Wordpress vs. Drupal and Rebuilding a Website
Killersites.com was started by David Siegal (of ‘Creating Killer Web Sites’ fame) back around 1996. This was effectively the first version of the site.
In 2002-2003, I officially took over and started version 2 of killersites.com. It has gone through a lot of changes over the last 4-5 years that has resulted in a lot of web design related content … too much content to manage with html, php and jsp pages running all over the place!
… It is time for a major shift.
Wordpress vs. Drupal and Killersites.com version 3:
I’ve been evaluating CMS and blog tools that would help me to build and organize the new killersites.com – I’ve narrowed it down to WordPress or Drupal.
… Actually, I’ve decided (99% sure …) to go with WordPress for a few reasons.
Why WordPress:
- Wordpress is simple to install, configure and modify.
- Wordpress is object oriented.
- Wordpress has a huge community.
Finally, one major point is that Wordpress meets our needs. We will have perhaps only 5-6 contributers and so there was no need for a more complex/robust system like Drupal.
About Drupal:
Drupal is powerful and has a lot going for it … but too much for us. That said, it has a few things going against it:
- It is NOT object oriented.
- It is very close to a major new release, moving from 5.2 to 6.
- It is MUCH more work to configure than Wordpress.
If I had envisioned a much bigger project, then maybe I would have gone with Drupal.
… In the end, you ought to pay attention to today and the near future, and not worry about what may happen two years from now.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
September 16th, 2007 at 9:30 am
I would like to add some new information …
I have since done a lot more testing with Drupal and after about 1hr or so of messing around, I now have a much better understanding of it and got a lot done quickly.
.. I actually like the text editor better than Wordpress out of the box.
That said, there are some seemingly major difference and improvements between Drupal 5.2 and 6 to the extent that:
1. I would want to upgrade – version 6 looks to be much faster than Drupal 5.
2. I would be concerned about an upgrade … compatibility issues.
… I am seeing some some things being mentioned that would suggest to me, that the upgrade path from Drupal 5.2 to 6 could be bumpy.
September 26th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
For what it’s worth…
I just wanted to point out again the main issue comes down to – Wordpress vs. Drupal?
It is a valid question, no doubt.
And comparing Wordpress and Drupal is like comparing a volkswagen and a mercedes diesel. Both are German designed cars but operate completely different. And if you want to go even a step further, you throw in Joomla (Mambo) in there and that’s like adding an Volvo.
The difference between Joomla and Drupal, to me are huge. Apples and Pineapples. The principles on how they operate are completely different.
The installation, operation, the way they are supposed to work, their theory the way they work, the community that supports them, how you set them up, what they can do in the end, and most importantly, what’s under the hood, the engine (or code,) is night and day.
It doesn’t matter what you call it. Blog or CMS. They are both, really, a Content Management Solution actually. They both manage content. And they do this all with a database to go a step further. So really someone can do a blog with a CMS or and here’s the part where it get tricky, a CMS with a blog.
I’ll explain. In the beginning, WordPress was originally used and intended for really, if there is such a thing, a “blog.” But as WP caught on people realized it’s potential, ease of use and flexibility and have really figured out ways to extend it beyond it’s expectations. It really is a fantastic program and what people do with it is phenomenal. I am always amazed.
As a footnote: how many authors or people using the backend with these two solutions really doesn’t matter. It’s not even an issue, unless you need over 20 plus authors. Both solutions support multiple authors / admin.
But let’s stick to the original question. Wordpress vs. Drupal?
It is a valid question. Why? Simply because the Benefits of both solutions are great. And they are both viable solutions for a article based website.
The benefits of WordPress are:
Easy to use, Easy to set up, be up and running in minutes, great API, huge userbase, great flexibility, small learning curve (mostly.)
Now, no offense to die hard WordPress fans, I am amazed at what I see people do with WordPress. But really, if you have specific criteria or have specific requirements for you site then, in order to do it in WordPress you better be spending a lot of custom programming time. The drawback is at some point it does have limitations. What I mean is you wouldn’t try to build a “YouTube” site out of WordPress. I could be wrong. But I wouldn’t. It’s like trying to make a Ferrari out of a Volkswagen. That wasn’t it’s original intention.
On the other hand. Drupal is a bit more of a heavy weight. It was designed with community or user management in mind.
from your cell phone.
The benefits of Drupal are:
Great expansion and ability to grow.
Advanced user management.
Great SEO.
Ability to handle large amounts of data or (pages.)
Once set up, the ability to manage individual elements easily – Either singly or in groups.
Great permissions control
Advanced modules such as posting pictures and text (blogging,
The drawback is there is a learning curve and it does take longer to set up.
Also since each element is handled separately, ‘you’ have to group components together to make a ‘complete’ module feature upgrade (for example changing the way you upload photos or sending newsletters and adding features.) (By the way, in Joomla, for example, to add such features, it’s “packaged” so you just upload one file, with Drupal it’s a “group” of small files you micromanage. (but again more control.))
The point is this. Different solutions for different requirements.
If someone asked me to do a site and they wanted to do an online magazine type website I would do it with Drupal.
If someone asked me to do a site and they wanted a ‘blog’ type website, easy to use, and were on a budget, I would do it in WordPress.
If someone asked me to do a site and they were most concerned about SEO, I might do it in Drupal.
If someone asked me to do a site and they wanted an easy to set up, fully integrated solution with a basic ecart and a photo gallery on a budget I might do it in Joomla (a whole other article, don’t get me started.) This was WordPress vs. Drupal. Not Drupal vs. Joomla.
It’s true. Drupal does take more time to set up and learn.
WordPress and Drupal are completely different. And as another footnote, most good sites take time to Develop and Design, whether you use WordPress OR Drupal.
But clearly, if you want to manage content. And lot’s of it.
If you intend on traffic. If you want more advanced user features. If your mainstay of your content is articles and photos. If you want more control over your content. If you have maybe “outgrown” WordPress. And you want a system that you won’t outgrow for at least a few years.
Then Drupal is a good way to go.
It may be a pain at first but it’s worth the time.
Actually after you master it, to tell you the truth it’s not that difficult to be up and running with Drupal on a simple site in no time. It can be, like WordPress, used to do a simple brochure site or a highly advanced one. And yes. It will be a bit of work updating from Drupal 5.1 to 6. But it is “doable.” And what’s the rush? Drupal 5.1x is still a great stable running version.
BUT HERE IS WHY the WordPress vs. Drupal question is a good one. [?] You CAN build a article based website with either one. They both work well. They are BOTH good solutions for creating nice looking text and photos. Or ‘blog’ type websites. The truth and bottom-line is WordPress AND Drupal are BOTH great solutions for article publishing and content management. They publish content well, you can customize them, and both have great features for what they are.
They are both are good candidates to do what they are intended to do.
Deliver content.
What makes the question valid and at the same time so hard is WordPress is easy to use and has a lot of flexibility with a large userbase and has come a long way. It’s easy to get started and manage in the short term.
And, really, in the end, I suppose, the End User of your website doesn’t really care what you use to build your site. Most of them wouldn’t even know if you are using WordPress or Drupal. They probably don’t even care.
What they do care about is: The actual Content itself.
Whether the site is down And being able to FIND the Content or navigate correctly.
MAYBE, just maybe, having features such as being able to have a custom profile or make their own photo gallery or their own contact form.
What You care about as a site owner is being able to Manage your content. Probably lot’s of it. Other things also like anti-spam management and other cool things.
Drupal is an excellent CMS solution but is harder to set up / learn, but it’s worth it. It has more control, advanced features and is better for a larger site in the long term. If you plan on having a site “expand” you might want to go with Drupal.
September 27th, 2007 at 12:26 am
@Design Dog,
I appreciate the comment – lots to consider.
PS: you are almost making me reconsider Drupal! If that happened, I think the killersites team would have a heart attack!
