I recently asked, What is Drupal? as a way to introduce Drupal. The next question that comes to mind is Should I use Drupal?
This is a great question. Often, you come across a technology and something about it prompts you to consider using it. In the case of Drupal, you may have heard that some pretty mainstream websites are running on this open source content management system: Grammy.com, WhiteHouse.gov, Symantec Connect, and the New York Observer, to name a few (more Drupal used here case studies on Drupal.org)
But why Drupal? Could the above sites have been set up with WordPress, Joomla!, or DotNetNuke?
Why Organizations Are Using Drupal
- The developer community is strong and engaged. Contributed modules are a main staple for Drupal. These contributed modules, 1ific requirements beyond the core Drupal capabilities. Today, there are over 5000 contributed modules. The contributors to these modules are also working on making Drupal better and useful by developing the next versions of Drupal. Drupal’s latest updates contain enhancements to make Drupal easier to deploy, support, and develop over time.
- Vibrant Drupal business ecosystems exist. As an open source project, viable and thriving businesses have developed around Drupal. This means that there are companies creating websites and integrated systems using Drupal to support the needs of both large and small clients. This also means Drupal is highly considered when challenging problems need strong solutions. Example companies offering Drupal products/services include Lullabot (consulting and training), Acquia (specialized hosting and support), Phase :// Technology (customized design, community Drupal distributions, consulting), Volacci (Drupal SEO), and Palantir.net (design and interactive). Many, many more are available on the Drupal.org Marketplace.
- Regular Drupal meetups take place worldwide. There are people to turn to when expert advice is needed. In-person meetups take place regularly in many large and small cities around the world. Additionally, the entire Drupal community gathers during DrupalCon. This event (North America and EU, alternating) brings together over 3000 people to discuss, learn, teach, discover, and have fun around Drupal.
- Other industry communities have supported Drupal. Drupal has received support from: Google, under its Summer of Code program, to help expand Drupal functionality and features; the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation provided grants to advance the idea of efficiently publishing content online; Sony Music provided dedicated teams to help extend Drupal and then contributed those enhancements back to the Drupal community; and Thomson Reuters helped develop and integrate Calais into Drupal to help expand the semantic, usable web.
Drupal is not just a piece of software that is free to download and try out. It involves real people solving real problems and working to make the web, information, and technology easier to use for the rest of us. This means there are people you can easily turn to for help in making your website better.
History of Drupal
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