Skip to main content
TrustRadius
Drupal

Drupal

Overview

What is Drupal?

Drupal is a free, open-source content management system written in PHP that competes primarily with Joomla and Plone. The standard release of Drupal, known as Drupal core, contains basic features such as account and menu management, RSS feeds, page layout…

Read more
Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Drupal has been widely used in a variety of industries and situations, proving itself as a robust and extensible platform that can fulfill …
Continue reading

Drupal! You beauty!

10 out of 10
February 09, 2023
  • To develop content oriented and transaction oriented sites
  • Non technical users can easily build sites using Drupal
  • Drupal 8 and above have …
Continue reading
Read all reviews

Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 16 features
  • Page templates (67)
    9.5
    95%
  • Admin section (68)
    9.5
    95%
  • Code quality / cleanliness (66)
    9.1
    91%
  • Publishing workflow (67)
    9.1
    91%
Return to navigation

Pricing

View all pricing
N/A
Unavailable

What is Drupal?

Drupal is a free, open-source content management system written in PHP that competes primarily with Joomla and Plone. The standard release of Drupal, known as Drupal core, contains basic features such as account and menu management, RSS feeds, page layout customization, and system administration.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Would you like us to let the vendor know that you want pricing?

28 people also want pricing

Alternatives Pricing

What is Adobe Business Catalyst (Discontinued)?

Adobe Business Catalyst was a cloud-hosted system for building and managing web content and online stores with a built-in CRM framework in addition to sales, service, and marketing features including eCommerce and Email Marketing tools. It has been end of life (EOL) since 2020.

What is UENI?

Small business owners don’t have much time to build their online presence, don’t have much money to spend on digital advertising, and don’t want to navigate the complexity of what it means to be online today. So UENI presents a solution built specifically for them. Unlike DIY website builders or…

Return to navigation

Product Demos

Drupal Glazed Theme Tutorial 1: Basic Drag and Drop Controls

YouTube

Drupal Demo

YouTube

Drupal Paragraph Blocks Demo

YouTube

JSON:API demo

YouTube

Drupal Link Intelligence Getting Started Demo

YouTube

Drupal Content Optimizer SEO Module Demo Video

YouTube
Return to navigation

Features

Security

This component helps a company minimize the security risks by controlling access to the software and its data, and encouraging best practices among users.

10
Avg 8.0

Platform & Infrastructure

Features related to platform-wide settings and structure, such as permissions, languages, integrations, customizations, etc.

9.5
Avg 7.7

Web Content Creation

Features that support the creation of website content.

9.4
Avg 7.6

Web Content Management

Features for managing website content

9.5
Avg 7.3
Return to navigation

Product Details

What is Drupal?

Drupal is a free and open source content management system written in PHP that competes primarily with Joomla and Plone. The standard release of Drupal, known as Drupal core, contains basic features common to content management systems. These include a dashboard with a menu management system, RSS feeds, page layout customization and themes to aid this, and system administration tools. Drupal offers access statistics, more advanced search features, caching and feature throttling (to improve performance if needed), descriptive URLs, multiple users with controllable privileges, access control and restrictions, and workflow tools (triggers). There are over 30,000 addons or modules to expand Drupal's functionality.

Drupal Video

Why Drupal?

Drupal Competitors

Drupal Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Drupal is a free, open-source content management system written in PHP that competes primarily with Joomla and Plone. The standard release of Drupal, known as Drupal core, contains basic features such as account and menu management, RSS feeds, page layout customization, and system administration.

Joomla!, Kentico Xperience, and Plone are common alternatives for Drupal.

Reviewers rate Role-based user permissions and Mobile optimization / responsive design and Form generator highest, with a score of 10.

The most common users of Drupal are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives
Return to navigation

Reviews and Ratings

(378)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Drupal has been widely used in a variety of industries and situations, proving itself as a robust and extensible platform that can fulfill specific needs. For example, Ericsson is leveraging Drupal to develop an internal application for accessing company policies and documents, including a news and events section. This showcases Drupal's capability to serve as an efficient tool for knowledge management within organizations. Similarly, Commercial Progression takes advantage of Drupal's integration capabilities with CRM and ERP systems to develop websites for various industries, demonstrating its flexibility in meeting diverse business requirements.

