The document compares the top CMS systems WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. It provides statistics on their usage and key features including content structure, templates, plugins, SEO, support communities, and strengths and weaknesses. It also outlines scenarios for when to use each one, such as WordPress for a simple pizza site, Joomla for a software company site, and Drupal for a real estate site where users need to edit listings.

1. Comparison of Top CMS Systems
Presented by Ryan Street
rstreet@crownpartners.com
www.coolryan.com
@ryanstreet

2. We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools
shape us.
-Marshall McLuhan

3. Objective
• Define the Top 3 CMS Systems
• Features
• Strengths and Weaknesses
• Scenarios

4. A Word of Caution

5. Are You a Baby Duck?
You can't rationally compare alternatives with no experience in the
alternatives, and software imprinting robs you of that vital experience.
--”The Software Imprinting Dilemma” Jeff Atwood. 2007

6. Top 3 CMS Systems
• WordPress
• Joomla
• Drupal

7. Honorable Mentions
• DotNetNuke
• ExpressionEngine
• MediaWiki
• Concrete5
• TYPO3
• LifeRay
• Adobe CQ

8. Where Did Your Data Come From?
• http://trends.builtwith.com/cms
– Circa 2007
– Over 90 mil. Distinct websites indexed
– Quantifies data from
Quantcast, Alexa, Google, Internet Retailer, and
Fortune.

9. Top 3 Stats - WordPress
Top 1 mil. Top 100K Top 10K

10. Top 3 Stats - Joomla
Top 1 mil. Top 100K Top 10K

11. Top 3 Stats - Drupal
Top 1 mil. Top 100K Top 10K

12. WordPress

13. History
• First Released in 2003
• Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little
• Fork of b2/cafelog

14. Content Structure
• Pages and Posts
• Custom Post Types Supported
• Posts utilize categories and tags
• Widgets

15. Templates and Themes
• Utilizes a fallback structure
• Parent and Child Themes Supported
• 1600+ available for download

16. Plugins, Extensions, and Customization
• Rich Plugin Architecture
– Observer Pattern utilizing Action and Filter
“Hooks”
• 23,000+ available for download

17. SEO
• Utilizes URL rewriting “permalinks”
• SEO Friendly Images
• Internal Linking

18. Support and Community
• Good Documentation
• WordPress.tv, learn.wordPress.com, etc.
• Guided Tutorials Built In
• 60+ WordCamps per year
• ~500 WordPress Meetups

19. Other Features
• Multi-Site Capable
• 5 Different Native Mobile Apps
• Free WordPress Blogs hosted at
WordPress.com
• WordPress VIP
• Sister Projects called
BuddyPress, BBPress, PollDaddy, Askismet, etc
.

20. Strengths
• Ease of Use
• Backward Compatibility
• Number of Plugins and Themes Available
• Developer Following and Ease of
Customization

21. Weaknesses
• Inflexible (Easy to Outgrow)
• Security

22. Joomla

23. History
• Forked Off of Mambo Project in 2005
• Won Numerous Awards including Packt Open
Source Content Management System Award 3
Times

24. Content Structure
• Utilizes Article and Component Structure
• Leverages Menus To Drive Content Curation
and Display
• Extendible through downloadable
components

25. Templates and Themes
• Robust and Flexible
• Utilize a Fallback Structure
• Parent and Child Structure

26. Plugins, Extensions, and Customization
• 5 Different Extensions Available
– Components, Modules, Plugins, Templates, &
Languages
• Components are ‘mini-applications’
• Modules add functionality (ex: login/search)
• Plugins Extend or modify functionality of
Joomla through use of events
• Templates drive the look and feel
• Languages allow for internationalization

27. SEO
• SEO Friendly URLS
• Customizable Suffixes
• Robots Information on the Menu/Content
Level

28. Support and Community
• Good Documentation
• Thriving Forums
• Joomla Resource Directory
• Joomla Magazine
• Joomla Connect

29. Other Features
• Multi-Site Compatible
• MVC Architecture
• More Functionality Out of the Box

30. Strengths
• Community
• Flexibility

31. Weaknesses
• Security
• Administration is Unintuitive
• Code Bloat

32. Drupal

33. History
• Released in 2001
• Created By Dries Buytaert
• Current Version: 7

34. Content Structure
• Nodes, Content Types, and Fields
• Menus
• Taxonomies
• Views
• Panels

35. Templates and Themes
• Robust and Flexible
• Fallback Structure
• Parent and Child Themes

36. Plugins, Extensions, and Customization
• Modules
• Themes
• Distributions

37. SEO
• Clean URLs
• Paths and Redirects (Canonicalization)
• Meta Information

38. Support and Community
• Good Documentation
• 913,000 User Accounts
• 22,600 Developer Accounts
• 19,000+ Modules Available
• DrupalCon, DrupalCamp, and DrupalGangers

39. Other Features
• Multi-Site Capable
• Multiple DB Support
• Multiple OS/Stack Support
• Actually Referenced as a Framework

40. Strengths
• Highly Flexible
• Community

41. Weaknesses
• Bad UI
• Complex
• Backward Compatibility

42. When Should You Use Each One?

43. Scenario 1: Joe’s Pizza
• Sole Proprietor
• Wants
About, Contact, Directio
ns and Menu Pages
• Wants to be able to
update site with weekly
specials himself

44. Scenario 2: Joe’s Software
• Wants Standard
Company Pages
• Wants a knowledgebase
for software
• Wants a news section
for latest updates and
releases
• Wants developers to
update knowledgebase
but not other pages

45. Scenario 3: Joe’s Realty
• Wants Listings of
Properties
• Wants Company Pages
• Wants a newest listing
section
• Wants Realtors to log in
and edit/update listings
themselves

46. Questions?