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WORDPRESS VS JOOMLA VS DRUPAL VS MAGENTO: WHICH IS THE BEST OPTION FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

WordPress vs Drupal vs Joomla vs Magento

Your business requires a new website but, before you take the plunge and choose a developer, you need to understand a bit more about the content management systems (CMS) on offer.

Considering WordPress vs Joomla, Drupal or Magento may seem like a daunting task but we have done the hard work for you. If you are struggling to sift out the key information when it comes to comparing WordPress vs Joomla, WordPress vs Drupal and WordPress vs Magento, read on.

Content Management Systems – Key Terms

Comparisons between WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Magento often use a lot of technical language. Before we go into more detail about these 4 key content management systems, we have a brief explanation of a few key terms and how they relate to our four content management systems for you:

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WordPress vs Drupal vs Joomla vs Magento

 

CMS – Content Management System

A CMS (content management system) is a user-friendly computer program that allows a user to create and update a website without computer coding skills.

WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Magento are all content management systems but Magento’s main focus is on ecommerce.

Open Source

The term ‘open source software’ describes computer programs that have been written for anyone to use. Using open source programs can keep development and maintenance costs down as, at their most basic level, they are free.

WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Magento are all based on open source software.

Ecommerce

If you are planning to sell either physical (e.g. clothing) or non-physical (e.g. e-books) products online you will be engaging in ecommerce. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Magento offer different levels of ecommerce capability. Magento is a specific ecommerce platform.

Hosting

Web hosting is the service that will allow you to share your website via the World Wide Web. Your web developer will set up your web hosting before your site is developed. Once your hosting is set up, the ideal installation would be a single click. Not all hosting services provide this option.

– Single click installation WordPress vs Joomla – there are considerably more hosting providers that facilitate single click installation for WordPress than for Joomla

– Single click installation WordPress vs Drupal – single click installation is facilitated by most hosting providers for both Drupal and WordPress but it is easier to find for WordPress because of its popularity.

– Single click installation WordPress vs Magento – Magento requires a dedicated and specialist server, making setup more expensive and technical.

Database Management

A database management system (DBMS) allows users to create, retrieve and manage data. The MySQL DBMS is one of the most commonly used open source database software.

WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Magento all support MySQL.

Joomla and Drupal also support other database management systems.

Scalability

Scalability is the ability of a system to expand in order to meet growing demand. In business terms, if you are expecting rapid growth, you need a CMS that will allow your website to grow at a similar pace.

Scalability WordPress vs Joomla

– both WordPress and Joomla are scalable but may present future limitations for extremely large organisations.

Scalability WordPress vs Drupal

– Drupal’s modular system gives it the performance edge but both are scalable.

Scalability WordPress vs Magento

– Magento and WordPress are both scalable to a certain level but Magento can handle large-scale, sophisticated online stores.

Themes

A theme determines how your website will look. The use of themes ensures style and branding continuity across your website. Some themes are provided free, some can be bought off the peg and bespoke themes can be developed specifically for your site.

Availability Of Themes WordPress vs Joomla

– both have huge numbers of ready-made themes available but WordPress themes will be more customisable to your requirements and WordPress make it easier to search for a theme to suit your needs.

Availability Of Themes WordPress vs Drupal

– Although WordPress and Drupal are supported by large numbers of ready-made themes Drupal’s technical architecture allows for less flexibility when it comes to theme customisation.

Availability Of Themes WordPress vs Magento

– Magento doesn’t provide many pre-made themes. Third party themes are available and highly customisable but can often be quite expensive.

Plugins

Plugins are small pieces of code that offer a means of changing the functionality of your website. There is no coding requirement to adding a basic plugin but some plugins are customisable.

Availability Of Plugins – WordPress vs Joomla

– there are over 58,000 WordPress plugins (December 2020). Joomla offers extensions but these are not so plentiful and finding the right one can be tricky.

Availability Of Plugins – WordPress vs Drupal

– Drupal’s modules are the equivalent to the WordPress plugins but Drupal offers a far smaller selection, which can be tricky to find.

