There is a great trend of people developing their website either for personal or professional requirement. CMS (Content Management System) is the best option for people looking to build powerful websites with least efforts, without much technological requirement. Some of the best CMS which are most popular too are WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and others include OCportal ( composr re-branded to ocportal ), Moodle, php-Nuke, Prestashop, WebGUI, Mambo, Magento etc, there is a long list.
WordPress, Joomla, Drupal being the most popular are leaders in open source cms. One can start using any of them without looking and researching others. One of the most important feature of these CMS is that they are Free to use, customize as per requirement. Here I will try to compare these three which might be helpful for you to select one.
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Let review each of them again individually.
WordPress
From above WordPress is absolute winner being used by over 50% CMS users. Over 100 million users are already using it. It can be used to create small-medium size website or a blog. This is no doubt the best blogging platform and using the plugins you can extend its feature to be used in various other websites.
Some of the features which made it so popular
1. Easy to install and use – WordPress is the easiest CMS to install and use and to maintain.
2. Support – There is huge support from the developers, fellow users and the community.
3. Large database of plugins – WordPress plugins are used to further extend the features of of WordPress. There is extensive number of plugins available and new plugins are being developed everyday.
4. Customization – WordPress templates are greatly customizable and using the plugins you can customize the features as per your requirement.
5. SEO aspect – The most important feature of WordPress is is its SEO aspect.
But it may not be the best for most users. For users looking for highly advanced and powerful websites should not opt WordPress. It is best for beginners. I am also using wordpress for this blog.
Joomla
The 2nd most used CMS is Joomla due to its highly customizable feature. Like plugins extend the features of WordPress, we can extend Joomla using Components, modules and plugins. Another good aspect of joomla is that it runs smoothly on most server configuration. The code structure or framework followed by Joomla is absolutely better than WordPress. Small to large websites or even portals can be developed using Joomla. I myself have developed several big e-commerce, social networking, large corporate house’s websites.
Some of its great features are
1. Support – The community support of Joomla is No. 1. It is backed by a huge community of developers, users and volunteers.
2. Highly Customizable – It is highly customizable with respect of themes and features. You can extend it to a portal to include every feature in same website.
3. Somewhat Easy to install and maintain – Joomla is also easy to install and maintain. A small website doesn’t require much technical skills to maintain it. You can add content in the same way you add to WordPress.
4. Regular updates and fixes – Joomla is being updated regularly and patches for fixes are release regularly whenever they find some issue. These updates are also easy to install by just one click.
If you ask me, I will suggest Joomla to most users as I have been working on joomla since 7-8 years and I know how powerful it is and what it can do. It is combination of power and ease of use.
Drupal
The Drupal is highly powerful and advanced CMS. Large corporates websites, portals are being developed using drupal. You must have the technical knowledge to maintain it.
Some of its features
1. Powerful, Robust and Advanced – Is powerful and advanced and hence choice of large companies. It is being developed by drupal experts.
2. Customization – Drupal is also highly customizable but you will require some technical skill. If you have the skill then it is super flexible.
3. Security – Drupal is tested for strict security rules by drupal expert. Website developed in drupal are highly secure.
Drupal should not be used when
1. Little technical knowledge – You don’t have much technical knowledge.
2. Should not be used when you have least time to educate about the system.
3. Finding a drupal developer is harder.
To conclude, I must say the most popular ones may not be the best CMS. In fact there is no such best CMS and there can never be. Each have their own Pros and Cons. The best fit for me may not for you too.