Drupal and Sitecore at a glance

Both Drupal and Sitecore are robust enterprise-grade content management systems (CMS), each with its unique characteristics. Drupal is an open-source platform consisting of out-of-the-box capabilities that provide a wide array of content management tools and features. In contrast, Sitecore is a licensed CMS renowned for its top-tier marketing automation tools.

Let’s look into a few parameters that will help you understand the best choice for your brand needs and end goals.

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Content Management

With Drupal’s built-in permissions system and complex user role classification, content collaboration is made simple and controllable. To best meet your editing needs, you can implement processes for content modifications and approvals and design simple or complicated workflows following the standards of the organizations' current content policies

Sitecore doesn't come with pre-configured features like Drupal but its built- in automation capabilities make it the best bet for companies that are looking to create personalized content and orchestrate a comprehensive customer experience. Its versatility is similar when it comes to distributing content across any digital channel, touchpoint, or device but Drupal is a cut above Sitecore when it comes to content management capabilities.

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Responsiveness

The numerous contributed modules and themes help Drupal identify which device is being used and deliver a customized display pattern accordingly.

By employing a responsive web design strategy, Sitecore makes use of templates to build websites that have enhanced appearance and usability across multiple platforms. All websites created with the Sitecore CMS are responsive by default.

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Decoupled and headless approach

Drupal’s headless architecture allows an innovative and independent approach to development. You can build robust cross-platform products with a single repository. Big timers like Weather.com, Warner Music Group, and many more have opted for headless Drupal, providing their consumers with engaging and distinctive front-end designs and quick-loading websites.

Sitecore originated as a headless system but this feature was never highlighted. The intermediate layer between the backend and the frontend is embodied by Sitecore Omni, which is a collection of services that includes Sitecore Services Client API and more in Sitecore 9.1 and the succeeding versions.

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Enterprise integrations

Enterprise integrations are quite extensive in Drupal as it has inbuilt integration capabilities. Drupal effortlessly connects with several third-party programs and CRMs without a hitch Sitecore’s third-party integrations are limited and it relies on partners. There is a compelling argument for Drupal's third-party integrations as Sitecore has no integrations with the top technologies on the market.

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Performance and Scalability

The focus on making Drupal a central API and the addition of new features in Drupal 8 and later versions, both contribute to its remarkable performance and scalability feature. Drupal has prowess in maintaining high-traffic websites and multi-channel sites with specific content like Grammy Awards, NBC Olympics, Pfizer, and more.

Sitecore isn’t that great when it comes to performance and scalability but there are various scaling options available in the Sitecore Experience Database to improve performance and handle increased demand and high website traffic.

Multilingual functionality

Drupal’s out-of-the-box features also consist of multilingual functionality enabling users to localise content for audiences across the globe. Over 100 languages are readily available on Drupal. Sitecore also has built-in support for multilingual functionality, making it simple to set up, regulate, and present content in several languages.

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Security

Drupal has a dedicated security team to address and fix security issues. The most rapidly expanding industries using Drupal include banking, governments, public administration, and healthcare, predominantly because of the high safety standards. Sitecore is on par with Drupal when it comes to security. The likelihood of external security issues infiltrating Sitecore sites is very negligible as they are built to integrate with other systems as little as possible.

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Accessibility

Drupal has always put accessibility at the forefront. With the latest version, this CMS has adopted more Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA)practices with its already available built-in accessibility tools and modules.

Sitecore has a third-party module called accessibility checker that helps in checking if the website meets accessibility standards and guidelines. Site improve is another such module that allows editors to see pages, links, media files, and email addresses in a neat list format enabling its users to focus on accessibility concerns. But this can be quite a taxing process, unlike the feasibility of pre-configured accessibility tools of Drupal.

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Marketing Automation

Drupal does not have integrated marketing automation tools like Sitecore but it renders seamless third-party integration facilities that make integration with leading marketing automation solutions like Google Analytics, Mailchimp, Hubspot, and many others very quick and easy.

Users now have access to a brand-new Marketing automated tool with the most recent Sitecore 9 release, which has a simple drag-and-drop interface assisting users to swiftly design and expand their automated tasks.

Here’s why we recommend Drupal to most businesses:

Unlike Sitecore which requires an upfront hefty licensing fee, Drupal is very cost-efficient and its cost factor goes hand-in-hand with the ease and speed of using the platform. Drupal’s flexibility and versatility are also other factors that give it an edge over Sitecore. Because Sitecore is a proprietary system, acquiring newer features can require waiting until they have been incorporated into the roadmap. Drupal being on the open source, requires no such ordeal.

Over 1,000,000 volunteers and funded contributors actively participate in the thriving Drupal community, making Drupal a very dependable platform. This also means that security and other technical issues can be resolved in a much more open and transparent manner. From a Business perspective, Drupal would be the best option to go for, to cut down on capital while also gaining high-value returns. This is not to say that Sitecore is any less. Sitecore comes with its own benefits but why pay a hefty sum when you can invest less and get the same or even more ROI with Drupal? That is our opinion but at the end of the day, the best choice would be to opt for the option that meets your needs to the T.Our expertise in Drupal has brought us to the top of the Drupal developers chart. Looking to build a dynamic Drupal website? Connect with us now to avail our top-notch Drupal services.