Drupal is a content management framework written in PHP. It is built on an open-source platform, is free to use and is powered by an active open source community.
Drupal is touted by many people as a CMS (Content Management System), but it’s actually a powerful enterprise level content management framework. A content management framework is a library that makes it possible to develop a web application using pre-written code — whereas a CMS is a web application for managing content that is built on top of an underlying framework.
Drupal is well-suited for complex, content heavy and high traffic websites, as well as those with large resource libraries and databases. What set’s Drupal apart is it’s flexibility and modularity. It is very versatile and highly scalable and has been used to build some of the biggest websites in the world. Sites like london.gov.uk, the Louvre Museum, Tesla, and the Government of France. Infact, Drupal is the preferred choice for government agencies, large associations, non-profits, and many fortune 500 companies.
Drupal also has one of the best security teams available, and when implemented correctly and maintained properly, it has proven to be a secure open source CMS with framework applications.
Drupal shines when it comes to different levels of user access. There is almost an infinite amount of levels of access that can be created, and the user(s) that have access to change the access levels have very detailed abilities to limit user access. It also tends to be a better platform for very high traffic websites.
Drupal is very versatile and can be used for virtually any web-based project – BUT, development time and costs do tend to be higher as Drupal tends to be a more specialized skill, with less pre-built options. Compared to a CMS like WordPress, there are less “plug-in’s” (Drupal calls them modules), and pre-built themes. As well, there is a learning curve for new users, although it is not as intensive as it once was.
If you’re deciding on WordPress vs Drupal, you should consider the extra cost. With the Drupal site coming in a fair bit higher at an estimated $50 – $75k for medium-sized websites and $75 – $500k+ for large sized websites. But with this comes extra depth and power that WordPress doesn’t have that many large businesses need in a professional site.
If you want more information on Drupal Development, please contact us at 905-852-2615