If you are thinking about a Content Management System (CMS) then both Joomla and Drupal will have crossed your mind as choices. It’s a difficult question considering that users of both platforms always claim their system works better for them, and that makes perfect sense, because the reason you choose a CMS should be based on your needs.
Although it is a difficult choice there are some clear advantages for both platforms depending on your requirements.
Drupal is generally rated higher than Joomla for its support of social networking, multimedia, SSL and blogging and document management. Drupal is also rated highly for ease of external integration and developing large, complex websites. However, Drupal themes aren’t widely rated, yet most Drupal users tend to customise the templates or code a new design.
On the other hand, Joomla is considered more suitable for non-technical persons. The CMS interface is relatively easy to get to grips with and carrying out maintenance and upgrades is fairly straight forward. Joomla is cited as being “user friendly” and the best choice for newbies looking to get a site up very quickly.
Comparing these two CMS platforms is a bit like comparing BMW and Mercedes, or apples and oranges. It really does depend on the client’s needs, experience and time available to dedicate to learning. To provide a general answer to the title of this post, as a search engine optimisation service provider I would say that Drupal is great for those with some developing experience or those who don’t mind a slightly steeper learning curve. Joomla on the flip side is good for beginners who want to tackle managing their own website and content without too much learning and site customisation.
When it comes to SEO Drupal is said to be more equipped (for those who know what they are doing) whilst Joomla takes a little more tweaking time, yet essentially both provide a high level of SEO competence. SEO is largely down to skill and knowing the tricks of the trade, in fact all CMS platforms provide pretty much the same SEO capabilities it’s just a case of knowing how to optimise your site. No matter what CMS you use it is always advisable to seek the advice of a search engine optimisation service.
