Joomla
Thumbs up:
- Easy deployment
- More intuitive administration user interface
- Editing content is simple
- Lots of polished modules for things like calendars, polls, etc.
- Easy addition of modules
- Versioning is available
- Large community of developers (more than Drupal) for helping with setup and development
- Multi-lingual
Thumbs down:
- 1 installation of the software gives you 1 website
- Categories can only go two levels deep
- Limited roles and permission allowances
- Modules cost you money
- URLs are not search engine friendly (there is a purchaseable module)
- Out-of-the-box blogging functionality is mediocre
Overall, I find that Joomla is an excellent CMS for basic to complex websites. The blogging feature is not highly developed, nor is the capacity to multi-purpose your content in different areas of the site due to the rigid filing structure it requires. It has a large user base where the websites seem to be more personal, small business, and non-community-building sites. This last point isn’t a cut against Joomla, but only serves to show that it’s mostly being used as a CMS and not for building a participative website.
The modules were well designed and integrated nicely with the system. My only problem came when I wanted to update a module. The upgrade made my application fail and all attempts to revert back to the previous module were stymied. It also bugged me that essential modules like the search engine friendly feature had to be purchased.
Drupal
Thumbs up:
- Easy deployment
- Editing tabs integrated into actual pages
- Editing content is simple as well
- Very flexible in its configuration
- Modules are plentiful, free, and suitable for non-profits
- Versioning is available
- Many high profile sites use Drupal (e.g.: MTV UK, BBC, the Onion, Nasa, Greenpeace UK, Kleercut )
- Multiple levels of categories allowed along with easily integrated tagging system
- Human readable URLs which are search engine friendly
- 1 installation allows you to create and manage mulitiple websites (very handy when creating campaign sites)
- Highly configurable user permissions handling
Thumbs down:
- Administration area is clunky, but it’s getting better with each version
- Terminology in the administration can be cryptic
- Adding a visual theme to Drupal can be time consuming
- Support for the free modules can be frustrating
Overall, I find Drupal an excellent CMS for organizations looking for a community building CMS. I found some very high profile organizations using Drupal, plus I liked the flexibility of categorizing your pages whereever and being able to fine tune the permissions for each role (i.e.: Administrator, Editor, Contributor, Authenticated user, and Anonymous).
Many non-profit organizations and developers are working on and adding to the modules which are free. Yes, they’re free, but not without a cost; I loaded a module and needed support in getting it configured. I tapped into the user group for this module and after a few days got the answer. I can’t comment on how responsive the Joomla development community is, but this point is probably a matter of using an open source product rather than a matter of using Drupal.
So, which CMS will I take side with? The answer is that each have their own advantages depending on the type of site you’re building. If it’s a community building site where you want more participative tools integrated, then it’s Drupal. If your organization is looking for a CMS to merely manage the pages and content on your website, I’d suggest Joomla.
Credits go to Communicopia for the comparison.
Related Reading:
ESN
I've used and developed for both CMS and I'd choose Drupal any day for big portal/community sites. However, if a client wants a small website with a simple CMS just to manage pages/content, I'd use WordPress.
Matt from JoomlaWebsiteDesign
Interesting Article. Haven't had much to do with Drupal. Will check it out now though. Would you say it is more for corporate level websites? Or doesn't matter.
Roland Benedetti
Is the choice only between Joomla and Drupal ?
Certainly not …
Ruben
Twitter: ourbloglog
The choices I am choosing to discuss are Joomla and Drupal just because they are the most competitive in nature.
inicius from VCamara
Sorry but is spent time discuss between Joomla Versus Drupal. The choosen one is WordPress.
Ruben
Twitter: ourbloglog
WordPress is not a CMS by default and therefore was in not included in our discussion about CMS
Marrow
Errr, I beg to differ. With a very wide range of plugins (mostly free!) and a huge user and support base, Wordpress SHOULD be included in any comparison/discussion.
Even out-of-the-box, Wordpress is very close to being a fully-featured CMS. With the addition of a few simple plugins, it takes it to the next level (and can far exceed Drupal-functionality).
Much simpler to administer as well.