Availability Of Plugins – WordPress vs Magento

– Magento extensions have been developed to enhance their ecommerce solutions.

Localisation

The term ‘localisation’ encompasses all of the adaptations required to make a website suitable to different local languages and cultures. This includes the translation of text and image captions, an adaption to different cultural preferences, currency formats and date formats. If you run or want to expand into an international business, localisation will be important to you.

Multilingual Support – WordPress vs Joomla

– WordPress and Joomla both support multilingual sites via plugins.

Multilingual Support – WordPress vs Drupal

– WordPress and Drupal have different approaches to multilingual sites. Drupal does it straight from the box, whereas WordPress requires the installation of plugins.

Multilingual Support – WordPress vs Magento

– Magento also offers the ecommerce ability to deal with different currencies; As mentioned, WordPress offers this through plugins.

Security

All websites on the internet are vulnerable to security threats. Not only can security breaches cause costly damage and downtime, it is the responsibility of any organisation to protect, under the GDPR (effective May 2018), to protect the personal data of its customers and employees.

Security WordPress vs Joomla

– WordPress and Joomla both offer excellent security protection but Joomla’s security updates are not automatic.

Security WordPress vs Drupal

– WordPress is built on extremely secure code and responds quickly to threats. WordPress sites can be enabled to automatically update as security patches become available. Drupal offers a similar level of security but without automatic updates.

Security WordPress vs Magento

– Magento’s security protection isn’t inferior to that of WordPress but its lack of automatic updates for security patches may prove to be an issue.

Popularity – WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Magento

In the world of content management systems, popularity isn’t just about how many developers choose to work with each system. With open source software, popularity also influences the numbers of themes and plugins available as well as the presence of a supportive and innovative online community.

When you look at WordPress vs Joomla vs Drupal vs Magento, WordPress is by far the most popular CMS. Here are a few key details that might explain why:

– Most popular (number of downloads) – WordPress

– Largest number of free themes – WordPress

– Largest number of free plugins – WordPress

– Quickest installation time – WordPress

– Easiest to understand – WordPress

– Most frequent updates – Joomla

– Most popular for beginners – WordPress

– Most powerful – Drupal

– Most popular for bloggers – WordPress

– Most popular for ecommerce – Magento

Simplicity Of Use – WordPress, Joomla, Drupal And Magento

Even if you are not creating your own website, simplicity of use is important for two reasons. Firstly simplicity of use will mean that your website set up will be quicker, and therefore less costly. Secondly, the more intuitive a CMS is, the less training your staff will need to manage it.

Simplicity Of Use – WordPress Vs Joomla

– The WordPress user interface is simple, clean cut and easy enough for even a beginner to work out. Joomla have put a focus on extensive menu options to the detriment of simplicity.

Simplicity Of Use – WordPress vs Drupal

– Adding content to the Drupal interface is as easy as it is in WordPress but the similarity ends there, anything not directly connected with content is far more complicated in Drupal.

Simplicity Of Use – WordPress vs Magento

– Magento can be expensive at setup because it requires a very specific set of developer skills. Magento can also be difficult to manage for those without a certain level of technical knowledge. The WordPress ecommerce solutions such as WooCommerce present a more familiar user interface.

Benefits And Drawbacks – WordPress, Joomla, Drupal And Magento

WordPress Benefits

– WordPress is the most popular CMS

– WordPress offers the best selection of themes and plugins

– WordPress offers ecommerce options for small to medium-sized businesses

– WordPress offers quick and often one-click installation

– WordPress is compatible with the MySQL database management system

– Word Press is scalable as a business grows

– Word Press offers multilingual options through plugins

– Word Press is built on secure code

– WordPress runs automatic security updates

– WordPress has a simple user interface – minimal technical knowledge needed

– WordPress offers excellent support with an active and helpful user community

Here is some additional information about the benefits of WordPress compared to the rest.

WordPress Drawbacks

WordPress has related ecommerce options that may not be robust enough for extremely large organisations

WordPress adds plugins to all pages, which may eventually slow down very large sites in comparison to Drupal.

