you will not have to build on any other platform.

Drupal is commonly used for internal systems, custom websites, and ecommerce platforms.

Pros:

A variety of free modules to use (7,274+) including features for blogs, forums, profiles, web stores etc. (Also known as plug-ins, add-ins or widgets)
A large, active and knowledgeable community of developers behind it
Not built for one specific use or mainly focused on blogging as much as other CMS systems
Can be built for compatibility with mobile devices
Built in categorization system (taxonomy) giving you the ability to organize, categorize and tag complex content with the benefit of tagging your content with keyword-rich terms.
Good for SEO – Search Engine Optimization (download a SEO checklist module to help you out)
It has all the basic features you need including menu management, user account registration, RSS-feeds and system administrationThe bottom line is, if you are a larger business and have a good-sized budget while needing that extra coding power for a more complex site than Drupal it is.
Multiple user management
Works on any hosting
Creating static pages are easy
Variety of social media modules to add to your site - just active the module or plug-in and it works

Cons:

Not intended use for inexperienced users
You will need a larger budget because some performance issues can arise resulting in expenses from the server infrastructure (if your PHP memory size is less than 126 MB, you will find server errors)
If you are not a developer and cannot commit to learning how to use Drupal or hiring someone that can (experienced developers and webmasters), than it won’t work out to your advantage
Themes may not have good graphical design because it is programmer friendly and not so much design.
Lack of themes

Example sites using Drupal:
http://www.universalmusic.com/
http://www.wfp.org/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
http://pearljam.com/

Next, stepping up to the plate is:
For Advanced Newbie Users - A little less tech savvy

Installation: easy enough

Joomla! - Joomla implements a middle line between Drupal and Wordpress causing Joomla to be the cream filling between the three whilst filling in the gap between word press’s lack for content and Drupal’s hard up, time consuming coding. The final line is Joomla is less complex than Drupal and more complex than Wordpress. This CMS platform is perfect for someone who wants something user friendly but also has a more complex side. It has the ability to perform advanced functions while keeping rocket science out of it. With a beautiful minimalistic CMS, it sure makes it appealing.

Commonly used for e-commerce sites, social networking and restaurants.

Pros:

Easy to create attractive sites
Strong tech community platform with social networking features
Lots of people willing to help newcomers
Simple user interface
You don’t have to know a lot about PHP
Lots of design templates

Cons:

Most modules will you cost you a good penny or so (more paid than free)
Plug-ins may not install properly
Security concerns seem to be all too familiar
Some websites associated with Joomla can be slow

Example sites using Joomla:
http://gsas.harvard.edu/
http://ace.nd.edu/
http://www.thefashionspot.com/
http://www.mtvgreece.gr/

The last batter up to take the home run is:
For Beginner Users - Not very tech savvy

Installation: easy peasy

Wordpress- The lovely Wordpress for beginners, we should all know the background story by now since it has been doing laps around Drupal and Joomla. Well if not here is a quick rundown, Wordpress has become increasing popular due to the simplicity and friendly use of the CMS. It really is a great way to design and keep track of a blog and other common small websites. You do not need a complete skillset of PHP just the basics. Wordpress has an increasing number of themes, plug-ins and widgets giving you a wide variety of selections to choose from.

Pros:

Easy, foolproof set up
Low learning curve
Has the most plug-ins compared to any other CMS including – Gallery’s, shops, forums, catalogs, newsletters, etc.
Huge developer community
Training & support
Most popular – more than 60% of CMS users prefer Wordpress
Tons of themes including responsive themes which allow mobile optimization
Easily paste text from any text editor

Cons:

Not so good scalability

Example sites using Wordpress:
http://techchurch.com/
http://lifeandtimes.com/
http://newsroom.mtv.com/
http://blog.ted.com/

The game is now over and all the teams had their chance to play…But who is the winner? Personally, I cannot tell you although from my standpoint, I can say this – Drupal is for the programmers because it gives them a chance to go beyond the limits also great for larger scale websites. It is not as popular as Wordpress and Joomla due to the sophisticated and long learning process however if you want to take the initiative and create a website that is over the top Drupal may just be the right CMS for you. Joomla is good for anyone looking to make a storefront website or anything in between because it has a variety of components created independently for the CMS. It is a little trickier to grasp than Wordpress but easier than Drupal. In addition, Wordpress is great for those bloggers or any other small sites. Wordpress has been the most popular among the world with more downloads, twitter followers, Facebook fans, etc... Therefore, we can obviously see that Wordpress takes the lead.

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