15 Best Drupal Alternatives For Building A Great Website & Blog

If you're considering the benefits of blogging for business, you may also want to explore Drupal alternatives. There are many blogging platforms on the market, but Drupal isn't for everyone. You may need to look for a Drupal alternative that offers an easier to use interface, better integration with other tools, or more advanced features. In this blog, we'll explore some of the best alternatives to Drupal, including WordPress, Joomla, and others. Whether you're a seasoned developer or a small business owner looking to improve your online presence, we have the answers you need. Let's dive in.

What Is Drupal?

Drupal is a powerful open-source content management system designed by developers for developers. It is free to download and comes with robust built-in functionality, security features, and over 40,000 modules for extending the platform’s functionality. This flexibility sets Drupal apart from other CMS platforms but does require a steeper learning curve compared to its alternatives.

To fully leverage the power of Drupal, users need to be familiar with HTML, CSS, and PHP. While advanced users will appreciate Drupal’s extensive functionality, those with less technical knowledge may find it challenging to use.

Alternatives to Drupal: Find the Perfect Match for Your Needs

While Drupal remains a valid CMS option, there are many alternatives that offer more advanced functionalities and ease of use. Whether you need a system that's easier to use on the back end or one that lets you customize your brand, you can find alternatives to Drupal that will undoubtedly meet your needs, depending on what you value most, whether budget or scalability.

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What To Look For In A Drupal Alternative

Ease of Use

When choosing a Drupal alternative, one of the most critical factors to consider is ease of use. Unlike many other content management systems (CMS), Drupal comes with a steep learning curve that requires users to possess some level of coding knowledge. This can be especially daunting for small business owners or solopreneurs who are looking to build a website or blog without getting involved in the technical aspect of coding.

A good alternative to Drupal should offer an easy-to-use interface that allows users to edit, manage, and customize content without the need for programming skills. Look for a CMS that provides an efficient and streamlined solution, making the website-building process smooth and hassle-free.

Support

Another important factor to consider when seeking a Drupal alternative is the level of support provided by the platform. While Drupal is an open-source CMS that is free to download, it lacks traditional customer support, account management, and helpful customer representatives. Users may find it challenging to troubleshoot issues or seek assistance when needed, which can be frustrating for those who are new to website development and maintenance.

A good alternative to Drupal should offer personalized one-on-one support and have an extensive resource library to help users navigate the platform effectively. Look for a CMS that provides adequate support and assistance to ensure a smooth website-building experience.

Out-of-the-Box Readiness

Drupal offers a high level of flexibility and customization, allowing users to create unique and highly customized websites. Setting up a new Drupal website can be time-consuming and requires coding skills to achieve the desired customization. For users who prefer a more straightforward and user-friendly website-building experience, it's essential to look for a Drupal alternative that offers out-of-the-box readiness.

Consider a CMS that comes with pre-built features or has a ready-made app store where users can download plugins to enhance their website's functionality. This will save time and effort during the website setup process and allow users to focus on creating content and growing their online presence.

Streamlining Blog Management with Feather

Feather is an SEO-friendly blog that allows you to publish blog content through Notion, and it requires no coding or design skills. Companies can write blog content on Notion and automatically publish it to their Feather blog. It allows you to set up a Subfolder blog (domain.com/blog instead of blog.domain.com) – a better option for SEO.

By allowing companies to manage all of their CRM and website blog management through Notion, Feather and Carrd can provide the HubSpot experience. With options to change design using custom CSS, collect Emails, and much more, Feather enables companies to write on Notion and automatically publish to an SEO-friendly blog. The tool allows easy collaboration among the entire team during the publishing process.

Try Feather’s notion to blog software for free today — create a new account and go from notion to blog in minutes!

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15 Best Drupal Alternatives For Building A Great Website & Blog

1. Feather

Try Feather’s notion to blog software for free today — create a new account and go from notion to blog in minutes!

2. WordPress

WordPress is one of the most popular CMS that can be used for corporate websites, blogs, and online stores. The software solution provides an extensive selection of design templates and websites can be adapted through add-ons and plugins. Operating a professional website incurs monthly fees of around $25. Cheaper plans do not include special functionalities such as search engine optimization or plugin integration.

If you wish to integrate an online store, costs can increase to $50 per month, which is competitive when compared to premium offers from Shopify and the like. WordPress functions are not all that self-explanatory, which means users should have some basic knowledge of website creation. To integrate a web store, users would need an idea of how to integrate plugins in WordPress.

Advantages

Live demo previews of the final website

Over 50,000 plugins for a high degree of customization

Disadvantages

Combination of website and online store is cheaper elsewhere

Basic knowledge required to create a website and store

3. Content Hub

Content Hub is a great Drupal alternative for businesses that need one tool for their developers, marketers, and IT professionals. Offering smart content, SEO recommendations, and support for multi-language content variations, Content Hub is designed to help businesses build and grow a website that's optimized for every device and every visitor.

