Drupal Reviews

As an ASA. As a primarily back-end developer, the extensible OO architecture is the most valuable, along with the CMS and related services it provides, such as revisioning, workflow, translation, and API scaffolding.

Drupal has made it possible to address a wide breadth of web site requirements.

The current version represents a new architecture for the product: Object-oriented sitting atop Symfony 2, rather than procedural.

The kinks are still being worked out, so there is an opportunity to improve on the current state of most of it. APIs are improved, and the originals were deprecated but were left in place. Features that weren't ready for release are completed and added, such as media handling, due in 8.3.

New features that are being considered are added as experimental modules: They come disabled, but can be enabled by the admin.

Drupal, like the Enterprise, birthed new versions from the ashes of the old. Starting with D8, it improves as it journeys.

I have used Drupal for about 10 years. I used D8 since its release, for about a year and a half.

No issues with stability. It was vetted very well in beta and it has been stable.

Drupal 8 has an architecture that will scale well and better than previous versions, especially given big pipe. This will allow for scaling, even with authenticated users. This is something that was not possible in earlier versions.

Despite being open source, Drupal has a large and active community. Support, though voluntary, is rarely hard to find.

Drupal 8 can be somewhat complex to set up because of the supporting technologies that should be installed, such as Composer, Drush, and Drupal Console.

It's free.

We did not evaluate other options.

Drupal for end users is fairly straightforward. For developers, the learning curve to be proficient is about two years.

Its scalability, content management practices, security and the community are valuable features.

The product is very well-supported. Every day, the Drupal community all over the world posts new updates along with the bug fixes and security updates. So, the product is getting better and better each day.

After many years of development (it has already reached version 8), Drupal gets great content management schemes and processes. Data is well-structured and controlled from any part of the code.

In the case of the required changes in some part of the functionality, you can apply changes without rewriting the features from scratch.

Developing more profiles easily and fast would really help. With the minimum profile functionalities, there is a need for supported functions like commerce or a new website.

I have used Drupal 8 for 2 two years, I have used Drupal for more than five years.

There were some stability issues, i.e., only with the new version, the main changes are not stable. However, now it is very stable.

There were no scalability issues. You can scale any part of the project. You can replace some features if you need to.

I would rate the technical support a 9/10.

I have some experience with Java Spring MVC Framework. Drupal allows us to work much faster but as a counter part, it is slower.

The initial setup in the new version is extremely easy and fast with Drupal VM or Docker. In drupal.org you can find a lot of other possible solutions.

Drupal is open-source and free. You will pay only for the developers to get your unique project.

I have evaluated other commonly used CMS solutions such as WordPress and Magento, but Drupal has many more features and it is more scalable.

You should definitely use this product.

After so many years of development, it has already lots of developed APIs with the third products like CRM and ERP.

You can integrate it easily with your other IT infrastructure.

The ability to create a complex website with a few developments is the most valuable feature, that's what got me started. Of course, a lot of other things are valuable such as the use of Symfony as a framework, the user management system, Internationalization, community and so on.

Creating websites with Drupal allows us to meet our customer needs. It provides a tailored website by using the same CMS and framework. In the end, our goal is to give autonomy for the contributors and to make them feel it's easy to manage their website.

The UI can, probably, be improved as well as the documentation.

For the UI, as WordPress is the biggest challenger of Drupal, we can observe some sort of lacking in that domain, even though it has been largely improved over time. Although, what we have tried to do, is always to create the best UI for contribution and most of the times, the way that the fields are displayed have so much logic behind them, that there is no need for any training. That's one of our primary goals and what satisfies me in the end, is when we deliver to the client.

As it's an open-source project, sometimes it's hard to find any documentation; although it has been improved over time as well. For instance, Symfony on which Drupal 8 is based, has very good documentation. Sometimes, you just have to read the code to understand how it works or how to use an API, which is not the best way to learn for everyone.

I have been using this solution for seven years and am still counting.

