Open Source Content Management System: Joomla or Drupal?

It’s a classic juxtapose: two software programs that are designed to accomplish the same task but have been created from separate mindsets and take divergent paths in getting to the same place.

Multi-tier Software.  Open Source Content Management Systems have several levels: entry level or very basic, mid-level, and high-level or enterprise class.  The two entries we are examining are in the mid-level range: Joomla and Drupal.

These products are designed for those who require more robust management of their content.  But that comes with a price which is evident first of all in the complexity of the programs and the amount of learning that is required to gain a strong grasp on how to use them.  These are anything but a quick ‘out-of-the-box’ install and go solution.

Beyond that, the two programs share the ability to tackle the serving of hundreds of pages from a single database (MySQL).  Not only that, the content is contained separately from the actual pages thereby making it reusable as a whole or in parts.  The caveat here is that the flexibility also adds complexity.

Not to be ignored is the rigorous user security interface owned by both.  From which, users can be granted different levels of functional access to the program’s features.

The Differences.  Mentioned earlier is the fact that these two programs were created from two different perspectives.

• Joomla developers took the ‘high-level-looking-down’ approach.  If it is complicated web page layouts you seek, then this software is for you.  Because this complexity was a primary factor in the development of the software, you will find features such as the ability to place text in over 10 different places on the page.  Also, these pages can be unique.  The ‘downside’ is that the HTML that is generated is bloated.  This forces many server calls which hammers bandwidth.  The other serious issue is that the pages are not optimized for maximum search engine support.  Frustrating.

However, having said that, the software has a certain amount of elegance to it and it works surprisingly well.  Also, one of the benefits of its dedicated user group is that there are a lot of add-ons and plug-ins that push the abilities of the software to greater levels.  There are many third-party templates that raise the prospects of creating pages that make for easy integration into your web site.

Drupal is the opposite twin of the two products.  Built from the bottom-up, it contains a much better programming base and so is not sluggish.  Functionality is king and it shows in the software code which is exceptionally clean.  Because of this, if search engine friendliness is necessary, you will get it with this package.

It appears that a group of artists and end users built the interface, rather than programming geeks.  Upon using the software, one will get the idea that the software was designed to serve the ideas that are the core of creating good web sites, rather than the ideas becoming slave to the code.

There is also a strong community of users and developers who keep the software in contention for being the best available in its class.

The Finish Line.  Like many open-source software offerings, these too suffer from the lack of a commercial grade documentation module.  However, it might not be needed with the vast array of users and forums from which to obtain assistance.

And, unless you are extremely familiar with web design and know HTML and CSS very well, either of these choices will be a challenge to learn and master.  This is not the kind of software that you can buy on Friday and over the weekend become proficient enough in its use to begin using on Monday.

Bottom line, both of these perform equally well and the parts that are not as attractive are balanced between the two.  Drupal does get a slight nod towards being a better choice simply because it is more SEO friendly.  And with the emphasis on that is placed upon that specific technology, one would find it easy to lean that way.

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