Advantages

Includes hosting and customer support

Built-in CRM

Integrated with HubSpot’s marketing, sales, and service tools

Global CDN, Web Application Firewall, and standard SSL

Disadvantages

Less extensions than Drupal

Pay to use proprietary software

Pricing

Professional tier

$300 per month

Enterprise tier

$900 per month

4. Joomla

Joomla is a Drupal alternative that’s ideal for creating membership sites, social networking sites, portals, and other web projects with lots of users. While site owners don’t need to have coding skills to use Joomla, it will help shorten the learning curve.

Advantages

Built-in multilingual support

Advanced user and content management options

Can create custom post types

Disadvantages

No official theme directory

Flaws in code make sites vulnerable

Extensions need to be installed via the backend, which can be difficult for non-technical users

Pricing

Free to download but costs associated with domain registration, hosting, and premium plugins and themes

Average cost

$700-$6500 per month

5. Weebly

Weebly is similar to Drupal in that the CMS is structured like a website builder. Users can create a website in just a few steps using drag-and-drop features. Basic functions include search engine optimization and are free of charge. The web domain in the basic plan is Weebly-branded. For personalized domains, Weebly charges $9 per month.

Online Store Features and Pricing

Users can integrate a shopping cart when selecting the Pro plan. Although Weebly divides its offering into websites and online stores, the Pro and Business rates already include online store features. To manage articles or discount codes, you will need the Business plan from $25 per month if paid annually.

Weebly vs. Drupal: Ease of Use and Cost Comparison

Weebly is a great alternative to Drupal for beginners because of its ease of use. Costs can add up for more advanced features. It is a good idea to compare Weebly’s professional plans with those of other providers before making a decision.

Advantages

Simple website creation via a modular system

Integration of the online store takes place without an additional plan starting with the Pro option

Disadvantages

Web store functions are limited in the Pro plan

The Connect plan which costs $9/month doesn’t come with advanced functionalities

Pricing

The Pro version costs $16 per month and boasts advanced features such as telephone and chat support and extensive site statistics to measure web traffic. Versions below the Pro plan feature adverts. In the Pro plan, all adverts are removed.

6. Shopify

Shopify is an alternative to Drupal that’s ideal for entrepreneurs and small ecommerce businesses looking to grow. Shopify Payments, Channels, and Multi-Currency are just a few of the innovative core features this ecommerce platform offers to help you provide a seamless customer experience on your site.

Advantages

A ton of built-in functionality

All plans include hosting and SSL

Largest app marketplace of any dedicated ecommerce platform

Disadvantages

Limited selection of templates

Monthly packages can be too pricey for first-time shop owners

Pricing

Basic Shopify

$29 per month

Shopify

$79 per month

Advanced Shopify

$299 per month

7. Bitrix24

Bitrix is a Drupal alternative for individuals and small businesses looking for basic CRM and lead gen capabilities to build a simple business site. Most of these users could probably get what they need from the free plan, which offers 5 GB of cloud storage as well as access to its core CRM and task management, communications, and website-building tools.

Advantages

A free limited version is available

Website builder natively integrated with CRM and marketing automation tools

Disadvantages

Website builder still in testing mode

Complex user interface

Limited customization options and integrations

Pricing

Start+ plan

$24 per month

CRM+ and Project+ plan

$69 per month

Standard plan

$79 per month

Professional plan

$159 per month

8. Webflow

Webflow is a mixture of CMS and website builder. Once registered, users can either use a ready-made template or design the desired website themselves. Compared to WordPress only a few templates are free of charge. Other designs can incur charges of over $100.

Webflow is special when it comes to creating a website. The system uses boxes that can be arranged on top of one another, next to each other, or nested inside each other. The final design of a website is based on a user’s arrangement of boxes. In terms of operation, Webflow is more reminiscent of an image editing program such as Photoshop or GIMP. In order to achieve the desired result some programming skills are advantageous, making Webflow less suitable for beginners.

Advantages

Extensive, customizable design options

Additional costs for templates

Disadvantages

Not suitable for beginners due to complexity

Can be a little pricey

Pricing

Basic use of Webflow is free of charge. The Business plan costs $36 per month and lets users boost the number of permitted page views or functions and integrate forms, among other features.

An additional $29 per month is charged for online store integration which can increase to $212 for the Advanced plan, making Webflow’s professional plan one of the more expensive solutions available at a total minimum cost of $248.

9. Adobe Commerce (Magento)

Magento is a Drupal alternative designed for growing ecommerce businesses or existing ones with global reach. Whether you’re using the free Magento Open Source eCommerce software or the all-in-one cloud solution Magento Commerce, you’ll get all the features you need to build and run a store online, including product comparisons, product tiers, discounts, coupons, and multi-store management.

