Drupal VS Joomla: what is the better choice in 2022?
To start a successful website, you need a reliable content management system (CMS) to power it. Site security, web performance, loading speed, usability, customizability, and other vital features directly depend on the choice of CMS. However, Drupal and Joomla are standing on top.
Today Drupfan dives into the content management systems world to see what they can offer for a successful online business and high user satisfaction. Join our Joomla VS Drupal competition and see which platform wins.
Are Joomla and Drupal similar?
First and foremost, Drupal and Joomla belong to self-hosted content management systems. They are open-source PHP-based platforms that you can download and set up yourself.
Each CMS offers different functionality and design capabilities. The choice of the necessary platform will depend on your specific web development requirements.
Drupal was released in 2001 and has a good reputation among web developers. It powers 1 in 30 websites, such as NASA, Tesla, the University of Oxford, and more.
Joomla is the second most popular CMS (after WordPress). It powers 2.5+ million websites worldwide, including Nintendo, IKEA, Lipton Ice Tea, etc.
Although Drupal and Joomla share a lot of similar functionality, they are not meant for the same tasks and projects. Discover what these CMSs offer for web development in more detail
Drupal 9 VS Joomla security
In the competitive world of business, you can not afford your website to get down even for a short time. A safe site protects your data and the personal information of your customers. Website security is a number one concern of a successful digital presence.
When comparing Drupal and Joomla security, the second certainly wins. Numerous researches prove that Drupal has one of the lowest vulnerability percentages — 2%. This way, personal data and code are strongly protected from spam, hackers, and crawling. Besides, the Drupal community provides detailed security advisories and reports regularly. It helps to increase website security even further and makes Drupal a top-notch enterprise-level platform.
On the contract, Joomla is more vulnerable to hacker injections. The Joomla community is not as large as the Drupal community, so there is less concern about security updates and bug fixing
Joomla VS Drupal for eCommerce
Choosing the right platform for your eCommerce business is not easy. There are many things to consider, from functionality and design to price. Both Joomla and Drupal made it into the top five most popular content management systems. Let’s see if Drupal is better for eCommerce than Joomla, as well as compare their pros and cons.
Joomla is an easy-to-install platform that offers an intuitive interface for content management. This CMS supports extensive media files and might be used for eCommerce development. The main drawback is that Joomla does not natively support eCommerce and might lack flexibility and functionality.
Drupal commerce is an add-on module created for eCommerce. It is an open-source headless eCommerce solution for your online store.
Drupal commerce pros
- Flexible customization
- Super high speed
- Interactive features
- Multi-language support
- Third-party payment integrations: PayU, PayPal, etc.
Drupal commerce cons
- Advanced technical skills
- Limited documentation
Joomla commerce pros
- Easy installation
- Easy content management for beginners
- Backup extension
- Free eCommerce templates with good-looking designs
Joomla commerce cons
- Not many extensions support eCommerce
- Adjustment options are limited
- No deep customization
In this battle of Drupal VS Joomla eCommerce, we choose Drupal. Its powerful commerce module is designed specifically for online store development. Although it might seem more technical and complicated to you, Drupfan team of in-house professionals can deal with eCommerce projects of any scale and complexity.
Drupal VS Joomla ease of use
Joomla is a very easy-to-use content management system created for non-technical users. This CMS provides a built-in toolbox for module creation.
Drupal is a tech-oriented platform used for complex and enterprise-level projects. Drupal possesses a great user interface (UI) design. The web pages can be created with the help of blocks and views
Drupal and Joomla Advantages and disadvantages
Let’s highlight the key Joomla VS Drupal development pros and cons.
Drupal Advantages
- Perfect for complex enterprise-level projects.
- The strong community contributes to Drupal support & security regularly.
- Regular core & module updates and advisories.
- High level of security.
- Advanced SEO settings.
- Mobile-friendly design.
Drupal Disadvantages
- Requires coding skills.
- More complex to set up than other content management systems.
Joomla Advantages
- Easy and intuitive installation process
- No coding skills required for content management.
- Offers extensions for additional functionality.
- Out-of-the-box search engine optimization.
Joomla Disadvantages
- Low compatibility.
- Customization is not flexible.
- High vulnerability risks.
- Not many extensions are available.
