Drupal

Drupal is an open-source CMS that allows you to create flexible, powerful, and customized websites. It is particularly well suited to complex projects such as institutional websites, community platforms, intranets, and corporate portals.

It was a very popular software a few years ago. And even though its market share is declining today, some companies continue to use it on a daily basis (as is the case with Joomla, for example).

Drupal is completely open-source, which means you can use, modify, and customize it freely. It is maintained by a large community of developers around the world, which guarantees continuous development, regular updates, and great technical freedom to adapt the CMS to your needs.

An open-source CMS (such as Drupal, WordPress, or PrestaShop) allows you to modify the code and host your site yourself on your own servers or with a web host.

Unlike a proprietary CMS (such as Shopify or Wix), it is closed. This means that you cannot modify the code. And the site is hosted by the company that owns the CMS.

It would take a long time to list all the differences between these three CMSs. But in a nutshell:

WordPress is very popular for its simplicity and ease of use, perfect for blogs or showcase sites. You can create (almost) any type of site with WordPress.

Drupal is more technical, but also much more powerful. It is designed for custom websites, with a very advanced modular logic.

Joomla falls somewhere in between, with more flexibility than WordPress but a slightly longer learning curve.

If you have a complex or evolving project, Drupal is often the most solid choice.

Drupal remains an excellent option in 2025, especially if you are working on a project that is demanding in terms of structure, security, or performance.

It is less accessible than other CMSs for beginners, but it offers enormous potential for developers or technical teams. It is a tool that has evolved and continues to be used by large companies and institutions around the world.

It all depends on what you're looking for. For a simpler site to get started with, WordPress is often the first alternative. The advantage of WordPress is that you can create almost anything with it.

For an e-commerce project, PrestaShop or Shopify may be more suitable. PrestaShop is less expensive but more technical. Shopify can cost around $100 per month with several applications, but it is very easy to use on a daily basis.

And if you want to focus on web design, Webflow or Framer will be more suitable.

The important thing is to choose the tool that really suits the nature of your project.

Drupal is renowned for its ability to manage high-traffic or complex websites. It allows you to build very specific content structures, manage large amounts of data, and integrates caching and optimization mechanisms to absorb traffic spikes.

It's a reliable solution if you have big ambitions for your site. Provided, of course, that you find a freelance Drupal developer who is willing to create and/or maintain your site. You can find our Drupal experts on this page.

To manage an existing site, you don't need to be a developer. With a little practice, you can publish content, edit pages, and organize menus. But I have to admit that it's not the easiest CMS to learn.

On the other hand, to create a Drupal site from scratch or to customize advanced features, it's better to have technical skills or work with a developer. It's a very powerful CMS, but clearly more technical than WordPress.

Drupal is perfectly suited to complex, structured, or scalable projects. For example, institutional websites, government portals, intranets, community platforms, or media outlets that manage a lot of content.

If your project requires detailed user role management, varied content types, or a custom architecture, Drupal is an excellent choice.

In Drupal, you create your own content types with the fields you need: text, image, date, file, etc. You then have complete freedom to organize the display, create custom views, filter, and structure the information.

It's a very powerful content management system that requires a little learning, but allows you to build a site exactly as you imagined it.

A Drupal module is an extension that adds new features to your site: advanced forms, comment systems, external integration, SEO optimization, etc. There are thousands of them, free and open-source.

You can install them directly from the site administration or via commands if you have developer access. This is one of Drupal's great strengths: you only add what you need.

Drupal is known for its high level of security. It is regularly updated, and a dedicated team within the community monitors potential vulnerabilities. It is used by many public institutions and large companies precisely because of its reliability.

If you have strict security requirements, Drupal is a safe bet, provided you keep it up to date and follow best practices.

What's more, hackers today mainly focus on WordPress vulnerabilities, as it is the most widely used open-source CMS in the world. Given that Drupal is losing market share, you can rest assured.

Drupal is particularly well suited to this type of structure. It can manage complex sites with multiple access levels, validation workflows, large volumes of content, and high security requirements.

This is why it is used by many government agencies, NGOs, large companies, and universities around the world. If you need a reliable, scalable, and structured website, Drupal is a solid option.

The main disadvantage of Drupal is its complexity. It is more technical to learn than other CMSs such as WordPress or Joomla. Creating a website often requires the help of a developer, especially if you need custom features.

Another issue is the ecosystem, which is less mainstream, which can make certain searches more time-consuming. But once it's up and running, it's an extremely powerful tool.

You can find a freelance Drupal expert directly on our BeFreelancr platform (above on this page). Whether you need to create a website from scratch, redesign an existing one, fix bugs, develop a specific module, or optimize performance, you will find specialized profiles capable of assisting you, regardless of the complexity of your project.

I won't hide the fact that this skill is quite rare today, and that Drupal developers sometimes deactivate their profiles when they have ongoing projects. So if you need a Drupal expert and can't find one on this page, please contact us.

On BeFreelancr, you have access to a wide range of Drupal-related services: complete website creation, module development, custom design integration, content migration, security audits, technical maintenance, tool training, and performance optimization.

If you use Drupal or want to adopt it, you'll find a freelancer to help you with every step of your project.

Migrating a Drupal site to another CMS such as WordPress or Webflow is possible, but it requires careful preparation. You can't just export/import an entire site: you have to transfer the content, design, features, etc., and adapt everything to the new system. It's a project in itself, but it can be worth it if you want to simplify your management or change your technical approach.

For this type of task, I recommend that you take extreme care during the migration and seek assistance if you are not comfortable with the technical aspects. You can find Drupal experts on this page (above).

Conversely, if you want to migrate from another CMS to Drupal, that's also possible.