Have you ever wondered what type of content management system is best for you or your company? Today we are going to review some of the key differences between the main types of content management systems. Content management systems are used by nearly all large (and small) websites to make adding and uploading content easier.

For more information about content management systems please watch the video, ‘What is a Content Management System?‘

There are three main CMSes that we will talk about today. They are Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages compared to the others. We will go a little further in detail today discussing the positives and negatives of each CMS.

The first CMS we will be discussing today is Drupal. Redarding installation time and complexity, Drupal is considered the most complex of them all to use and install, but that’s simply not true anymore. Drupal has evolved and made many significant upgrades that has made the process quite simple now. Next, regarding theme availability, Drupal’s official website lists 1,223 themes and 14,369 modules which are available for free download. Now, we will quickly touch on Drupal’s ease of use. Drupal provides some very important features and in a very simple and basic user interface, making the website easily accessible to all. Finally, we will talk about Drupal’s customization and upgrades. This topic is a major setback for Drupal, because all their upgrades and customization require manual installation.

Now we will discuss the second CMS, Joomla. We will start off discussing Joomla’s installation time and complexity. Joomal’s installation process is very similar to Drupal’s other than a few extra security features they provide. Joomla’s official website lists around 7,437 plugins but list no information regarding themes. I consider this to be Joomla’s biggest setback. To discuss their ease of use, Joomla’s website is more fine-tuned and complex than Drupal. Their site provides more options and headings, both vertically and horizontally. Finally, Joomla’s upgrading process. Joomla provides their users to update their files within the site for most circumstances. However, sometimes updates require manual installation, but not as often as Drupal.

Our last CMS being discussed today will be WordPress. Starting off with WordPress’ installation which is considered to be the simplest system, requiring only a two-stage installation process. Regarding theme availability, WordPress wins this competition hands down, offering 2,176 themes and 28, 593 plugins. WordPress lives up to their name of being simple and easy to use. Their interface is minimal and uses easy to understand language which makes a difference, especially to beginning users. Finally, WordPress also supports online updates within the website just like Joomla. Unlike Joomla, WordPress provides online file editing and customization.

In summary, if I had to recommend one of the three CMSes discussed today to a friend or business, I would recommend WordPress. The thing that sticks out the most to me about WordPress is the ease of use and accessibility. No matter if you are a technical expert of a beginning user, WordPress does a great job satisfying users. WordPress if the way to go!

For more information regarding the three CMSes discussed today, please visit the page, ‘3 open source content management systems compared.’