John
I left both of these platforms a long time ago for CMSMadeSimple.org -> native SEF support, everything you need in one package and extensible. Complete separation between templates, data, HTML, etc…
morningtime
Drupal is more of a framework for developers to build anything they want. And I mean anything. Joomla is an out-of-the box end-user CMS with it's limitation, therefore much more like an enhanced Wordpress.
Either way, both serve a purpose for their target audience. That's the point, it always depends on end user needs. So before discussing the pro's/con's of any CMS, talk to your clients first!
Ruben
Twitter: ourbloglog
I definitely agree with you on that one , I personally am happy we have both choices to work with. It gives us a better chance to help our clients find the website they’re looking for.
morningtime
Whitehouse.gov was built on Drupal. But for example, Porsche Brazil was once built on Joomla. There's a market for both. Personally I dropped Joomla two years ago and switch to Drupal. I find it more scalable for big sites.
Chris from ElectricToolbox
Try http://www.silverstripe.org/
Ruben
Twitter: ourbloglog
I just checked out the demo backend , it looks promising , thanks for the link.
Ruben
Twitter: ourbloglog
btw Chris , you have a stunning website , great job
phpdiva
Good comparison, but I fail to see the “sad” part. Sensationalist much?
Bill
So… errr….
What actually *is* the sad truth? You don't seem to have gotten to that point yet.
Ruben
Twitter: ourbloglog
Id Suggest Joomla and that is the sad truth
John from CMSexpo
I think your article's well-put. As you put it, use the CMS that best fits what you're trying to accomplish. We're doing a live head-to-head on Joomla, Drupal and WordPress, along with a couple others, at our upcoming CMS Expo in May.
John from CMSexpo
In this article it is. Fact is, these CMSes have absolutely huge followings, which leaves all other comparable CMSes in the position of following.
John from CMSexpo
Yeah, good point. Sad truth might be better link-bait.
Anthony Wlodarski
Having worked only lightly with Joomla but very heavy with Drupal I can say that both these systems have their weaknesses and strengths. My big issue with Drupal is the lack of a sense of direction with the product. You can build a node, a module, and a page template and have them all be disparate. I believe that the MVC frameworks offer you a rapid way to duplicate said CMS features as well as have something that will scale.
Ruben from Our Blog Log
Twitter: ourbloglog
Anthony I definitely agree with you on the lack of direction for Drupal.
willhall
Although each have there strengths and weaknesses, when creating sites for clients, I almost always base it on the compentency level of the administrator/manager. Whereas Drupal enables much better configurability, it does appear to overawe less experienced or competent users. I prefer Drupal for my sites, but half the time give Joomla to clients sites because they are to be managed by amateurs (I don’t mean amateurs in a negative sense, possibly just people who don’t want to have to learn to run a site.)
Xandra Hasegawa
Twitter: datejapangirls
Still hatin’ drupal.. kinda complex..
Jason
In the Joomla thumbs down section: “URLs are not search engine
friendly (there is a purchaseable module)”
I disagree. I enabled SEF n the global config and all my urls are SEF. Also, in all custom components, using the router mechanism is easy and works well.
Tom
Found this article interesting since I built a home remodeling community site using Drupal. I personally found the learning curve for Drupal steep, but then my IT skills were minimal went I started. I would also agree with most of the positives and negatives, except the one regarding the response to questions from the forums.
Honestly, i never would have been able to get as far as I did with people helping me. However some comments are not answered because there is an expectation that the answer has already been provided. That just the nature of the community and Open Source. More often than not, I actually found the answers before getting a response.
For more insights on what it takes an individual to work with Drupal see http://drupal.org/node/701698
Peter from Casino
Very Nice Website! I just found it on Google! Thanks for Sharing!
AnMo
Yes, SEF can be enabled very easily in the main configuration of your joomla website, with or without using an htaccess file. So the url looks like this : yourdomain.tld/sectionTitle/categoryTitle/articleTitle
And the vast majority of modules and components don’t cost you anything.
btw, joomla is far from being perfect, and other things are still missing, but it’s a good product (don’t be too sad)
Josh from Inexpensive Web Design
It’s nice to know the differences before actually getting started using either of this products. Thanks for the heads up.
Debt Settlement
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online marketing
Thank you for this.., do you have any other references?