Which Is The Best CMS - Drupal Vs. WordPress Vs. AEM

Category : Digital Marketing Author : Sagar Jadhav Date Created: 22 Sep 2022

Wondering which is the best CMS platform to use for your website?

A content management system or CMS is software that helps users create, manage, modify, and publish content on their websites and applications without any specialised technical expertise. It helps build a website without the need to write codes or get into the technical nitty gritty. For organisations, it’s basically a publishing engine that builds the foundation of content marketing.

For bigger organisations, given the massive scope of their work and a myriad of operations, having content management software is inevitable. Its features enable their marketing departments to engage prospective customers and drive revenue. So how do you choose a content management software that is right for your enterprise? Let’s find out!

Must-have features for your enterprise content management system

Enterprise content management isn’t a single technology or process. It's an umbrella term that refers to creating, managing, preserving, and delivering content and information throughout its lifecycle. In an enterprise, this critical information is delivered to employees, business stakeholders and customers. A comprehensive enterprise content management system needs to tick the following pointers to be your ideal choice:

Document Management
Provides User Account Control
Ensures Security
Log Audit
Facilitates Migration
Is Scalable & SEO Friendly

The most popular content management systems

Various CMSs are available in the market, including Drupal, Adobe Experience Manager, WordPress, Joomla etc. Given its critical nature, enterprises need to choose the one that’s best suited for their needs. Let’s look at some of the most popular content management systems that are available in the market, along with their strengths and weaknesses.

Drupal

Drupal is an open-source CMS that was introduced in 2000 as a message board by its originator, Dries Buytaert. It's used to build many websites and applications that are used every day. Drupal has great standard features, like easy content authoring, reliable performance, and excellent security. But what sets it apart from its competitors is the flexibility and customisation that it offers through innovation and state-of-the-art features. Its tools can be used to build versatile, structured content that’s essential for delivering dynamic web experiences.

Drupal is the driving force behind 2.1% of websites across the internet. It’s also the preferred choice of many premium and large-scale enterprises.

Strengths	Weaknesses
More choices of themes and plugins	Getting used to it takes time
Open source	Significant updates are hard to implement
Suitable for social networks	Installation takes a little longer as compared to other CMS
Flexible content elements creation

Adobe Experience Manager

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is a comprehensive CMS that’s used for building websites, mobile apps, and forms. AEM facilitates the management of your marketing content and assets.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Can manage a lot of content	Difficult to adopt without a tech background
Gives access to Creative Cloud Integration	Inconsistent user interface
Incorporates an intelligent search approach	Different sign-ins required to access other areas of the system
Provides an individual workspace to manage uploaded projects	Requires IT assistance throughout the lifespan of this product
Has a variety of installation options	Lack of flexibility in structure

WordPress

WordPress was launched as a blogging platform in 2003 and has been a popular CMS worldwide since then. It’s a free and open-source CMS preferred by both individuals and organisations for website creation and development.

WordPress offers a wide range of third-party plugins that help in effective website management and content creation. It’s equipped with an interactive dashboard that facilitates seamless movement across the website. It doesn’t require coding or technical knowledge to build a website on WordPress.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Quick installation	Vulnerable to cyber attacks
Easy to use	Performance is impacted by too many plugins
Great options of themes and plugins
Larger community base
Open source

Now that you understand the pros and cons of each Content Management System, let’s dive into a comprehensive comparison between the three.

Drupal Vs. WordPress Vs. Adobe Experience Manager

Parameter	Drupal	WordPress	Adobe Experience Manager
Market Share	2.1%	64.3% However, a larger part of it belongs to standalone blogs. Corporate website and E-commerce website share will be lower due to a lack of built-in enterprise content management solutions.	1.6%
Ease of Content Management	Moderately easy Needs technical knowledge	Easy Needs website frontend knowledge	Very easy
SEO-friendly CMS	SEO features can be extended via Metatag module	SEO features can be extended via YoastSEO	Built-in support for SEO tags
Analytics and Tracking	Very easy Can be handled by content managers	Very easy Can be handled by content managers	Moderate Assistance from AEM developer required
CRM Integration SalesForce, HubSpot, Zoho	Easy Integrations can be done via contributed modules like SalesForceSuite and HubSpot	Easy 3rd party plugins like WP SalesForce, HubSpot – CRM, Email Marketing, Live Chat, Forms & Analytics are available	Moderate Salesforce API integration package is required OOTB HubSpot is not available Assistance from AEM developer required
Ease of Theme Customisation	Moderate While content can be managed via CMS, design changes might require a theme developer depending on the complexity of the page structure	Easy WordPress comes with a host of pre-configured themes	Easy AEM is built around drag and drop page builder
Document Management	Good Built-in document manager	Good Built-in media manager	Excellent Adobe provides comprehensive document management service
User Access Control	Good Built-in Workflow and Role-based access management	Moderate Can be extended via 3rd party plugins like Advanced access manager	Excellent AEM provides User and Group level access management
Security	Good Based on the Symfony framework Good web application level security Requires server knowledge to harden security	Moderate Requires server knowledge and web application to harden security	Very good Security is managed via self-hosted CMS architecture Dependent on the experience of the AEM developer for application-level security
Log Audit	Good Multiple options of logging and activity storage are available	Moderate Requires 3rd party plugins to manage audit logs	Excellent Sling-based logging
Ease of Migration and Updates	Moderate Version updates require the involvement of expert drupal developers	Moderate Version updates require the involvement of expert WordPress developers	Moderate Version updates require the involvement of expert AEM developers
Availability of resources and community support. We can predict the availability of skilled resources considering the vacancies listed on Naukri.com for India.	Naukri.com data shows ~9000 vacancies across India. This shows skilled resources are easily available for Drupal as vacancies are filling faster. High availability signifies faster resolution and shorter delivery time.	Data shows ~7500 vacancies across India. This shows skilled resources are easily available for WordPress as vacancies are filling faster. High availability signifies faster resolution and shorter delivery time.	Data shows ~31000 vacancies across India. This shows there is a shortage of skilled resources for AEM. Shortage of skilled resources can hamper the overall quality and delivery of the project.
Licence Cost	GNU GPLv2 Free	GNU GPLv2 Free	Starts at $100,000
Server/Hosting Cost Cloud Server	~ $60 - $500 per month	~ $60 - $500 per month	Self-hosted
Design and Development Cost	Design and development cost for any website varies depending on the scope and complexity of the work involved in creative and technology services

Final thoughts:

There are various aspects in which these leading Content Management Systems differ from each other. Considering your requirements, budget, and business goals is essential when choosing the one for your enterprise. No matter which CMS you choose, Amura Marketing Technologies has the expertise to integrate your preferred CMS and devise a winning marketing strategy for your organisation.

Being a leading performance marketing agency in India, Amura has helped many global brands transform their businesses digitally. Ready to give your organisation the digital edge? Get in touch with us today!