Drupal vs. Joomla: a frank comparison from an IBM consultant
POSTED FEBRUARY 24TH, 2009 BY STEPH
We were very fortunate recently to have a consultant from IBM purchase one of our Drupal themes for a personal project. Before purchasing the theme, we discussed a bit about Joomla and Drupal, focusing mostly on the difference between where functionality and eye candy lies in Drupal vs. Joomla.
I say fortunate because after this consultant evaluated the two CMSes, I received an email with a fascinating and detailed comparison of these early experiences with Drupal and Joomla. I was allowed to post this (anonymously) here to our blog so the community(ies) at large can benefit from this great write-up.
I won't interject too much of my own thoughts here, other than that a) I agree with just about everything being said here, and b) the good news is that a ton of this stuff is a strong focus for Drupal 7. I see the Drupal community also putting more effort into the many approaches currently being worked on for pre-configuring/populating a site (Installation profiles, Patterns, Spaces, Drush, etc).
Edit: we're getting some very interesting comments from Joomla users as well, make sure you read the comments!
The full email follows below
FYI, here are my observations on Drupal after about 40-50 hours with the tool (I have experience with Joomla, DotNetNuke, and of course our solution at IBM: Websphere Portal, WCM, and Portlet Factory). I plan to evaluate for another few days, before making a decision on whether to implement using Joomla or Drupal. The hosting costs and portlet dev cost for Websphere Portal are too high, or I'd be using an IBM solution.
Drupal vs. Joomla
Site Building
- Flexibility & Power: Drupal looks significantly more powerful — much more flexible. Looks like Views, CCK, Panels give Drupal a huge advantage over Joomla. You simply can't get that flexibility with Joomla. Joomla developers design around their own paradigm with very little flexibility. You can get up and running much quicker with Joomla, but you will hit the wall sooner or later.
Performance
- In my initial tests, Drupal blows away Joomla. With the new version of Joomla, the good template makers junk them up with gee-whiz gadgets that are not suitable for the enterprise
Learning Curve
- Joomla is far easier to get up and running. Even with all the free videos, blogs, etc, Drupal is still a lot more challenging. Big oppty for comprehensive business business/enterprise book/education
Templates
Joomla wins by a huge margin. For example, companies like Joomlart, Joomlashack do a good job. Drupal theme companies are simply horrific. What's needed is a Template strategy that emulates the requirements for the top web sites in the country and, bundles modules, blocks etc. that work out-of-the-box to give businesses a head-start. For example, with our Websphere Portal product, we deliver incredible Themes/Skins that are rock solid and professional with no fuss or muss. I think you guys have a good stated strategy, but you're missing a big oppty to deliver what enterprises really need.
Your templates are the best I've seen, but, an enterprise that is just getting started with Drupal will still have a huge ramp to climb to get a News site, mag site, etc. to look good. Joomlart delivers their Teline II template with a special install that gives you all the sample data, all the components in place — everything in place.
Finally, the biggest problem with Drupal templates is that the developers completely miss one of the key elements that any evaluator looks at: the menu system. If you don't have a professional navigation system on your web site, you're perceived as a low quality site. The other top items: Layout, Graphics, speed are also critical, and Drupal developers don't seem to care. Exception:
Code developers
Based on my limited review, it looks Drupal coders are much more professional, skilled, disciplined. Good Joomla coders are rare. Must have something to due with the Drupal culture. I'm sure the Joomla devs are just as capable, they just don't institute the same rigor
Admin
Drupal's backend admin functionality is bad. The front end, backend separation is tenuous and confusing. Joomla is far better.
Content Management
- Drupal's taxonomy system is excellent. Joomla's "straight-jacket" approach (Content items confined to one Section/Category) is poor. Joomla's admin console is much easier to organize, find content. Joomla's WYSIWYGPro is better than the options available for Drupal.
Content Presentation
- Drupal's tools are very, very good — they don't come close to the built-in power of IBM tools — but they're light years better than Joomla. I like CCK, Views, but wonder why they aren't part of the code base. Seems odd. WIth Joomla, you have to acquire components that will meet 60-80% of your needs. For example, iJoomla has a tremendous news component, but it will never meet the capabilities of Drupal's CCK, Views, etc.
Multitier Deployment
I'm shocked that there are no good tutorials, articles, education on the proper method for implementing Dev, Test, Staging, Dev environments. Drupal and Joomla communities both suffer from this. Also, basic backup and restore is not addressed adequately. The Drupal community is clueless on this. Joomla at least has two good solutions. If I decide to recommend Drupal for a production site, I'l recommend use Xcloner from Joomlaplug — this product will work with Drupal and does backup and restore of the site and the SQL db.
Summary to Date
- Use Joomla if you want to get nice looking site up quickly and can deal with a slower system, rigid content categorization and limited design/configuration options.
- Use Drupal if you want high performance, scalability, good content management and significant design flexibility. But, be prepared to spend a lot of time/money to get the site to look professional.
