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Pros and Cons for Drupal Web Development
Drupal
Drupal 8

Pros and Cons for Drupal Web Development

by Raluca Olariu on Apr 29 2021

 

When thinking about web development, there are usually three content management systems (CMSs) that come to mind: Drupal, WordPress, or Joomla. This article highlights the pros and cons of choosing Drupal for your web development project so that you can gain a broader perspective on your website building options. 

 

Top Pros of Drupal Web Development

 

1. Drupal is very effective for building complex, highly customized websites.

As a free, open-source CMS, Drupal offers excellent opportunities for companies of all sizes. It is probably the best choice on the market if your project involves creating a large and complex website with high customizing options. 

Drupal also provides flexible content integration and taxonomies. You have the freedom to integrate many types of content into your site and group your content in any kind of configuration that you find is right for your business objectives. 

One great advantage of Drupal that developers are pleased about is how easy it is to scale Drupal websites to match specific needs and traffic fluctuations. 

As a Drupal user, you will also enjoy the multilingual functionality built in Drupal's core without installing any additional plugins. 

 

2. Drupal has a large community of developers and users.

Drupal's extensive online community is one of the greatest things about this CMS. You'll get free support regarding almost anything Drupal-related via documentation, support groups, user forums, and other resources. Another advantage of Drupal's community is that programmers and users regularly build new modules, plugins, or bug fixes that you can access for free. 

 

3. Drupal is known as the most secure CMS. 

Websites build with Drupal are less prone to hacking than other CMSs due to its strong emphasis on advanced security features. Drupal's built-in access control system allows users to create roles with special permissions. 

Another way in which Drupal is focusing on security is by regularly posting and reviewing Drupal reports which are quickly worked on and updated. 

 

Top Cons of Drupal Web Development

 

1. Drupal can be more complex than other CMSs.

When starting your web development journey with Drupal, you have to be ready to read a lot of documentation. Your learning curve might be steep no matter if you're an expert developer or an amateur user so having a lot of patience at this point is a must. Also, Drupal might not be the most inspired decision if you're a total beginner as it requires some basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and PHP. 

Another obstacle in handling Drupal as a beginner or casual user is its interface. As it was built with professional web developers in mind, Drupal's interface is not very intuitive and user-friendly. 

 

2. Drupal requires time and effort. 

To install themes and modules that match your site's needs, you'll have to invest some time in research. Also, many Drupal modules need to be purchased so take into account that you'll probably have to invest some money for higher functionality. 

As Drupal has many custom-coded themes, you'll probably need to hire a developer to create the theme that your website requires. 

Drupal does not support backward compatibility, which means you can' perform legacy installations. This translates into you having to dedicate more time and work on additional upgrades. 

 

3. If not optimized accordingly, Drupal can have performance issues. 

Like all digital platforms, speed and accessibility are what sets the leading ones apart. Specific tools like a third-party module or plugin are designed to improve configuration and accelerate Drupal websites. However, this requires extra time and effort that you have to be willing to invest in your web development project. 

Drupal's module compatibility sets this CMS apart from other similar platforms. Still, it's essential to keep in mind that if you're running multiple modules with their own code, you risk having the wrong combination in place. And a faulty combination of modules might lead to Drupal core crashes. 

 

Conclusion

Like all things on earth, Drupal has its advantages and disadvantages. If you're still unsure whether you should pick Drupal for your next web development project, contact Optasy for professional support. We are happy to provide all the necessary information so that you can rest assured that you have made the right decision for your business.  

 

Image credit: Tumisu on Pixabay. 

 

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