We did sometimes encounter stability issues with a few modules, but hardly ever with the core of Drupal itself.

I never thought that there was anything that we couldn't do with Drupal.

Since it's an open-source solution, I'd say that you have to get involved and be able to ask the right person.

I tried WordPress but it seems too limited for me.

The learning curve is rather complex but once you reach a certain level, then there is no limit.

Just invest in a good server, you can use Drupal for free :-)

At the time I started using Drupal, I looked into Joomla, eZ Publish and WordPress.

Due to the community and orientation of Drupal (thanks to Dries Buytaert who is the creator of Drupal), it was a more reasonable choice to make.

Find the right project and just start using it. There is no other way than just jumping into Drupal to know how powerful it is and to learn how to use it. If you have any question, look into drupal.stackexchange.com. If you don't find the answer, just ask.

Frankly, besides WordPress, no other CMS can compete with Drupal.

It is a very powerful tool for the developer's hands and also, it's very easy for the content editors to use.

It's a framework integrated with CMS. The advantage of having a framework with CMS is that you make the software useful for both the developer teams and the content editors, at the same time. You can create rich experiences by allowing the developers to extend what is already provided and at the same time, making the CMS experience even richer.

Drupal 8 did a great step by integrating with the Symfony Framework. Now, the documentation is easier to read through and it's more intuitive.

There is need for better organization of the documentation on the drupal.org site.

We have been using Drupal versions 6, 7 and 8 for around eight years.

We encountered some stability issues, only when the modules/profiles/themes are on the development version (but not always).

So far, Drupal 8 has been doing an excellent job with all the integrations that it provides. So the answer is, so far, there were no scalability issues.

Technical support is a community, so it goes from the junior to senior consultants.

We have used WordPress before, but not for so long, so I can't really compare.

The setup is pretty simple and intuitive. It, of course, involves a little bit of technical knowledge, such as how to set up the DB and giving some folders a special writing permission.

It is an open-source project; it is totally free.

It was more like Drupal chose me, I was working for J&J and this was its framework.

Read about it, ask the community and NEVER EVER change the Drupal core.

• Flexibility
• A vast number of contributed modules
• Good support

Drupal CMS helped in the realization of content-rich web sites that combine article presentation with sophisticated, back-end admin functionality.

The documentation needs improvement.

I have used Drupal for one month.

We haven’t had stability issues.

There have been no scalability issues.

The technical support is good, but it needs improvement.

I didn’t use a different solution before using Drupal.

The initial setup was very complex, due to the lack of proper documentation.

Drupal CMS is an open-source product and it’s free of charge. Some of the contributed modules may use different licensing.

I didn’t evaluate other options.

You should hire an expert, or at least get familiar with the large number of Drupal based distributions.

The new component-based content management is very helpful. It is cludgy at first, but maintenance is very nice among many content contributors.

It makes it easier for multiple people to contribute content and handle who has access to what. Very few CMS systems have such granular, controllable access permissions.

I liked the configuration being more database oriented. The file-based configuration is nicer for deployment and makes it quicker. However, the other 99% of the time, it's a pain in the butt.

They drew the line between what is "config" and what is "content". What is config is file passed, is exported, pushed to the server and imported as configuration.

This make a large deployment much easier, quicker and cleaner. However, when you want to add a permission to a user role, something as simple as that checkbox, forces a config push, which annoys me.

At a certain point that takes away from what a CMS should be. I get the
file based for some basic config storage, but at a certain point it really
gets in the way of productivity.

I've been using Drupal for many years, starting with, I believe, version 5. I used version 6, for sure, and now I am getting into version 8. I am about ready to take some certification courses.

There have been no stability issues.

There have been no scalability issues.

There is no support other than the user community, which tends to be far better than most paid support.

I've used many solutions over the years. Some are easier, but they tend to be less scalable. Drupal is a great balance.

It is pretty simple to install, but more complex to configure and get going.

I have no advice. It's free!

We've always looked at many alternatives and Drupal always rises above for a large scale contributor base, general security, and lack of vulnerabilities.