Joomla Benefits

– Joomla is the second most popular CMS (after WordPress)

– Joomla offers a selection of themes and extensions (plugins)

– Joomla offers ecommerce options for small to medium-sized businesses

– Joomla allows for quick and often one-click installation

– Joomla is compatible with the MySQL database management system

– Joomla offers multilingual options through extensions

– Joomla has a reasonably simple user interface – some technical knowledge may be needed

– Joomla offers ecommerce solutions for small to medium-sized businesses

Joomla Drawbacks

– Joomla has lower quality themes and extensions (plugins) than WordPress

– Joomla does not allow for themes and extensions to be searched from the admin panel

– Joomla does not have an auto update system for vital security updates

– Joomla has a slightly smaller support and help community than WordPress

Drupal Benefits

– Drupal is the third most popular CMS (after WordPress and Joomla)

– Drupal is the most technically advanced and powerful CMS

– Drupal scales up well to handle large amounts of data and traffic

– Drupal may offer faster page load without plugins

– Drupal offers a selection of themes and plugins

– Drupal is compatible with the MySQL database management system

– Drupal offers built in multilingual options

– Drupal has a similar level of security to WordPress

– Drupal offers ecommerce solutions suitable for larger organisations

Drupal Drawbacks

– Finding technical help for the less popular, Drupal CMS can be expensive

– Drupal has lower quality themes and extensions (plugins) than WordPress

– Themes and extensions for Drupal cannot be searched from the admin panel

– Drupal has a slightly smaller support and help community than WordPress

– Drupal does not have an auto update system for vital security updates

– Drupal has a complicated user interface that requires technical knowledge

Magento Benefits

– Magento is a CMS software dedicated to ecommerce

– Magento creates user-attractive online stores

– Magento is a robust and powerful platform

– Magento is an excellent ecommerce solution for medium to large businesses

– Once setup, product additions to Magento are reasonably easy

– Magento offers a great range of marketing features and SEO tools

Magento Drawbacks

– Magento presents serious challenges to those with little technical experience

– Finding technical help for this niche CMS can be expensive

– Magento is often too expensive for smaller businesses to maintain

– Magento has very few free themes, some can be expensive

Which Is The Best Option For My Business? Joomla vs WordPress

On the face of it there is little to choose between WordPress and Joomla. Both platforms are currently at the top of their game and both offer a highly customisable CMS that is best suited to small or medium sized businesses. However WordPress, because of its popularity, is the winner when it comes to support structure, ease of use, quality of themes and plugins and development potential.

Which Is The Best Option For My Business? WordPress Vs Drupal

Whilst WordPress, with its huge international community of developers and supporters and its easy-to-use systems, is a clear winner for its ability to meet the needs of any number of businesses and organisations, Drupal does offer a more powerful system that is particularly suited to the requirements of larger organisations.

With power however comes complication and any businesses considering investing in a Drupal site should be aware of the additional costs of upskilling staff and hiring technical expertise when the site needs to be updated.

Which Is The Best Option For My Business? WordPress Vs Magento

Magento is an ecommerce solution and should be compared, not to WordPress itself but to one of the ecommerce solutions that have been built to compliment this CMS giant. WooCommerce would be the most popular of these.

Both WooCommerce and Magento have dedicated support and development communities and both allow for the uploading of an infinite number of products to an ecommerce store.

If you are used to the WordPress CMS, managing your store through WooCommerce will seem easy because it works along similar lines. On the other hand, Magento will require you to learn your way around its, admittedly friendly user interface. The same applies to setup and ongoing development, Magento is likely to cost you more than WordPress, simply because there are more WordPress developers out there.

If you opt for Magento you will also have to put a bit more consideration, and money, into your hosting solution. That said, if you are a super large business running a hefty online store and are willing to invest to achieve a weighty solution, Magento might be the right choice for you. Consider carefully.

Whatever your website needs you can see from the above that it is all made a lot easier when you consult the experts. Call us now for a free website audit.

Shane McEvoy is a seasoned SEO and inbound marketing expert with nearly 30 years of experience in advertising. He established Flycast Media, a specialist B2B digital agency, and is a published author of two well-received guides while contributing to several industry publications - read his complete profile here.

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