Advantages

Can manage multiple stores

Transact in multiple countries, languages, and currencies

WYSIWYG editor and more available in Commerce edition

Disadvantages

Difficult and time-consuming to learn platform

Extensions can be expensive

Pricing

Magento Open Source

Free to download but costs associated with domain registration, hosting, and premium extensions and templates

Average cost for Open Source

$15,000

Magento Commerce

Starts at $22,000

10. TYPO3

TYPO3 is an ideal Drupal alternative for advanced programmers at enterprise companies. Supporting smart content, multi-language and site management, and integrations with most third-party tools, TYPO3 is a powerful platform for building complex web projects like university sites. In return, it does require a significant investment of time and resources to learn and be able to fully leverage the platform’s capabilities.

Advantages

Can create and manage multi-site installations in different languages

Configure advanced user roles and permissions

Even more extensible than Drupal

Disadvantages

Missing some basic functionality, like embedding videos

Interface looks outdated

Even advanced users have to dedicate a lot of time to learning the platform

Pricing

Free to download but costs associated with domain registration, hosting, premium plugins and themes, and hiring a development partner

Average cost: approximately $10,000 for education site

More Drupal Alternatives

11. CraftCMS

Craft CMS is one of the more popular open-source content management systems for web developers today, thanks to its customizability and flexibility. Similar to WordPress, but altogether simpler, Craft CMS is a fresh alternative to Drupal. Some developers just love CraftCMS. It’s also easy to use with intuitive navigation tools and a vast library of plugins from third-party providers that extend functionality further still.

Powerful and User-Friendly CMS

Craft is touted as one of the most powerful and user-friendly open-source publishing platforms on offer today with its range of customizable templates and modules making it “ideal for creating complex websites quickly.”

Features and Advantages Over Drupal

Craft is a content management system that provides everything developers need, while also being secure and supported. Compared to Drupal, this sounds fairly appealing to most organizations.

It has integration capabilities with marketing tools such as:

Salesforce and Mailchimp

Localization services for an unlimited number of sites in multiple languages

An internationalized admin panel translated into 25 languages

Authors’ ascend feature to give them a user-friendly authoring experience

Scalability to fit any business size or type from small portfolios to large multinational companies

Access to the worldwide Craft community for support.

The Ideal Choice for Organizations Seeking Simplicity and Customizability

If your organization demands simplicity, but also customizability, and your technical team prefers to develop more traditionally, then CraftCMS is a very good alternative to Drupal.

12. October CMS

OctoberCMS is a powerful open-source platform that has been steadily growing in popularity since its launch back in 2014. October CMS is an open-source content management system that was engineered to be easy for developers and users. It is built on Laravel, the best PHP framework available, and includes all of the necessary tools and classes to create amazing websites.

Intuitive Website Creation with Drag-and-Drop Interface

Its easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface makes creating complex websites quick and intuitive, while the ‘theme engine’ feature allows users to quickly switch between different designs without having to start from scratch each time you need an update!

Easy Development with Laravel/PHP Integration

Development with OctoberCMS is easy to learn if you're familiar with Laravel / PHP.

October CMS allows developers to build pages quickly with components and its simple template engine (Twig).

The platform also offers a code editor, compatibility with Composer package manager, asset combiner for reduced page load times/server traffic, multisite feature for multiple languages support as well as Tailor – a tool that automatically creates content types from YAML files.

13. Adobe Experience Manager

Adobe Experience Manager, also known as AEM, is a comprehensive content management solution from Adobe. It is ideal for organizations wanting to deliver personalized customer experiences across all channels. Having its roots in content management, AEM encompasses digital asset management, a full-featured CMS, and features for facilitating digital marketing and e-commerce.

Efficient Content Management

In general, AEM allows organizations to manage their marketing content and assets more efficiently and improves time-to-market by allowing marketers and IT to work together to design, manage, and optimize online customer experiences across many channels, brands, and inter-connected organizations.

Enterprise-Level Solution

Adobe’s platform offers an enterprise-level solution that surpasses typical content management by incorporating digital asset management and customer communication applications. Developed for large-scale organizations with complex demands, it provides a suite of tools designed to create and manage digital customer experiences across multiple channels, including web, mobile, and social.

Market Acceptance and Integration

Launched in 2012, AEM has gradually found market acceptance and is commonly deemed as a strong platform and great alternative to Drupal for larger organizations. It is a part of the Adobe Marketing Cloud, which is a comprehensive suite of marketing solutions. A popular option among enterprises, AEM integrates well with other Adobe products, providing a consistent and connected experience.

