TYPO3 vs. Drupal

Other than TYPO3 or Joomla!, which are pure Web Content Management Systems or Wordpress, which is a Blog software, Drupal is intended for another purpose:

Mixing Social Software and Web CMS

Alongside the usual functions of a Web Content Management Systems: the publishing of a company’s web pages and complete websites, Drupal offers above all a wide ranging palette of Social Software tools, such as a blogging system or web forums for Web 2.0 (User-Generated-Content). It is clearly in this area that Drupal itself and the Drupal Community see its strengths.

System requirements

Drupal currently exists in three versions: Drupal 4.x, 5.x and 6.x. Drupal can be hosted on either an Apache or a Microsoft ISS server. As databank server software either MySQL 4.1 or PostgreSQL, from Version 7.1 may be used. In general PHP from Version 4.5.3 is needed, but since the series 4 is no longer actively developed, it is advisable to go for PHP 5.2 or higher.

Slim basic package

The basic Drupal package is rather slim. The system lacks the text editor in its basic version, which then has to be integrated, before one can really get started. In fact, installation requires quite a few hours before a system is actually up and running. As with TYPO3, one quickly notices, the necessity of professional support for an initial implementation.

Missing backend

Just like TYPO3, Drupal is based on a strict separation of Design/Layout and CMS-functionality. In its Enterprise implementation it includes the necessary multisite capacities, a mature caching concept and the possibility to connect Drupal to an LDAP server for authentication functions. A significant difference to TYPO3 or Joomla! is however the lack of a backend to administer websites. This means that administrators must either work directly through the browser, or via hierarchically organized menu fields in a menu bar. At first sight this has a negative influence on the flexibility of the system for editors, although a variety of extensions can be introduced, some of which can greatly help with this.

Non-interchangeable extensions!

Like TYPO3; Drupal manages its additional functions through the inclusion of extensions known as “modules”. It is, however, a particularity of these modules, that they are not compatible with one another through all three Drupal versions. As a result, one must always ensure in advance, firstly whether the required module extension exists and secondly whether it is compatible with whichever “new” version of Drupal one has just installed and sufficiently stable for a business-critical environment. As a result of this, an automatic Core Update is not possible without a tiresome process of adapting all the extension modules. Add to this the fact that, other than in TYPO3 – where extension installation is anchored into the system and an extension can simply be downloaded from the TYPO3 Extension Repository and almost automatically installed – Drupal modules have to be installed and activated by hand.

CMS and Framework

Like TYPO3, Drupal is not just a Web Content Management System, but also a very cleanly programmed framework. This means that it is, at least in principle, possible to program one’s own extensions or applications in PHP. Similarly to TYPO3, specialists can create Enterprise Web Content Management solutions and adapt them to existing IT infrastructures to be suitable to the business-critical demands of companies, administrations or associations.

Drupal-Specialists are a rarity...

However, both professional developers and interested users are faced with the problem of finding suitable information material such as tutorials, case studies or programming manual other than in English, which for many represents a hurdle too far. On the up-side, Drupal has a very active and large online community, ready to support its users. There are also German forums, but the bulk of online support is in English for the English-speaking world, making a near perfect understanding of this language not only valuable, but for those working professionally with Drupal users an obligatory necessity!

Thanks to the Drupal’s wide distribution in North America there are a large number of service providers there, but in Europe, and especially in Germany, such specialist agencies are very rare, so that it is hard to find a service provider there capable of implementing a large-scale business-critical project.

Conclusion

Conclusion: TYPO3 vs. Drupal

Due to the small number of specialist providers working in Europe, particularly Germany, implementing Drupal there as an Enterprise Web Content Management only makes sense as a combination of Social Software and Web CMS solution in cases where integration into an existing IT infrastructure is an absolute necessity! However, in such a case a TYPO3 solution would also be realizable without any difficulty. Similarly, the frontend workmanship at Drupal is certainly nothing that TYPO3 need fear comparison with. On the contrary...

The clear recommendation at this point would thus be: