Enterprise CMS vs Open Source CMS: Drupal, Joomla, WordPress

Comparison of Different Content Management Systems

There are many different types of CMS software choices, but in this article the focus is on the enterprise and open source CMS applications.

Below is a brief description, advantages and disadvantages of different types of CMS software applications.

Enterprise CMS Applications

Enterprise CMS Applications are more tailored for large corporations that require greater branding control and flexibility and a reliable priority support.

Most of the cutting-edge web application development and design firms have built their own CMS application based on the open source development model, in order to better meet their clients' needs.

Open Source CMS Applications

There are a few different Open Source CMS Applications available and each have their own strong points and purposes. This article concentrates on the currently three most popular CMS applications: Drupal, Joomla and WordPress:

• Drupal - Overall, Drupal is a more complicated CMS application to install and manage. The administration area is confusing and not very user friendly. Drupal has a good framework for customization; however, it is a more advanced framework so it requires a high level programmer in order to customize the design, features or add custom functionality.
• Joomla - Joomla is a more user friendly CMS application. It is easy to install. The administration is more straightforward. It has ready-to-go templetes. However, it is not easy to customize the design or features, or add custom functionality, even by an advanced programmer.
• WordPress - WordPress is the easiest of all CMS blog applications to install and manage. The administration is much more straightforward. It has plenty of ready-to-go templetes. However, WordPress's strong point is a blog software and not a customizable CMS application. It is not easy to customize the design or features or add custom functionality even by an advanced programmer.

Research for this article was completed July 5, 2010; pricing and other information may change.