Clients are constantly searching for the best, for the most user-friendly CMS and, when meeting with us to discuss new web projects, continuously ask, “Is Drupal the best out there?”.  While Drupal has been the buzz word for the last 4 years, there are other, more flexible  open-source systems out there that provide a more user-friendly experience, all while delivering quality that is on par with that of a Drupal CMS.  When comparing CMS systems for our clients and they bring up Drupal, we make sure to effectively compare the options with the client.  While both systems are very powerful and awesome tools to manage you website and its content, comparing the pros and cons is an important step in determining which system is the best fit for you.

For websites that are based on an uber-heavy content framework, Drupal may be the ideal CMS – case in point: whitehouse.gov.  Drupal is equipped with many great tools that allow the administrators of heavy-content based sites to organize, structure, and reuse content efficiently.  Some of the powerful features offered by the platform include Drupal’s Taxonomy, creating menus and featured items to highlight specific info; the ability to automatically create human-readable URLS; and, the ability to directly reference specific pieces of site content.  Those are just a few of the many, many features the Drupal platform offers an organization.

Social publishing is another big focus for Drupal and allows your users to easily express their opinions and engage with others.  We have found this to be a huge plus for companies on the Drupal platform.  The CMS has a point-and-click permission-based system that allows tight control over administration, content access view, and other rights in the content system.  If your current website is screaming “content, content, content!”, then exploring Drupal and its benefits to your organization is ideal.

Check out some popular, content rich, and scalable Drupal websites below:

Whitehouse.gov
Fast Company
Yahoo Research
Penn State University
MTV United Kingdom

Contact us to get a consultation and open-soure platform comparison – we can help you decide if Drupal is the right content management system for you.

If you are in DMV area, we can easily meet in person to discuss the always intriguing question of, ” To Drupal or not to Drupal?”.

Need Drupal Web Development in DC, you can also reach out to us at  WDGDC Connect.

Lately, we are getting a ton of calls from associations and corporations who are looking to switch their current, Drupal-based site over to WordPress. After investing a good chunk of funds on their Drupal infrastructure, these organizations have been quick to learn the not so fun side of the open-source product. Drupal is an amazingly powerful content management system … However, with power comes complexity. That, my friends, means the added necessity of more tech-savvy staff on payroll. Drupal has done an incredible job marketing to the DC web market – many government agencies have jumped onto the Drupal train. For the agencies who are in need of a heavy content management system and have the budget to do so, Drupal is a platform worth exploring.

With that in mind, WordPress’s platform is just as capable, but more flexible and less headache-inducing. When it comes to usability, especially for “un-techy” clients, WordPress has Drupal beat by a mile and then some. WordPress sites are created by developers, but they’re built to be user-friendly and flexible towards the client and admin users. Companies using WordPress can accomplish just as much as companies using Drupal for their content management systems. In comparison, the administrative end of a Drupal site is still messy for the general user – even in Drupal 7!

In short, Drupal is powerful and fantastic at what it’s been built to do. But it can be complete overkill for the majority of organizations in the DMV region. If you’re looking to build a new website with a CMS and you’re pitched a Drupal implementation, take a step back and consider WordPress and if your organization is readily capable to handle the content management system of a Drupal-powered site.

We can help you make the right decision – Let’s chat about your organization’s needs and compare the different platforms to your needs. email us at business@webdevelopmentgroup.com and lets chat!

Before you commit, make sure the CMS is a good fit. WordPress DC is hot!

WordPress has been taking over the DMV region with an incredible force. Unfortunately, the majority of WordPress meetups are based in the city, and not always convenient for everyone.. If you are tired of metroing into DC or paying for parking, join our Alexandria-based Group!.

We have created a local WordPress & Design group where the MeetUps can be held in Old Town, Alexandria! Join our group and meet other fun and cool WordPress Designers as Developers! The group is a great way for local WP Gurus to stay in touch, share what they’re up to and learn from other like minded people. Want to start on something new, but have no clue how to go about it? Our group is the perfect local spot to get help from other creative souls!

Discussion will focus on:

Why WordPress?
WordPress as a CMS,
Theme design and creation,
Responsive Design with WordPress,
Plugin development,
Customization and implementations,
Startup ventures using WordPress,
Networking.

