WordPress dominates 23% of all sites on the Internet, but it is not only a free Content Management System. There are other platforms, such as Joomla and Drupal. However, each of them has its pros and cons. In this article, we compare Drupal, Wordpress or Joomla to find out which of these systems is the best. 

What do WordPress, Joomla and Drupal have in Common?

• All three popular CMS have a lot in common in terms of technology, philosophy and community
• Joomla, Drupal, WordPress are free open source software. All three are written in PHP.
• All three use MySQL as a DBMS. WordPress only supports MySQL, while Joomla and Drupal support other database management systems.
• All use themes and templates for visual design of sites and plug-ins, modules for expanding the functionality.
• As open source software, they are all community-developed and supported projects.

In some aspects, these systems are different. They have a different concept regarding what to include in the core of the platform, how to handle modules and templates, how to ensure security, etc.

Consider the differences between WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.

#1 Ease of Use to Newbies

Most people creating their sites are regular users. Ease of use is the most important factor for most of them.

WordPress

WordPress is known for its installation in five minutes. Most hostings also offer WordPress installation in one click. This allows new users to quite easily create their site:

The user experience after installing WordPress is also much better than that of Joomla or Drupal. The user has at his disposal a clear interface with the menu, which presents sections for creating posts, pages, or customizing the appearance and themes. Now we will try to understand what is better than Joomla or WordPress.

Joomla

Joomla installation is not as fast as WordPress, but it involves similar steps. Many hosting providers also offer a Joomla installation package in one click:

After installation, the user enters the control panel, which is not as simple as WordPress. There are too many different sections of the menu that you need to go to to customize your site. Joomla is much more powerful than WordPress, but it may scare a beginner a little.

Drupal

Drupal installation is similar to Joomla and WordPress. Just download the package and run the installation script:

Drupal also offers distros. They are previously divided into packages with modules and configuration for creating sites of a particular type.

For newbies, this CMS is a bit more complicated. It will be difficult for users to understand how to work with the administrative part. In Drupal it is very easy to add content, but the process of changing the appearance and add elements is not so transparent.

Winner: WordPress

#2 Themes and Plugins

All three popular CMS support the ability to install themes and plugins/ modules as a way to extend the functionality and change the appearance. Which one is the best?

WordPress

WordPress allows you to change the appearance of the site using themes. The platform comes with several themes pre-installed by default. At any time, you can click on the”Add New” button on the” Design” page and install free themes from the official directory on WordPress.org :

You will also find many premium themes for those created by third-party theme developers. These paid themes come with premium support options.

The real power of WordPress lies on plugins. The official WordPress plugin directory has more than 38,000 free plugins. You can also buy premium plugins that come with support provided by developers.

Joomla

Joomla comes with templates and extensions. There are excellent extensions that allow you to do anything: from creating an online store to managing email:

However, the number of these templates and extensions is not as large as WordPress. Therefore, it will be a bit more difficult to find the perfect template and extension. We continue the comparison of Joomla and WordPress.

By default, Joomla does not contain a feature that allows users to search and install extensions and templates from the admin panel. There is an add-on that allows you to add features to install extensions from the web interface. As for templates, users still have to search for them manually, and then install.

Drupal

In Drupal the same problem with the availability of themes and modules. Users need to leave their site to find the module or theme they want to add, and then determine the URL of the project’s zip file. Then you need to enter the URL on the modules page or in order to install:

There are Drupal modules for anything, and new ones regularly appear. However, the total number of modules is less than WordPress.

Winner: WordPress

#3 Support Options

Availability of help and support is an important criterion for novice users. You will have to face some difficulties when you start working with new software. This is normal if you can get help.

WordPress

WordPress has a strong user community. You can find WordPress help on official support forums, documentation, reference books, code, via Slack, Stack Exchange, and almost any web design and development forum:

There are many ways you can ask for free WordPress support and get it.

You can also get paid support for platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr and Elance, where you can hire WordPress professionals from around the world to quickly solve the problem at a reasonable price.

Read also: How can SEO Strategies make you better Discoverable on WordPress?

Joomla

Joomla, like WordPress has a large active community. Extensive documentation is available on the Joomla website, which is a valuable resource for beginners. For more interactive support, users can use forums, mailing lists, IRC chats, etc.:

In addition to community support, there are third-party resources as well as development projects that can help you.

Unlike WordPress, finding qualified help at affordable prices is much harder for Joomla. It can cost you much more than WordPress.

Drupal

Drupal has an active community of fans and users. Just like for WordPress and Joomla, here you will find all the options for community support. Extensive documentation, support forum, mailing lists, user groups, IRC chats are available. Everywhere you can get advice and free help:

Drupal tries to connect users with developers and companies offering professional services. You can find them on the Drupal Marketplace.

Winner: WordPress

#4 Localization Support and Multilingual

A large percentage of sites are created not only in English. Many beginners will look for a CMS that can handle multiple languages ​​or has support for different regions and languages.

