Switching from WordPress to Drupal isn't always intuitive because WordPress does so many things well. People get used to using it and enjoy it so they like to use it for everything. At a point, Wordpress has its limits and it's time to look for a more capable platform.
I will outline some signals that could mean it is time to switch platforms so you know when to start preparing.
What Situations Require Change?
Wordpress works for most sites that only have a few pages without a lot of bells and whistles. The platform starts to struggle when you need more custom navigation or other feature integrations with increased performance.
Needs start to change when the company grows in the amount of content it produces and needs a better way to organize more information. Our work with the City of Colorado Springs focused on this issue of finding a way to organize all the content on their site so that users can easily find it.
A company that needs advanced features like integrating payment (Example: Demand Metric) or other APIs into their site requires a more robust platform as well. This is where WordPress doesn't work as well anymore and a better solution is needed, like Drupal.
What Limits Should I Watch Out For?
These are only two examples when companies needed the scalability and flexibility that Drupal has to offer. There are some other, general limits to monitor so you know when to start looking for a new solution:
- Need High Speed and Performance - Sites that experience a lot of traffic need stuff like load balancers and caching servers setup to easily direct the traffic. Drupal is really great at handling this level of complexity because it integrates well and allows for a lot of customizability.
- Custom Modules and Features - The level of customization available combined with the ability to add and take away layers makes it easy for companies who need unique features to get exactly what they want.
- Increased Integrations - When a company wants to integrate with more services, like mobile apps or external software, a platform like Drupal gives you the flexibility to do that. There are lot of modules out there that the tool you want is most likely available to integrate.
- Complex User Experience - Some sites that have lots of information will have multiple navigations paths to access all of the information easier, which can be a challenge for a platform like WordPress. Drupal allows for easy organization and management of any amount of content in any format.
These are some of the best examples we have noticed when companies have switched to a more robust platform. A robust platform like Drupal allows you to take advantage of a higher level of customization and scalability that WordPress would have a hard time handling.
Photo by Greg Weber
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