Drupal vs. WordPress: Which is the better CMS option?

Choosing between WordPress and Drupal as a web design platform involves understanding their distinct functionalities and target audiences. WordPress, with a user-friendly interface and over 70,000 plugins, is ideal for simpler sites such as blogs or small business websites, making it accessible to a broader audience and accounting for its 43% market share. Conversely, Drupal is designed for large, complex websites and is favored by institutions like universities for its security, flexibility, and scalability, though it requires more coding knowledge and has a steeper learning curve. Drupal offers native SEO tools and faster performance due to more direct control over markup, while WordPress provides basic SEO and relies heavily on plugins that need maintenance, which can affect site speed. Both platforms are free and open-source, but WordPress also offers a paid version with additional features, and while WordPress includes hosting, Drupal users must find separate hosting solutions. Security-wise, Drupal is perceived as more robust, with fewer vulnerabilities reported, largely due to its streamlined codebase, whereas WordPress's vulnerabilities often stem from third-party plugins and themes.