WordPress

WordPress has become an excellent platform for creating multilingual sites. It does not support several default languages, but there are a number of plug-ins that allow you to create multilingual sites.

WordPress is available in more than 53 languages. New languages ​​can be installed in the administration panel with just one mouse click:

The most popular themes and plugins are also available in several languages. Developers are actively seeking assistance in translating their packages into other languages. All these efforts have made WordPress an excellent platform for creating websites in several languages ​​at once.

Joomla

Now we will understand what to choose Joomla or WordPress. The first CMS allows you to create a multilingual website by default without installing any extensions. Just go to the language manager and add the desired content language:

Translations into many languages ​​are also available for the administrator interface and can be installed directly from the administration panel.

Drupal

Drupal comes with built-in support for non-English or multilingual sites. You will need to enable local settings and translation of module contents. After that, you can add the site and language of the administrator interface from the Drupal configuration section:

Winner: Draw – all three platforms support multilingual sites and are available in several languages.

#5 Security

Security is an important factor when choosing a CMS for a site. Will WordPress win again?

WordPress

Since WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world, sites based on this platform often become a target for hackers. However, WordPress is built on secure code, and it responds quickly to vulnerabilities in the system. WordPress also has an automatic update mechanism that allows you to update the platform when a security fix appears.

Sites running on WordPress can be additionally equipped with an automatic backup system, two-factor authentication, as well as other advanced technologies.

There is also a built-in mechanism that reports updates for WordPress themes and plugins. This allows you to quickly respond to any security vulnerabilities.

Joomla

In terms of security, the differences between WordPress and Joomla are minimal. The platform responds quickly to any vulnerabilities in the system and fixes them very quickly. At the same time, site support and update installation is still weaker than WordPress.

There are extensions designed to back up a site running on a CMS Joomla. You can also enhance site security by applying the same best practices as WordPress.

Drupal

Drupal takes security seriously. Developers publish information about the detection and elimination of vulnerabilities. There is an opinion that Drupal is a more secure platform, because we don’t hear so often about hacking Drupal sites. But this is due to the fact that Drupal is not as popular as Joomla or WordPress.

Draw: After Comparing Drupal Joomla and WordPress – all three platforms comply with modern security standards.

Additional Functionality – SEO, Forms, Site Functionality

When you need more functionality, you need to install a plugin. Here is the comparison between the three:

WordPress

WordPress is equipped with a significantly larger number of plugins and templates than any other engine. Only in the official catalog about 50 thousand plug-ins are offered, the use of which allows you to create a resource from a simple blog to a large portal. Thanks to the widespread popularity of WordPress, its developers are creating free or low-cost new extensions that will help equip a themed website optimized for SEO promotion on the Internet. 

Premium versions of plug-ins are available, the purchase of which will allow you to contact the developers for support and get additional features to customize the site’s functionality (that is, the basic functionality of the plug-in is available for free, and additional features are available in the paid version)

Joomla

For sites created on Joomla, many additional extensions have also been developed that allow you to create electronic stores, large portals and manage e-mails. Joomla perfectly combines the power and functionality that Drupal provides, while maintaining a visually intuitive control, like WordPress.

The number of extensions in Joomla is not as significant as in WordPress, it sometimes makes it difficult to select the right module. In addition, the standard installation of Joomla does not allow to search and install extensions and templates directly from the admin. For this purpose, you will need to install a special extension, but you will have to manually search and configure it.

Drupal

Drupal has a similar difficulty with installing templates and modules. The webmaster must find the necessary add-ons on a third-party site, and then set their address in the”Modules” or ”Themes” section to activate. Drupal is easily configured with the help of a variety of available modules – about 37 thousand of them are presented on the official website. It is permissible to directly edit the files in the root of the site, which is convenient for those users who make significant changes in the structure of the site as it is developed.

Sites on Drupal, as a rule, are characterized by improved performance – pages load faster and show less response time than resources developed on WordPress and Joomla. This is partly due to the fact that this CMS does not require significant resources, an expensive server or hosting. Keep in mind, as in all engines, installing a large number of third-party modules can reduce the speed of the site.

The use of plug-ins and modules allows you to make websites on almost any subject from landings and business cards to large portals and online stores on any CMS. 

In case of WordPress and Joomla, you can find a suitable template for any purpose. For an online resource on Drupal, you will have to tinker with the settings – this engine is more suitable for advanced users, and not for beginners.

Conclusion

Drupal, and Joomla, and WordPress are all reliable content management systems. Drupal and Joomla by default, come with more built-in features than WordPress. However, WordPress” beats” them with ease of use, a large number of plug-ins and themes, as well as a more developed community. We believe that it will be much easier for most users to work with WordPress than with Joomla or Drupal.

• Popular choice: WordPress

We hope this article helped you compare WordPress, Joomla and Drupal and find out which CMS is best for your site. Which one you personally think is the best? Let us know in the comment below!