Seriously, in my decision to go with WordPress, one major factor was that I was already on WordPress and had an established blog. Another point was that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to create a true social networking environment … beyond the forum and selected blog contributors.
That said, I figure that I would take it one step at a time and first get the blog up-to-date and then later revisit the social networking idea and Drupal 6.
Stefan
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:18 pm
You are correct in saying that Drupal has a lot to configure – I can’t make the comparison to WordPress becaues I have no experience with it. But think of this – what happens if you want to expand your site in the future – adding videos, pay pal, the list goes on… You have put a lot of time and effort into a WordPress site, but you can’t extend it further to meet your new needs. Now what? You can make the simplest site with a Drupal back end – take a look at mine – http://www.w3destinations.com No rocket science there. It was not really hard to figure out. I also cut my CSS teeth building this site. I bought some books, and posted a lot of questions in the forum, which was very helpful. BTW, the 2 sites in my portfolio are DotNetNuke based. I also upgraded from 4.x to 5.1 – no problem at all. New modules are supposed to be backwards compatible.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Comparing Wordpress and Drupal is a little bit silly in that they have been created with different objectives in mind. I did a lot of research before I chose a CMS, and based on the simplistic conclusions of your article, I would recommend that you stick to Wordpress because it is much simpler and will be easier for you to figure out, which appears to be what you are hoping for. Plus I think it’s cuter, but that probably doesn’t mean a lot to you. ;o) Thanks for all the newsletters- I read them most of the time and am happy to see you delving into CMS issues.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:53 pm
A very good CMS worth investigating is MODx – http://modxcms.com/
More akin to Joomla than Wordpress but better than either
WordPress is certainly a very good piece of software.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Thanks for the comments everyone.
Once the Drupal 6 final hits the Web, I will take another look for sure.
Stefan
October 4th, 2007 at 2:55 am
[...] Stefan Mischook been evaluating CMS and blog tools that would help him build and organize the new killersites.com. He narrowed it down to WordPress or Drupal. ..more [...]
October 31st, 2007 at 6:48 pm
To miss coffey,
What Wordpress was originally created to do is not as important as where it is today. The line between a true CMS like Drupal, and a blog like Wordpress, is becoming more and more blurred.
Wordpress has many CMS features and has become more than a simple blog.
Thanks for your input.
Stefan
November 8th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Wordpress vs Drupal comparisons are very valid given that Wordpress’ CMS capabilities and Drupal’s blogging features are growing and improving. We’ve added our own comparison piece explaining why we’re backing Drupal.
Drupal’s multisite capability would be perfect for running your family of ‘killer’ sites off a single code base, with single sign on, and all sorts of integration goodies.
For those who would like to take Drupal for a test drive, http://drupal.neemtree.com.au gives you a peek into using and administering Drupal.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
What is the status of Drupal 6 at this time?
… From what I understand Drupal 6 is a major update where a lot of the core code base has been modified or even changed completely.
November 10th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
For what my opinion is worth … I think going with WordPress is/was the best option. It’s leaner, meaner and should be able to do everything you need it do for killersites.com.
Now you just need to update the forum
November 10th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Hi Stefan: D6 is currently in Beta. The RC is expected to be released in early 2008. Your understanding regarding the update is correct, there are a few UI changes, but its mostly an under-the-hood overhaul.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Well, now that I have created a theme for a site I intended to use for a single blog site using Drupal, I’m considering switching to Word Press. One question – How is Spam controlled? It seems that anon users are free to post, and you don’t seem to be approved by a moderator.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Spam protection on Wordpress is excellent.
You can fine tune how comments are handled by the system and there is of course the Akismet plug-in that will take care of 98% of spam.
We have actually used akismet in other PHP projects to take care of the spam.
Stefan
March 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Just to let you know, Drupal 6 has been released. But – there always is a but… many useful modules have not been upgraded – apparently I was incorrect about backward compatibility.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I am curious to see what people say about Drupal 6 – will it be much better than 5?
Stef