How to choose between Joomla, WordPress, and Drupal?

Choosing the perfect platform to create a website even in today’s time is a tricky thing. No? There are so many options available like Joomla, Drupal, ExpressionEngine, Textpattern, WordPress, and so on. How to choose between Joomla, WordPress, and Drupal?

Some people STILL use the age-old perfect solution HTML. Yes, you can still use it to create amazing websites, but the scope is limited and also it is time-consuming in the long run. Why? Let me tell you all about it.

Why and When to choose HTML?

HTML has always been a great platform to create an amazing website. It is easy to learn and it is also comparatively easier to create your desired layout.

Also, you can get hundreds of free templates or buy them if you want, and then open your favorite software (Dreamweaver, Frontpage, etc) and do the editing, etc as you like and according to your requirements. But there is a catch.

Every time you want to update anything you need to first make the changes to the site you created (offline) and then upload it back to the server so as to make it live using FTP software. A lengthy process no doubt.

Also if you want to add more pages to the site then you have to manually code the menus, pull-down menus, and link them on all the pages – All by yourself.

It’s tiring… really frustrating. And if you choose to get a new design for your site say after a year or so, then you will have to create a new site all over again. It’s too much work and also the links change which decreases your search engine rankings, linking, etc too.

But then why to choose an HTML website – I strongly recommend anyone who wants a smaller website or a one-page website, say for example a company website, which will be rarely updated.

In such a case an HTML website is a better choice as it will save you a great time as you don’t have to set up the database, install a CMS, install a theme, make changes, set up the site, and more. Also, you will save money because you don’t have to pay much to the designer if you are not doing the site work yourself.

Why and When to choose a CMS?

If you are planning a website or a blog where there will be regular updates and you will be having a lot of posts/pages then you certainly need a CMS – Content Management System.

This will make it very easy for you to create a website and work on it. You can choose from hundreds of free themes available for the CMS of your choice.

Additionally, you can extend the functionality with so many plugins available. For example, if you need Social Bookmarking then you can install a plugin it will help you achieve the functionality in no time. Doing so for an HTML site is time-consuming.

You can simply log in to your administrator account and then create posts and more. It’s basically an easy way to do things which generally takes a lot of time and effort.

Which CMS to choose?

As I said earlier there are many CMS available today. Drupal, Joomla, WordPress, and so many others. Basically, the functionality of all of them is almost the same.

But CMS like Drupal is difficult to set up and use. Trust me! But it is powerful software. Joomla too is very good software. I personally have used it for a couple of years. You get so many beautiful themes and an extensive range of plugins and modules to use with Joomla.

Drupal and Joomla need a lot of server resources as they are coded mainly for high-end servers and dedicated servers. Especially Drupal.

WordPress, on the other hand, is well-made software. Clean, fast, elegant, beautiful, and very much functional. And more importantly, it requires lesser resources to run properly and smoothly. It works perfectly fine on shared hosting too.

You can find a HUGE collection of free themes and plugins for WordPress. Also, there are dedicated marketplaces available to buy outstanding themes, plugins, and more to extend the functionality. In short, I can say that the possibilities are endless with WordPress.

I have been using WordPress for many years now. And right now you will find it on all the websites that I personally own and also on the websites that belong to my clients. Uncle Teddy is also on WordPress.

Creating a website with WordPress is also easy and you can do wonders in no time at all. Some theme developers also create ‘quickstarts’ which download the demo site to your server so that you don’t have to set up all the things all by yourself. This helps a great deal.

Choosing a CMS like WordPress also helps you to create a website that you can always keep fresh by posting new articles and more whenever you like. You can also allow other people to signup and make posts too if you like. You can also create Social Networks too using plugins like BuddyPress. As I said, Possibilities are Endless with WordPress.

WordPress originally started as a Blogging platform. But since it is beautiful software, developers extended its functionality and now full-fledged websites for any genre can be easily created. These websites are so powerful that you can see almost everybody using WordPress as the basic software for their websites.

I strongly recommend WordPress to everyone who wants to start a blog or a Website as its the BEST CMS available today. And I don’t have any second thoughts regarding this.