Why WordPress Is The Best CMS

The question is one I’ve been asked numerous times, and it is one that is asked over and over again:

“What is the best content management system to use for my new website?”

There are numerous CMS’s available, from paid solutions to excellent open source choices. There is also what seems to be an endless debate amongst those who choose to answer the question, each going to great lengths to stand proud for their preference. In this post I will tell you why I believe WordPress is definitively a better content management system than Joomla, Drupal or any of its other competitors.

First off, just look how the name “WordPress” fits so nicely in the title of this post. It rhymes with “best” and “CMS”. Joomla and Drupal don’t rhyme with, well, anything. Okay, that’s not really a reason, I’ll admit. But still…

Let me start (for real) by sharing a brief history of my experience. Several years ago when I first started using content management systems to build websites I did my research and it became apparent to me that, for my purposes, Joomla would be the best tool for the job. It wasn’t so much that it was deemed the best. My choice had more to do with the contexts I would be using the CMS in. It seemed reasonable enough to learn, had a relatively intuitive interface for the administrative backend, and there appeared to be a wealth of information for me to use in my self-education. So I taught myself how to design and build custom Joomla templates – the ‘skin’ of the CMS that is seen when someone visits a website. I built a number of websites in Joomla and overall was pretty happy with the results, as were my clients. After over a year of building sites in Joomla, I began a partnership with a client who used Drupal for their website. They hired me to maintain, update and add to it. Because of this I had to teach myself how to use Drupal, and I learned some of the distinct differences this CMS had from Joomla, as well as the benefits of the flexibility it could provide. That said, I never completely grasped Drupal’s concepts, and the experience convinced me I would probably never be using Drupal for my own projects and clients. One of the primary reasons was that this client had to hire me every time they wanted to change anything on their website because they could not understand how to use it either. That just didn’t make sense to me. I saw that as a problem, not a solution.

So a few years ago I started teaching myself how to use WordPress, due to some clients’ requests. It wasn’t long before I fell in love with it. For the reasons I will elaborate on in the next paragraphs, I dumped Joomla and Drupal for good, and now 90% of my web design business is building websites in WordPress. So you can see how I am just a little biased in my declaration of WordPress’ superiority as a CMS. Let me tell you why.

Beautiful, Intuitive Administrative Backend

All one has to do is spend a few minutes in the administrative backend of the three CMS’s I’ve mentioned to see the extreme differences. WordPress is clean, simple and intuitive. Menu items are named things that make sense or are at least easy to figure out. It is so easy and intuitive, in fact, that almost every client I’ve built a WordPress site for has been trained and fully capable of managing their site on their own within 30 minutes! That is not even in the same ballpark as the endless streams of questions that I received for weeks on end after turning over a Joomla site to a client. WordPress administration just makes sense to the beginner with minimal training. That is a huge plus for a user and a web designer.

Endless Resources and Documentation

I realize that one can find almost anything on the internet anymore – I’ve taught myself everything from running a freelance web and graphic design business to replacing a garbage disposal simply by using Google. The question is: how hard do you want to have to look? There is a wealth of information about WordPress, from absolute beginner tutorials to the most advanced development. Combined with what I have found to be the most comprehensive documentation and support system for an open-source product, the resources for WordPress are seemingly infinite, and readily available. Whenever I need to figure out how to do something I have not done before in WordPress, it usually shows up on page 1 or 2 of my Google or wordpress.org search. Joomla and Drupal have similar documentation, but it has been my experience that it was MUCH more difficult to find things, whether in a Google search or rummaging through their help systems. Hands down, WordPress’ documentation and usability of it wins.

Unbeatable Community Support

Maybe it’s because it’s more commonly used than the others, or because so many have seized the opportunity to build businesses and websites around WordPress, or maybe the community itself breeds a supportive environment, but I have never experienced such support from a community that I haven’t paid for. There are a bevy of websites that provide tutorials and walkthroughs, plus hard copy books and ebooks, plus forums full of helpful people – the WordPress community seems to operate like, well, a community. I can’t say with any great certainty that the competitors don’t provide this, but I have been overwhelmed in my WordPress community experiences to the point that no other has compared.

Easy To Theme

As a designer first and developer second, I have come to learn that I can make any design or layout work in WordPress. I can’t say the same for Joomla or Drupal. In websites I’ve built with other systems, I find myself confined by their limitations, and I design based on the allowances of the framework. With WordPress, I am able to make it work with my design, no matter what that may be. The latter is definitely the better way to work, as a website’s design should dictate rather than be dictated to.

The Only Limit Is Your Imagination

Sure, I’ve seen thousands of WordPress websites and themes that generally look the same, use the same layout, and lack any uniqueness. However, this is more a commentary on those that choose to do things the tried and proven way rather than explore outside the box. WordPress allows me to actually be creative, while still reaping the benefits of its framework. As I said before, I can pretty much make any layout or design work with WordPress under the hood, and it doesn’t have to look the same. In contrast, I can almost always tell you when a site is built in Joomla or Drupal without ever looking at the source code. They are simply just too limited with how they can be utilized.

Disclaimer

Now before you go chewing off my head in the comments and proving all my observations wrong, please understand that I am only speaking from my own experience. I have not used Joomla or Drupal in the past two years, other than to migrate clients’ sites from them into WordPress. I realize that it’s quite possible they have improved to meet or exceed WordPress in the areas I’ve listed, so it’s important to note that my research is not exhaustive by any stretch.

What I have found interesting in this debate between CMS’s is that almost always those that defend something the strongest are really only defending their preference. I would have to say the same for myself on certain levels. Those that have extensively learned a specific CMS will usually say it is the best, and I have spent much more time in WordPress development and design than I have any other. I am continually learning more about it on a daily basis, and I intend to continue. The demand for my skills in WordPress has greatly increased and has grown my business significantly. That’s all the motivation I need, and it compels me to sing the praises of WordPress.

BONUS: Why Apples Are Better Than Oranges

I do not dislike oranges at all. In fact, if someone will peel them for me, I’ll eat at least one every day. I hate the peeling part, and the peeling, should you attempt to eat it or unwillingly get some in your mouth by trying to start the peeling process with your teeth, tastes nasty. Oranges are a little messy too, if it’s a nice, juicy one.

Apples, on the other hand, are a very versatile and tasty fruit. You can eat the peeling, or you can peel it off with a handy tool (no peeling fragments under your nails or in your mouth.) Apples can be eaten as a sweet desert, or with salt as a crispy snack. Apples can be dipped in caramel or other delicious coatings. Have you ever seen an orange on a stick?

What’s my point? My point is that I say apples are better than oranges because I personally prefer them over oranges. I always have. Nothing you can say will change my preference, but you might be able to point out some things that I never knew about oranges, which would then, in turn, inspire me to take another look at them.

The same can be said for content management systems.

We all have our preferences, usually in tune with our own unique experiences, tastes, priorities and the like. My choosing of one CMS over the others does not truly crown it the best. It just makes it the best for me. My proclamation of WordPress as the best CMS does not mean the others are worthless or devoid of value. It just means WordPress is best suited for me and my clients, and I have learned this through my relatively limited experiences with the others.

The Bottom Line

The short answer to the oft-asked question we started with is this: choose the CMS that works best for you and your context. Try them all, if you have the time. You may find that something other than WordPress is your best CMS and I will say “More power to you.”

It won’t rhyme as well, though. I can promise you that.