Educate yourself and take your time.

Drupal is one of the most robust content management systems. My favorite features are:

• The ability to create content types using Drupal's field system
• A robust categorization tool provided by Drupal's taxonomy system
• Access control using the user roles and permissions
• Extensibility using thousands of contributed modules

• Admin Interface: You'll often hear that Drupal has a pretty high learning curve. I attribute that to its admin interface. New users can find it pretty difficult to understand. It's rarely intuitive and lacks hints/suggestions.

• Example Content: Drupal doesn't come with any default content. When you set up and start using Drupal, you'll find that it's pretty empty. With the addition of the example content (preferably with guides/tours), it would be possible to make Drupal easier to understand.

• Lack of good and ready-to-use themes: Drupal.org provides thousands of themes, but most of the time, they are not ready-to-use. Most of these themes are what we call "base themes", i.e., you need to extend (using sub-themes) or modify (in code) to get exactly what you need.

I have been using Drupal for the past five years.

Until now, we have not experienced any stability issues. Drupal has regular security, feature updates, and the Drupal community is always there for any kind of support that you might need.

Verbatim from Drupal.org (https://www.drupal.org/docs/7/managing-site-performance-and-scalability):

Drupal is a complex application. A well-configured Drupal site can be highly performant and can scale to many millions of visitors per day. Conversely, a poorly optimized site can be frustratingly slow for its users.

In our project, we've followed guidelines from drupal.org as to how to optimize its performance for scalability. It has helped us to serve our site from tens to thousands of regular users.

Drupal has pretty good documentation for reference. You can always find support from the Drupal community via drupal.org, drupal.stackexchange.com, or on Drupal IRC channels, if you're into that kind of thing.

I started my career in Drupal. I didn't use any other solution before.

To set up Drupal, you need a web server with PHP and DBMS. This is supported by Drupal. MySQL is the most common one, but Drupal supports others as well.

There are various tools for local setup (Acquia Dev Desktop), for hosting services and for the cloud setup (Pantheon, Platform.sh). These are preconfigured for Drupal and are really easy to set up.

In case you want to setup Drupal from scratch, you need basic information about the servers and file permissions. In that case, you'll find that Drupal is pretty easy to set up.

Drupal is a free and open-source product, which is always a plus point in my opinion.

Drupal is a fantastic tool for content management, but it has a pretty high learning curve.

For very simple solutions, such as for setting up a blog or a static informational website, you might find that Drupal is overkill. There are other, better tools available for such tasks. However, if you want something robust and secure, Drupal is a good choice.

It is easy to build and maintain a web page.

I sell car cameras (dash cameras) and I decided to build a site where the customers can publish their interesting recordings. The site was built on Drupal in three hours.

Modifying the themes (colors, dimensions, and pictures) could be easier.

I have used Drupal for three years.

I have had no problems with stability.

I have had no problems with scalability.

If technical support includes the on-line forums, then it is perfect.

Before Drupal, I used static HTML web pages.

The setup was not complex. Step-by-step instructions help you during the setup.

This is a free product.

I did not evaluate other options.

Check the free templates first. Check how you can create a database on your web admin page. Then start.

• I appreciate the free software.
• This gives us the possibility to search deep in the core of the system in case of bugs.
• In addition, it enables you to improve the core functionality. This feature also helped the framework to be more secure because the Drupal community around the world is always checking, verifying, and fixing bugs in the Drupal core and in the contributed modules and themes.
• I am also grateful to the extensible framework. In some cases, just the Drupal and the contributed modules are not enough to build the client requirements.
• Drupal has provided us with a modular framework that we can enhance, where we can develop our own modules to give a required feature to the client.
• We can also contribute back with our module to the wider Drupal community.
• We also really value API documentation because if we need to develop some custom functionality or simply understand what Drupal is doing, we can go to the Drupal API documentation page,
  (https://api.drupal.org/api/drupal), or do a simple search in Google.
• The Drupal community is one of the biggest free software communities around the world. It is so valuable because it is responsible for organizing events around the world, training new developers, providing maintenance to the core, and contributed modules. We have a popular saying in the Drupal community, ”Come for the software, stay for the community”.

