Over 33 percent of websites in the world are powered by WordPress. Evidently, this makes WordPress the world’s largest and most popular content management system (CMS).
This is all in the presence of CMS companies that have dedicated support staff on board, while WordPress open-source only has the community support on its back. But with the large community of plugins, each of which boasts of their own support team, WordPress has solved this small hindrance all on its own.
That is why, while other CMS come aboard with their “all in one place” solutions, WordPress with its Lego-like, build-your-own adventure approach carries a great appeal. It is built for those who want the best out of their CMS in terms of functionality, customization, and ease of use.
The Top 3 CMS in the World
According to W3Techs Web Technology Surveys, the Top 3 CMS in terms of global usage are listed below.
- WordPress: 33.7 percent
- Joomla: 5.2 percent
- Drupal: 3.4 percent
To help you understand how they stand against each other, here is a breakdown of each of these CMS. Knowing these details would help you understand the pros and cons of each of these platforms. This way, you would be able to determine which one is the best fit for you.
WordPress
Starting with the Holy Grail of CMS, WordPress’ name doesn’t need any introduction to anyone. Even if you are a business owner with no web development experience, chances are that you have not only heard of WordPress but have used websites based upon this CMS yourself.
The best part about WordPress is that it is completely open-source through its WordPress.org platform. The open-source CMS comes as a basic stripped down version with basic editing functionalities. But these functionalities could then be enhanced with the installation of various plugins.
As mentioned above, it is a Lego-like approach where you take components you need and leave out any that you do not want, which provides you with exceptional freedom in designing your website.
While you still have to pay for plugins that are considered as premium and have to get your own hosting, most users take this as another step towards complete control over their website. As opposed to other CMS, WordPress is not a bundled package. With thousands of themes, plugins, and freedom to choose your own hosting, it is one of those CMS that could be the one stop shop for many businesses.
That is one of the many reasons why WordPress’ extensive plugins such as its as its e-commerce plugin, WooCommerce, have been so popular. The platform has the ability to scale to any organization or enterprise’s requirements. The ease of use then sets it apart from other CMS that are too complex to handle by anyone but a developer.
Pros: Immense customization; ease of use; open-source; choose your own hosting.
Cons: Price is unpredictable due to plugins; does not have dedicated support.
Joomla
Joomla is yet another open-source platform that provides stellar functionalities to its users. Like WordPress, it is also based on the PHP programming language, and comes with an easy to use interface for easy editing. However, it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to finding community-based extensions and design elements, which are aplenty in WordPress.
Since Joomla has a relatively meager market share as compared to WordPress, it also doesn’t match the level of recognition that WordPress has garnered from hosting providers. For instance, when you select WordPress with a popular hosting provider, you often get the option to have WordPress open-source already installed on your server. Joomla lacks this kind of integration on almost all hosting providers.
With that being said, it still provides you with the ability to choose your own hosting and extensions. Its themes are not as vast as WordPress, but it still has a pretty decent turnout of themes for users who are not that picky.
All in all, Joomla remains just what it seems at the surface: the second choice to WordPress. If for some reason your WordPress experience hasn’t been good in the past, then you may certainly go for Joomla and try it out yourself. Just remember that Joomla integration, installation and even ongoing maintenance may require more time than a WordPress website.
Pros: Open-source; ability to choose your own hosting and extensions.
Cons: Not as widely adaptable as WordPress; not as easy to use; price is unpredictable due to extensions.
Drupal
It is not that often that Drupal’s name is heard in the CMS industry. But the fact remains that it is still a very popular platform for websites.
Much like WordPress and Joomla, Drupal is also open-source and comes with a great level of customization. But you need to keep in mind that if Joomla can’t reach the level of community outreach and products that WordPress brings to the table, then Drupal certainly cannot do so itself.
But with that being said, Drupal does provide stellar security and the ability to manage the website easily. This makes it a good choice for those who have either use WordPress or Joomla or who want to skip the line and be “different” than their peers.
The platform is easy to use, but it is not as much of a walk in the park as WordPress has proven itself to be. This makes it the third-ranking CMS by popularity for a reason.
But if you still want to give Drupal a try while keeping its restrictions in mind, you are welcome to go ahead and do so. Just remember that it won’t be as easy to use WordPress, but will still come with whatever customization options it has on board.
Pros: Open-source; customization options; choose your own hosting.
Cons: Not as easy to use; limitations in customization options; price is unpredictable due to extensions.
Point to Remember: WordPress is Better for SEO
With WordPress coming out as the clear winner due to its popularity and large community support, it is easier to determine which CMS out of these similar options could actually serve your interests the best.
But at the risk of preaching to the choir, here’s another thing about WordPress that you may want to know: It is better for SEO than other platforms.
It is not something that is only said by reviewers and developers, but Google’s own Matt Cutts stated this distinction at one point.
Calling WordPress a “fantastic piece of software”, the Google exec at the time mentioned how it was a great CMS for SEO.
Embed : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBtSJ5Z_qI8
His observations or claims don’t seem biased when you see that Yoast SEO, one of WordPress’ most popular plugins, is considered as one of the most popular plugins of all time with over 5 million active installations.
With custom suggestions and accurate analysis of content and keywords, Yoast SEO allows you to optimize your website for search engines as no other plugin could. That is one of the reasons why WordPress is so well-liked among the web development community.
Point to Remember: WordPress is Used By Big Brands
WordPress isn’t only the blue-eyed CMS for web developers. Large scale brands and enterprises also use it proudly in their own operations.
From Disney to Forbes, and from TechCrunch to NASA, some of the biggest names in various industries have been using WordPress to support their websites.
With even The White House website using WordPress, it only goes on to show how significant of an outreach does WordPress have, and how diverse its range of support operations can be.
Why WordPress Is a Good Fit for You
Whether you run large scale enterprise operations or a small e-commerce store, WordPress could be the perfect fit for you due to its ability to customize according to your requirements.
This sets WordPress apart from many other pre-packaged CMS as well, which are directed towards serving one purpose. For instance, Shopify and BigCommerce are built for e-commerce alone, while Wix doesn’t really provide that much functionality in terms of customization or scalability.
With the ability to support SEO like perhaps no other CMS, it is one of the best CMS for a large variety of use cases. If you have the right developer, WordPress could prove to be an impeccable solution for your business.
We at Creative Peppers have extensive experience in developing and redesigning WordPress websites in a way that they do not only seem modern by aesthetics, but also by functionality. With our expertise, we can ensure to get you the website you need, which is right along the lines of your design vision.
Whether you have questions on using WordPress for your site or simply need to move forward with this stellar solution, feel free to reach out to us today.