Author
Dominique De Cooman
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What is Drupal? The basics.
Faithful followers of case studies studies and digital strategy already know: at Dropsolid we choose Drupal exclusively. But why, and what exactly is Drupal? An overview.
Every digital experience or website is built based on a technical platform or content management system (CMS). At Dropsolid, we build all our projects based on Drupal, the engine behind the best digital experiences.
The Drupal-CMS
The Tesla site, an example of Drupal with clear design
Why Drupal?
How is it that the Drupal CMS has become an absolute powerhouse so quickly? There is a good, non-technical reason for this. Drupal itself is free and runs largely on the contributions of a community of nearly a million developers. Hard to believe? It's called open source, a popular way of working in the IT landscape.
Unlike classic companies that offer their CMS as a classic software package, Drupal's source code is freely downloadable and in theory anyone can contribute and add improvements. This is usually done in the form of modules: small building blocks that add extra functionality to the existing basic product. In this way, you can use a Lego model to add all the relevant blocks for your website, until it is just right. The possibilities offered by modules are virtually endless.
This is also the reason why Drupal is more than just a system to build websites with. In recent years, the idea has become more widespread that it is better to integrate as well as possible with all other possible systems - from accounting and invoicing over chatbots to CRM and marketing tools. Thanks to scalability, a Drupal website can grow with your organization - for freelancers and startups as well as growth SMEs and large corporations.
Open source technical fundament
Businesses need websites that are flexible and can grow with them. Their digital environment also needs to integrate easily with existing systems, such as personalization or marketing automation platforms.
Drupal is open source: it is constantly being improved and, as an organization, you don't pay for the one-time purchase of software that you have to upgrade later or, worse, pay an annual license. That leaves room to invest in customer conversion.
At Dropsolid, we take it a step further and seamlessly integrate Drupal with other Open Source technology in our Open Digital Experience Platform: Apache Unomi and Mautic.
Drupal is open source: the underlying code is freely available. Companies no longer invest in software, but in long-term vision and success.
Always connected with Drupal
The Drupal platform works like a blockchain. With the Drupal CMS, you enable the modules that are relevant to your business or organization. Integrating with Salesforce, Teamleader, Hubspot or Mautic? Turning on contact modules, maps or moderating content for a multi-site platform? Based on an open architecture, smart companies choose to turn on the modules they need.
Scalable growth with Drupal
Drupal is also rock solid in content management for multisite and multiple languages. The perfect solution for companies with multiple stakeholders, target groups, languages, products and services. With Drupal, companies build a scalable digital website platform at various levels. More control and more knowledge building, for a digital experience that delivers the best return on investment.
Thanks to its open architecture, Drupal also integrates easily with other tools. Integrating your Salesforce or Teamleader CRM becomes a piece of cake, as do marketing tools or DAM and ERP platforms.
Frequently asked questions about Drupal
What is Drupal?
Drupal is a free and open-source web content management system written in PHP. This system allows you to easily create and manage different types of websites. It is a platform that grows with you through thousands of free modules and themes that help you attract the right audience.
In addition, Drupal also acts as a central part of a Digital Experience Platform (DXP). You can easily integrate it with other components such as CRMs, analytics tools, social media, personalization and marketing automation platforms.
What is Drupal used for?
Drupal is used by millions of people and organizations around the world to build and maintain their websites. Drupal is designed to be the perfect content management solution for non-technical users who need both simplicity and flexibility.
Is Drupal a programming language?
No, Drupal is a free and open-source web content management system (CMS) written in PHP.
Is Drupal a CMS?
Yes, it provides a user interface that allows you to easily create and publish content. The platform accommodates unlimited content types, including text and media content, which are always customizable.
Why is Drupal so popular?
With more than a million users worldwide, Drupal is an open source CMS platform that small and large organizations can use freely.
- Without worrying about vendor lock-in, because it is open source
- Low implementation costs due to huge amounts of freely available community code
- A strong and flexible architecture
Is Drupal similar to Wordpress?
Drupal and WordPress are two popular platforms for building websites. Both allow users to quickly set up a website and publish their own content. Still, there is a difference:
- WordPress is better for small businesses with limited budgets who want to set up a simple website.
- Drupal is better for businesses that want to build a site with more complex features. It is also perfect for starting small, and easy to continue to build on in the future.
Is Drupal free to download?
Yes, Drupal is free to download and anyone can modify and extend the platform. This ensures freedom from "lock-in" and allows users worldwide to check Drupal's underlying code for compliance and security issues and fix them.
There is a global and very active Drupal community that writes and contributes daily to Drupal's code to make the platform better and better.
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