Open-source CMS comparison
Joomla and Drupal are not the only powerful CMSs existing. Besides them, the most popular platforms around the globe are WordPress, Blogger, Django, Squarespace, Wix, and MODX. Let’s see what these systems offer and how they differ from Drupal and Joomla.
WordPress VS Joomla VS Drupal
What is similar between Drupal VS Joomla VS WordPress 2022? They are open-source content management systems written in PHP. They all support MySQL databases. WP, Joomla, and Drupal have add-on modules, extensions, or plugins for extending the website’s functionality. If talking about technical capabilities, Joomla is in the middle between WordPress and Drupal. You already know the difference between Drupal 9 VS Joomla. But what about WP?
WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world. It is not as technical as Joomla but has a more intuitive design and navigation menu. This way, WP beats other platforms in terms of ease of use, numerous plugins & themes, and a quick installation process. However, WordPress can’t be used for complex web development projects that require high customization. That’s where Drupal wins again.
Have a quick look at our Drupal VS Joomla VS WordPress comparison chart from Drupfan
| Drupal | WordPress | Joomla | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 |
| Developer | Dries Buytaert | Matt Mullenweg | Mambo Company |
| User-friendliness | Needs basic coding skills | No coding skills required | Moderate |
| Required memory to run CMS | 32 MB | 60 MB | 256 MB |
| Multi-language support | Yes | Not straightaway | Yes |
| Ideally suitable for | Enterprise Level Systems & Intranet Applications | Informative Websites or eCommerce stores | Online Forums & Extensive Product Catalogues |
| Security | Excellent | Good | Fair |
| Scalability | Moderate | High | Low |
| Performance | Quick and Fast | Can handle low traffic well | Manageable |
| SEO | Good SEO | Excellent SEO | Basic SEO |
| Companies using CMS | Tesla, Oxford University, McDonald's Australia, Harvard University | Time Magazine, CNN Press Room, Sony Music, PlayStation blog | Holiday Inn, LINUX, Lipton Ice Tea, ITWire |
What about Drupal VS WordPress VS Joomla costs? Both CMSs are free to install and use. However, additional extensions for Joomla cost some money, while Drupal modules are free. You also pay for web development services. For example, the minimal custom website on Drupal from our Drupfan web agency will take up to 6 weeks to build.
Joomla VS Magento VS Drupal for eCommerce
We have already talked about Drupal VS Joomla commerce. You already know that Drupal is a more suitable solution. But what about Magento?
Magento is an open-source platform that can only be used for eCommerce of any size. It easily integrates with third-party sites and shipping services. Unlike Drupal and Joomla, the Magento platform was specifically built for online store development. The Drupal VS Joomla VS Magento percent usage (of all websites) looks like this:
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Drupfan recommends choosing Magento if you want to add eCommerce functionality to your existing website. However, if you create everything from scratch, Drupal is your best bet
Drupal VS Joomla VS WordPress VS Blogger
The name speaks for itself: Blogger CMS can only be used for blog creation. Blogger is a free, fast, and easy publishing platform for people with no coding knowledge. Create a personal or professional blog in one click.
If you need additional features and functionality on your blog website, consider the choice of Drupal, WordPress, or Joomla instead
Drupal VS Joomla VS Django
Django is the least popular CMS among these three competitors. Unlike Drupal and Joomla which are written in PHP, Django uses Python instead. Talking about security, we would place Django higher compared to Joomla but it is still less safe than Drupal. Although Django doesn’t have scheduled security release updates like Drupal, the community around the world contributes to its security cycle regularly.
Joomla VS Drupal VS WordPress VS Squarespace
Squarespace is another powerful CMS. On the contrary Joomla, WP, and Drupal, Squarespace is not free. Web hosting and the entire structure will cost you $12-$46 / month. It has very limited development and design capabilities. If easy setup and maintenance are a priority for you, Squarespace might be a good option.
WordPress VS Joomla VS Drupal VS Wix
Unlike Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress, Wix is not a content management system. It is a SAAS website building platform with limited tools where you do not own any data. In Wix, you only pay for your website to be displayed. While WP and Drupal are suitable for complex business websites with a lot of data and content, Wix can be used for small personal websites, preferably blogs.
Drupal VS Joomla VS WordPress VS MODX
MODX is a custom CMS platform developed with flexibility in mind. The main difference between MODX and Drupal, WP, and Joomla is that these three systems offer more ready-to-use digital solutions, while MODX needs extra development. MODX offers less functionality and a more straightforward design.
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