Drupal
| Drupal | |
|---|---|
| Status | 🤝 Community |
| Type | CMS / Web Application Framework |
| License | GNU General Public License v2 |
| Language | PHP |
| Database | |
| Latest Version | |
| Release Date | |
| Website | Official Site |
| GitHub | Repository |
Drupal is a free and open-source content management framework written in PHP. Known for its flexibility, security, and scalability, Drupal is widely used by governments, universities, and large enterprises.
Overview
Drupal was created by Dries Buytaert in 2001. Unlike standard CMS platforms, Drupal provides primitives for building complex data structures, workflows, and multi-channel publishing pipelines. Notable Drupal users include the White House website, NASA, and Harvard University.
Key Features
- Entity System — Every piece of content is an entity with configurable fields
- Views Module — Powerful query builder for displaying content in lists and grids
- Configuration Management — Export/import full site configuration as files
- Workflows & Content Moderation — Built-in draft/review/publish workflow
- Headless/Decoupled — JSON API modules for decoupled architectures
Installation
Requirements
- PHP 8.1 or higher
- Database server
- Web Server
- Composer
Quick Start
Drupal is typically installed via Composer using the `drupal/recommended-project` template. After downloading the dependencies, you can run the web-based installer or use the command-line tool.
API Reference
Drupal ships with JSON API capabilities enabled by default in recent versions, allowing you to fetch nodes, taxonomy terms, and users via standard HTTP requests.
Pricing
Drupal is completely free and open source.
Pros & Cons
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
|---|---|
| Extremely flexible data modeling | Steep learning curve |
| Enterprise-grade security | Complex configuration for beginners |
| Config management (DevOps-friendly) | Smaller plugin ecosystem than WordPress |