Drupal is a free and open source content management framework which is written in PHP. It provides the backend framework for a few websites worldwide ranging from personal blogs to corporate, government and politics sites. Drupal, originally written by Dries Buytaert as a message board became an open source project in the year 2001. It is a content management software which is used to create many websites and applications which can be used every day. The standard features of Drupal include content authoring, reliable performance and, excellent security. Its flexibility makes it set apart from others. The core principle of Drupal is its modularity. It has tools which will help you to build the versatile and structured content that dynamic websites will need today. Creating an Integrated digital framework is a great choice because we can extend with one or many of thousands of add-ons. modules can expand the functionality of Drupal. The themes let you customize the presentation of the content. You can use the distributions as starter kits which are packaged as Drupal bundles. You can mix and match these components so that the core ability of Drupal will be enhanced.
How Drupal Is Compared With WordPress and Joomla
WordPress Content Management Software is for the beginners and it works well for the small and medium websites, blogs, etc. Joomla Content Management Software is better for the eCommerce websites. But it will require more technical language in terms of coding. Drupal can be said to be the hardest of all the Content Management Software but is considered to be the best of all the software. It fits all the types of CMS moderation and also websites. Just like Joomla, Drupal is considered to be one of the platforms for designing the customized eCommerce websites. Drupal can be chosen one Joomla because of the reason that Drupal templates will take no time in tailor-made eCommerce websites and also applications. The designers and developers customize and develop the different kinds of Drupal extensions to meet the requirements of the client.
Top 6 Benefits Of Using Drupal
1. Open Source
Drupal provides the core software, modules and a large number of three for free of cost. It will help the business people to reduce the cost of web development significantly.
2. Rapid Development
Drupal facilitates the rapid development by enabling the companies to use the core features and functions. The web 2.0 developers can make use of Drupal to customize after its deployment.
3. Highly customizable
Drupal can be customized according to the need of developers and designers to address the requirements given by the clients. The customization can be done on features, operation, layout, and design.
4. Enterprise-class software
Drupal is considered to be an enterprise-class content management software in terms of flexibility, security scalability etc. developers and designers can integrate it with other applications like SAP readily.
5. SEO Friendly
SEO plays a vital role in a company’s online marketing strategies. So Drupal will enable the company to bring the company forward with SEO friendly websites. It has the flexibility to display the content in a way that the search engines with.
6. Mobile Ready
The speed of the spread of the smart device is increasing which opens the door for new marketing platform for the companies. The users of the smart devices can also view the website as the same that of the desktop users.
Major Releases of Drupal
The earliest version of Drupal was version 5.23 released on August 11, 2010, and then on February 24, 2016, the next release of version 6.38 came into the picture. With some updates of securities came the version 7.56 in June 2017 where the web accessibility has been greatly improved by the Drupal community and it was followed by the release of version 8.2.8 on April 19, 2017. Now the newly updated version of Drupal is released with the version 8.4.2 on November 3, 2017, with some improvements and added APIs.