Another key use case for Drupal is creating uniform intranet sites across different operating units, enabling organizations to convey their identity and provide basic information consistently. This allows companies to maintain a cohesive brand image while providing essential resources to their employees. Additionally, non-technical staff can easily create and manage content using Drupal, addressing marketing web presence needs efficiently without extensive coding knowledge. This user-friendly aspect of Drupal makes it accessible to a wide range of users within an organization.

Furthermore, Drupal proves invaluable in the realm of website development, offering a quick and flexible solution for building test sites or serving as a content management system for clients who require rapid website development with built-in control. Its ability to handle large volumes of content makes it suitable for managing customer service articles, translation services, and industry-standard features like views and revisioning. The platform is also chosen by developers specializing in Drupal due to its ease of use in quickly getting sites up and running for clients.

In the educational sector, the University of Edinburgh's Web Interfaces team has utilized Drupal to develop bespoke web solutions with a focus on security and scalability. This use case highlights Drupal's suitability for academic institutions seeking reliable and customizable solutions for their web development needs. Moreover, Drupal has proven its worth in the online education space, with approximately 95% of websites designed to market and recruit online degree programs being built with this platform.

Overall, Drupal offers a versatile range of use cases, from powering corporate intranets to supporting website development across various industries. Its capacity for customization and its ability to handle diverse content needs make it a compelling choice for organizations of all sizes.

Extensibility and Customization: Users highly appreciate the extensibility and customization options provided by Drupal's wide range of contributed modules. Many reviewers have stated that this flexibility allows them to tailor the software to their specific needs, enhancing the overall value of the platform.

Cost-effectiveness: The open-source nature of Drupal is seen as a major advantage by users, with many stating that it eliminates ongoing licensing costs. Reviewers mention that this cost-effectiveness makes Drupal an attractive option for those on a tight budget.

Strong Community Support: Users highly value the fantastic open-source community surrounding Drupal. Several reviewers have mentioned that they appreciate the community's readiness to help and provide solutions to any problems encountered. This support system is seen as invaluable, ensuring users have necessary assistance and resources to overcome challenges while using the software.

Intuitive User Interface: Some users have mentioned that the user interface of Drupal is not intuitive and requires technical expertise to use effectively. They feel that the platform lacks a WYSIWYG text editor, making it necessary to have a basic understanding of HTML and CSS style sheets to customize the site.

Complicated Development Process: Several users have found the development process in Drupal to be complicated and difficult to learn, even for experienced developers. They express that development is hard to learn and complicated, which can be challenging for those with prior experience in web development.

Time-Consuming Maintenance: Users have expressed that maintaining Drupal websites can be time-consuming due to frequent updates and patches that need to be installed. The continuous need for maintenance can become burdensome as it requires allocating additional time towards keeping the website up-to-date.

Security Concerns with Plugins: Some users have raised concerns about the security of Drupal websites, attributing it to the large number of plugins available from numerous developers. They find it harder to ensure site security due to this vast variety of plugins, often requiring careful vetting and monitoring.

Resource-Intensive Infrastructure Requirement: Users mention that compared to other content management systems (CMSs), Drupal requires a more powerful infrastructure. This makes it more resource-intensive in terms of hardware requirements, potentially increasing costs for hosting and server resources.

Steep Learning Curve with Drupal 8: The learning curve associated with Drupal has been highlighted by users as a challenge, particularly concerning its eighth version. They perceive Drupal 8 as significantly different from previous versions, complicating the learning process further.

Confusing Back-end User Interface: Some users find the back-end user interface of Drupal confusing and clunky. They express difficulties navigating through menus or locating specific settings within the interface, leading them to consider it less user-friendly than desired.

Configuration Changes Hidden in Menus: Users mention encountering certain configuration changes hidden within menus where they may not expect them. This can make it challenging for users to locate and modify specific settings, potentially causing frustration or inefficiencies.

Time-Consuming Setup and Configuration: The process of setting up and configuring Drupal has been mentioned as time-consuming by users. They express that it requires technical skills and knowledge, making the initial setup a potential pain point. Additionally, some changes may require IT assistance and might not be applied immediately.

Limited Ease of Use: While Drupal is generally considered relatively easy to use, some users note that it still requires development skills. They advise that installation and upgrading processes should be handled by someone with technical expertise to avoid potential troubles during these procedures.

