Building a website, blog, or web application with a content management system (CMS) can have big advantages: you have visibility into your site\u2019s content, can control how often it\u2019s updated, and basic administrative tasks typically require little to no programming experience. However, when it comes to customizing and extending a CMS-powered site, a developer\u2019s expertise can turn a basic, out-of-the-box site into a totally unique, powerful solution.<\/p>\n

WordPress grew in popularity from a blogging platform to a full-blown site framework that\u2019s powered by PHP, HTML, JavaScript, AJAX, CSS and plenty of plugins, themes, and widgets. Theme customization, installation, and more complex builds and setups require the help of skilled\u00a0WordPress developers, who will also make sure your site\u2019s maintained through software version updates, plugin updates, and more.<\/p>\n

With WordPress, you get what you put in\u2014and the possibilities can be endless.\u00a0Learn more about how to customize a WordPress site,\u00a0the Genesis framework, and\u00a0WordPress plugins. The\u00a0Advanced Custom Fields plugin\u00a0gives admins even more control over how content and data is displayed, adding complexity where you need it to WordPress\u2019s famously user-friendly admin panel.<\/p>\n

Drupal is a majorly powerful CMS, referring to itself as a \u201ccontent management framework\u201d that lets users launch, manage and scale more \u201cambitious\u201d sites and applications. Think larger, enterprise-level projects. It\u2019s powered by PHP (and the Symfony PHP framework) and also requires little to no programming experience to set up low-level functionality. Drupal\u2019s extended functionality comes from modules that build off of its Core package (which includes basic things like blogging, forums, contact forms, and other community-style functionality). To take advantage of all those high-powered extras, however, you\u2019ll need help from a\u00a0skilled Drupal developer\u2014it gets pretty complicated customizing the back-end of a Drupal-powered site.<\/p>\n

Similarities:<\/h4>\n

\n
• Both have powerful developer APIs.<\/strong>\u00a0Drupal\u2019s API\u00a0offers access to numerous UI components, data functions, and more. The\u00a0WordPress APIs\u00a0also cover everything from metadata and HTTP to databases, theme customization and plugins.<\/li>\n
• Both extend core functionality with add-ons.<\/strong>\u00a0For Drupal, that\u2019s\u00a0modules\u201436,000+ libraries of code, APIs, and tokens that add functionality in categories like ecommerce, SEO, mobile, spam prevention, and third-party integrations. In WordPress, 37,000+\u00a0plugins\u00a0and themes are how developers can customize and add functionality.<\/li>\n
• Both are free and open-source.<\/strong>\u00a0With WordPress.org, you will need to arrange your own hosting and domain, but the software is free. Premium themes and plugins can cost more, too. Drupal is free, too, with similar back-end requirements.<\/li>\n
• Both require installation, setup, and hosting.<\/strong>\u00a0Unlike a cloud-based site builders like Wix and Squarespace, both these require you to download the CMS, install it, and set up hosting and purchase a domain.<\/li>\n
• Both offer mobile responsive themes.<\/strong>\u00a0Drupal mobile sites can perform better when run on a subdomain (which may affect your SEO) while a mobile WordPress site can be easily run on the same domain. Just an extra step to take into account.<\/li>\n
• Both have excellent SEO.<\/strong>\u00a0This isn\u2019t platform-specific; it\u2019s more developer specific. Since we\u2019ve mentioned Drupal can be more complex, it\u2019s going to be easier to to miss out on SEO if it\u2019s not handled properly, which WordPress makes a bit easier to do. Overall, WordPress\u2019 technical SEO aspects are hard to beat. A top-rated plugin\/module like\u00a0Yoast SEO\u00a0is available for both platforms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Differences<\/h4>\n

  \n
  • Drupal has a more complex build under the hood.<\/strong>\u00a0It can take longer to get used to and has a steeper learning curve, but it\u2019s definitely a good option for larger projects and enterprise-grade sites. WordPress is easier to learn and use\u2014and it doesn\u2019t lack in options to ramp up admin capabilities if you need them.<\/li>\n
  • Version updates are handled differently.<\/strong>\u00a0WordPress code is upgradable, and this happens in tandem with database updates pretty seamlessly in the background. Because WordPress updates are released every few months, this is a great feature for non-developers. Plugins do need to be regularly updated, though. Drupal updates are more comprehensive overhauls and because they don\u2019t include a code update, the process is more labor intensive. In some cases, you may have to redesign the whole site for an update.<\/li>\n
  • Plugins present security vulnerabilities.<\/strong>\u00a0Drupal is known for its tight security and security reporting, which are valuable for larger enterprise sites (and government sites) that have more moving parts. Certain third-party services offer WordPress security measures, but note that you\u2019ll be more open to hacks if you\u2019re not updating plugins regularly.<\/li>\n
  • Mobile apps for admins.<\/strong>\u00a0WordPress has a native app for updating your site on mobile; Drupal does not, but it has a responsive mobile admin dashboard.<\/li>\n
  • Drupal has testing and reporting built in.<\/strong>\u00a0This helps you see what is working on your site and where there\u2019s room to improve. You can get similar services for WordPress through a plugin like\u00a0Optimizely\u00a0that allows you to run split, multivariate, and A\/B testing on your site.<\/li>\n
  • WordPress theme building is easier for DIYers.<\/strong>\u00a0Both platforms have great starter themes you can purchase, but Drupal themes tend to require more work to get customization. There are also fewer options for free Drupal starter themes, so customization by a developer is almost a given. WordPress has tons of options.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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