We use Drupal to develop most of our clients' sites because the CMS features and the development framework give us the possibility to expend less time in the repetitive functionality, such as the user login or in the content management administration/creation.

We now have more time to focus on crucial features that our client needs, like custom mail notifications, statistics, or other features that can give our clients business value.

I think Drupal has to improve the UX for some administrative pages, such as the modules list page.

When I talk about improvements in user experience of the administration page, specifically in the modules list page, I mean that this page is annoying. It is annoying because the default interface gives us a list of all the modules in the site, uncategorized, and without the possibility to filter by text and to complete the activation of one specific module. Instead, we have to scroll down the whole page.

This is a problem because in live sites, the average number of installed modules is around 30 for mid-complex sites.

A module filter would resolve this problem. It would improve the Drupal modules interface, but an optimal solution would be to add UX improvements to the Drupal core.

I have used this product for around four years.

I have not really experienced any stability issues with the Drupal core. In some cases, we found some issues in the contributed modules. However, these bugs usually already have a patch available. If a patch doesn't exist, then we try to fix it and contribute back.

I did not encounter any scalability issues. The scalability/modularity is one of the principle features of this CMS.

The Drupal community gives excellent support to the Drupal core. Usually a reported bug does not last more than a week before it is attended to.

This is very relative. If you are using other contributed projects like the DrupalVM or Kalabox, the initial setup is less complex, because you don't have to configure all of the web stack (which is usually LAMP).

On the other hand, if you want to have your custom environment self-configured, you have to organize all the system requirements to run Drupal properly. This will include a web server (Apache, Nginx), a SQL database (MySQL, PostgreSQL), the PHP language, and helper tools like Drush.

As I said before, Drupal is free software and is covered by GNU General Public License, version 2 or later. You can find more information here:

https://www.drupal.org/about/l...

Every time prior to commencing a new project, we always evaluated the viability of the development of the project with Drupal. In one case, Drupal did not meet the requirements for the front-end of the site, but it met the backend requirements.

In that case, we developed two products, one front end developed in Angular JS and one Drupal as backend with custom web services to feed the Angular App.

I think the best advice is to be patient and persevering. Drupal is a very large tool and you will need to read a lot documentation and view some examples to start with it.

The open source nature of Drupal, being free to extend or alter it is massively important for us. We also use it to build communications. Not being tied to a single vendor means that we can have scale for developers.

It gives the company the ability to quickly spin up ideas, and the scalability to take them further if required.

Drupal could always have more developers. However, with recent announcements for backwards compatibility in the future, we are hoping to be able to leverage Drupal in the future, too.

I have been using Drupal since 2008. However, I believe that my company has been using since 2011.

Generally, we don’t have stability issues.

We gain technical support from a number of external vendors as well as internal teams. In general, this is excellent.

We have used a number of frameworks. However, due to its flexibility and community size, at the moment it is the preferred proof-of-concept platform.

Unfortunately, with Drupal, there is a number of learning paradigms that you have to discover, which can make it difficult to understand as a newcomer. However, once these have been crossed, the value grows exponentially.

As with a good proportion of open-source software, it is provided without cost. It uses the GPLv2 license, so that is needed to be understood to use the software.

Drupal is not provided by a Vendor, it is open source software, and therefore, doesn't have direct support or suchlike by any one vendor, but in general by the community of developers who work on it. This makes it similar to Joomla (not exactly like WordPress, as it is open-sourced, but controlled by Automattic).

We have some other frameworks that we use and some other software. It is a matter of choosing the correct software for the job and Drupal's flexibility and scalability mean that it is a useful, multi-purpose software for web applications.

Find a trusted partner and make sure that you engage with the community. There are hundreds of meetups for Drupal enthusiasts around the world.