Users have made several recommendations based on their experiences with Drupal. Here are the three most common recommendations:

  1. Start with a theme if you don't have much time to learn the system.
  2. Avoid using too many plugins and have someone on-site for day-to-day maintenance.
  3. Consider other options for CRM or shopping cart functionality.

Overall, users believe Drupal is a robust CMS platform but recommend starting with a theme for quicker setup, limiting plugin usage, and considering alternative options for CRM and shopping cart functionality. These recommendations aim to optimize the user experience and ensure efficient management of websites built on Drupal.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 76)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
February 09, 2023

Drupal! You beauty!

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Integrated Drupal in the backend where the front end was developed using React. This enhanced site performances by more than 25%
  • Third party integrations like SSO are just a plugin away. Human coding time decreased by 90%.
  • Translations management are generated and consumed using files. So, 0 manual work on updating each and every content
Sohail Lajevardi | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Reseller
  • Given the endless possibilities that Drupal can have, we tend to have great support going on when we get a website launched
  • It has become much much faster and easier for us to launch a new project due to reusability
  • Configuration management in Drupal helps greatly with CI/CD, saves us costs
Fernanda Ministerio | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Drupal brought to my team the possibility to build more robust applications and websites
  • Drupal allows good integration with other applications, which is beneficial in reducing application costs
  • A negative impact was that the learning curve was longer than expected
Bobby Donohue | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Positive - I've used Drupal for hundreds of client projects. Drupal is open source, so there is no overhead to using it.
  • Positive - Since all my sites are on the same platform, managing client websites is easy. I know how every site is built, and don't have to remember custom things for each one.
  • Negative - Some clients are DIYers, so teaching them how to log into Drupal's admin area and create or edit web pages can be challenging. It's not that Drupal itself makes it challenging, though it might be easier for a client to make their own webpage or blog post in a WordPress site. But clients don't compare the Drupal experience to WordPress. They compare it to writing an article in MS Word. Or they get flustered when they copy and paste text into Drupal, and unknowingly copy over all of Word's backend code as well.
  • Positive - I've been able to take on some very simple projects, and some extremely complicated projects - and I can use the same Drupal starting point regardless. That saves a tremendous amount of time as each setup can be identical and automated.
Richard Davies | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Drupal has allowed us to build our new website at a relatively quick pace. It's definitely been quicker than if we had to build a new custom CMS.
  • It's allowed our team of developers and designers to all work together simultaneously on building the new site.
  • Our new website is much improved, and will allow us to better serve our citizens.
Kyle Reichelt | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • The client was very happy with the website, and with the work we put into bringing it to life. I hope that it's had a positive impact on their core business, but this isn't something I have visibility into.
Dr. C. Michael Sturgeon | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • In a positive sense, I can develop sites using Drupal for non-profit organizations that may not afford me to keep their sites up to date, so they can now do it themselves. This is just as applicable to any type of organization for that matter.
  • The negative impact this has had has been that of being called on when the client becomes confused with accessing their account. If I charge for this small favor, I received a negative review, if I do not charge, then I receive calls, seemingly forever.
  • All in all, the ROI is positive. Drupal is worth the time and effort to learn and offer.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Drupal has allowed us to build up a library of code and base sites we can reuse to save time which has increased our efficiency and thus had a positive financial impact.
  • Drupal has allowed us to take on projects we otherwise would not have been able to, having a further impact.
  • Drupal has allowed us to build great solutions for our clients which give them an excellent ROI.
Matthew Deakyne | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • I've managed content in Drupal, and this content is viewed by thousands of instructors, preventing the need for them to contact our helpline for assistance. This frees up time for my staff to deal with actual issues, rather than training issues, and is a major positive ROI use case for using Drupal.
  • We provide alerts regarding service outages, hopefully preventing users from calling into our helpline - and allowing the real issues to have a higher volume than issues we are aware of.
Nicholas De Salvo | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Makes updating our company website easier.
  • The time we have spent in setup has been gained back in easy content addition.
  • Drupal updates can be lengthy and problematic. When you can update 5 WordPress sites in the time it takes to update 1 Drupal site, you have to be sure you have implemented the right solution.
Jimmy Mack | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • helped create a robust intranet across the organization
  • share success stories from various departments in form of intranet news feed so departments know what each other are doing
  • create HR document repository for people to access when needed
Return to navigation