Devit!

Drupal and Wordpress are two essential tools in any web developer’s backpack. Both open source content management systems allow the developer to rapidly design and build fully functional websites, however each has its own benefits for you and your client. Here are six questions to consider when deciding which one to use for a project.

1. Is it a Brochure Website?

If so, consider Wordpress. This popular blogging software makes it very easy to rapidly build a site with mostly static content. Keeping a blog on your brochure website can help with search engine optimization and keep the visitor traffic flowing.

2. How many content types will there be?

If there will be multiple content types (for example, “blog”, “page”, “event”, “job posting”, “store location”) then consider Drupal. When paired up with CCK and Views, Drupal can handle any content type requirements you throw at it. On its own, Wordpress can only deal with two content types – “page” and “blog post”.

3. How Technically Savvy is your Client?

For “out of the box” user-friendliness, Wordpress surpasses Drupal by leaps and bounds. If your client tends to be afraid of anything that isn’t email or sudoku, put them at ease with Wordpress’s intuitive layout. That said, we are excitedly waiting to see what Drupal 7 will have to offer in this area.

4. Will there be a shopping cart?

If you have one or two products that are unlikely to change, you are safe with Wordpress and PayPal’s shopping cart links. If your project will have an online store with variable products (where “products” is a content type), go with Drupal and Ubercart. Ubercart is a very customizable e-commerce module that has excellent documentation and a great community.

5. Is the website likely to grow?

If your client’s budget can only support a simple brochure website and blog, but they plan for their site to eventually become the next Facebook, consider Drupal. Drupal makes it easy to add functionality to an existing website.

6. What’s the client’s budget? Or, How much time do I have?

If you need to have this website done by Friday, Wordpress is your friend. Wordpress makes it very, very easy to go from HTML template to Wordpress Theme in a couple of hours.

Asking yourself these six simple questions will help you decide on Drupal or Wordpress for your next project. How do you decide on which CMS to use for a project? Let us know in the comments.

gavinblair

As someone who loves to help others, Gavin is not easily ruffled. Poorly designed software is one of his few pet peeves, and we can count on Gavin to find solutions and make improvements in all kinds of applications. In his own words, he likes to "fight the good fight for quality code." He loves food and finding adventure in the kitchen, cooking with his wife. On one occasion, the combination of a white-hot skillet and no ventilation led to so much smoke they had to stop, drop and roll - but did end up eating "the best blackened catfish po'boy you can imagine."

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 11:38 am and is filed under Devit!, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.