Considerations and Challenges: AEM vs. Drupal

Growing in popularity, there are some challenges for organizations that choose to go with AEM over Drupal, and some brands are leaving Adobe Experience Manager. AEM utilizes a component-based framework for developing web pages. This means developers can create modular pieces of content, such as text, images, and video, and then reuse them across multiple pages or sites.

14. Ghost CMS

GhostCMS is a simplistic, versatile content management system that emphasizes clean, easy to use functionality and fast performance. It’s become a favorite amongst bloggers, news agencies, and podcasters thanks to its sharp focus on content generation and management.

Empowering Professional Publishers

In their own words, “Ghost is a powerful app for professional publishers to create, share, and grow a business around their content.” the team offers. “It comes with modern tools to build a website, publish content, send newsletters & offer paid subscriptions to members.”

Origins and Evolution

Launched in 2013 after a successful Kickstarter campaign, Ghost was developed by John O’Nolan and Hannah Wolfe as a reaction to what they saw as the increasingly complex nature of WordPress, which they felt was becoming less focused on simple blog creation.

Target Audience and Features

Unlike other more feature-heavy CMS platforms, Ghost specifically targets writers, journalists, and publishers who are in need of a platform that places all emphasis on content creation and distribution. It’s an open-source Node.js CMS that can either be self-hosted for free or on the official hosting platform Ghost(pro), available for a monthly subscription fee.

The interface is simplified yet effective — an intuitive dashboard where you can see everything at a glance: your site’s traffic, engagement metrics (like your most popular pieces of content), your email newsletter metrics (open rates/click-through rates), your members’ data (free/paid) etc.

15. Bolt CMS

Bolt CMS is built on the Symfony framework. It caters to developers looking for a system tailored to very specific requirements. This stands in contrast to the more rigid structure of Drupal, which, while highly customizable, can also be more complex and unwieldy for simpler projects.

Bolt CMS offers a clean and intuitive interface for content creation and management, making it easier for content creators to navigate and use the platform effectively. Although simpler than traditional CMS like WordPress, Bolt CMS requires some technical knowledge compared to drag-and-drop website builders like Squarespace. Installing and configuring Bolt might necessitate a basic understanding of PHP and web servers.

Complete Step-by-Step Guide On How To Create A Blog for Your Website on Notion with Feather

Choosing The Best Drupal Alternative For You

Drupal Alternatives

Each of the alternatives to Drupal comes with its own set of unique advantages and features, which may make it a better fit for certain organizations. As you consider which platform is best for you, there are several important factors to weigh

1. Feature Comparison

Among the most important factors to consider when evaluating alternatives to Drupal are their respective features. Each platform offers a distinct set of features, so it's crucial to compare these features to determine which platform best aligns with your organization's needs.

2. Customization and Flexibility

A key factor when choosing a Drupal alternative is customization. You want a platform that allows you to create a unique and visually appealing website. Some alternatives to Drupal are more flexible and customizable than others, so a flexible platform is an important consideration depending on your business needs.

3. Ease of Use

The ease of use of a platform is also a critical factor to consider. Different platforms have different learning curves and require different levels of technical expertise. Make sure the platform you select aligns with the skill set of your team or the resources available to you.

4. Scalability

Scalability is an important factor to consider when evaluating Drupal alternatives. You want a platform that can grow with your business and accommodate your organization's changing needs. A scalable platform ensures you don't have to switch platforms as your business grows.

5. Security

Security is a paramount concern when choosing a platform. You must ensure your website is protected from cyber threats and vulnerabilities. Some platforms offer better security features and options than others, so be sure to prioritize security in your evaluation process.

6. Support and Community

Support and community are essential factors to consider when choosing a Drupal alternative. A platform with a thriving community and access to reliable support can help you troubleshoot issues and optimize your website effectively. Be sure to consider the availability of support and community resources when evaluating your options.

Use Notion As Your Blog CMS With Feather

Feather is a game-changer in the world of blogging, allowing users to seamlessly transition their Notion content into an SEO-friendly blog without any coding or design skills. The platform offers a user-friendly interface that enables companies to effortlessly create and publish blog content through Notion. This software is particularly beneficial for organizations seeking a subfolder blog setup (e.g., domain.com/blog rather than blog.domain.com), which, as research has shown, is more favorable for SEO purposes.

Achieving the HubSpot Experience with Feather

By utilizing Feather, companies can achieve the HubSpot experience through Notion, streamlining CRM and website blog management within a single platform. The software also provides customization options through custom CSS, email collection features, and more. With Feather, writing on Notion and automatically publishing to an SEO-friendly blog has never been easier.

Seamless Collaboration and Optimization

Collaborating with team members during the publishing process is seamless and efficient, making content creation a breeze. For those looking to optimize their blogging process, Feather's Notion to blog software offers a free trial to test the platform's capabilities firsthand.

Transform your Notion content into a powerful SEO asset with Feather today.