First meet up starts February 8th at 6pm. Drinks will be provided and anyone can join us at Chadwicks bar and restaurant afterwards. Email us at meetup@webdevelopmentgroup.com to learn more or visit http://www.meetup.com/dc-WordPress-Developers to RSVP.

Why WordPress over Drupal’s platform?
When contemplating one open-source platform over the other, don’t think about it in terms of which is the better platform … Both WordPress and Drupal serve their purpose and do so in their own respective manners. The key to commit to one platform is understanding which system is ideal for your company or venture. Think about the needs of your organization before looking at the benefits and weaknesses of each platform. While both WordPress and Drupal are open source and allow for you to manage your website’s content, Drupal is more intricate and uses more resources when installing, configuring and managing. Do you have the resources to set aside for a Drupal-based site?

Drupal got its start in 2000, at the University of Antwerp where it was used as a message board before it morphed into a more intricate and intertwined system – read more about Drupal’s evolution at http://drupal.org/about/history. Drupal should be used for building large heavily trafficked websites and if you have the in-house resources available to support the platform after hiring a vendor, such as WDG, to implement the system.

WordPress, initially a blogging platform, was launched in 2003 and was quickly embraced because of its user-friendliness and clean structure. Its popularity has continuously grown and at a rapid rate. According to a recent survey, 22 out of every 100 new domains in the UnitedStates run on WordPress — There’s something to be said for that high rate.

When we bid on projects and work with clients, we first discuss your organization’s initial requirements, needs, and wants in a new website. Based on our in-depth discussion and the information we obtain from you, we provide a recommendation on the platform to use for your infrastructure. Additionally, user experience and creative design are a crucial part of a website, and thus a couple of main factors in the decision-making. As a user-friendly and flexible platform, WordPress excels in both instances and allows our creative designers to provide clients with what they need in a website on a great and easy-to-use structure.

Give our DC WordPress development team a call at 703-652-7103 (or email us at business@webdevelopmentgroup.com) and let’s chat about how we can make WordPress work for you!

We love Drupal as it is an amazingly powerful open-source tool; however, it’s not for everybody and can most certainly be overkill for most organizations. There are many challenges with implementing a Drupal infrastructure. The biggest challenge? Finding good Drupal developers in the DC Metro area. Implementing Drupal is a big enough endeavor to take on … Imagine the nightmare that you can be faced with by hiring a novice Drupal group.

While you’re mulling over what content management system (CMS) to use for your company, take into consideration why we recommend using WordPress in lieu of Drupal for the majority of organizations out there:

No Need to OverThink Things
Main point to keep in mind: WordPress is less complicated than Drupal. This reason, and this reason alone, should typically be the dealbreaker for considering Drupal over WordPress as your site’s CMS. Obviously, it will depend on how intricate your website is, but for most organizations in the DC Metro area, a high level of complexity is the last thing you want.  With WordPress, Content Managers and Web Masters don’t need to have a technical background in order to manage their websites.  This is not possible with Drupal unless you are willing to dive deep into the complex Drupal framework. Doing so takes time, money and other valuable resources that you can otherwise effectively put to use elsewhere in your quest to conquer your industry.

Sexy WordPress Themes
Due to the intricacies of Drupal and the resources that it takes to develop a theme for it, most developers are staying away from designing sexy, appealing designs for Drupal. Take a look at a few Drupal-based sites … You’ll notice that most of them are clunky, boxy and very monotonous. It takes longer to implement creativity into a Drupal theme, whereas WordPress allows for easy theming. To add to the argument, the WordPress community in DC is made up more of creative people versus a community of just developers.

Not only is it easier to allow such creativity, software updates are also easier to implement on WordPress than on Drupal. Although the latest version of Drupal does make it slightly easier to update modules, it still doesn’t beat the user-friendliness of WordPress. Updating the Drupal core requires solid technical knowledge and experience. If you are the poor soul that needs to upgrade from Drupal 5 or 6 to Drupal 7, it can cost you a pretty penny since there’s a good chance you may need to have your website rebuilt for the upgrade. In comparison, WordPress is built to last and, with a few clicks in the administrative end, can easily be updated as needed.

Adding Widgets Is Easy Like Sunday Morning
WordPress widgets provide a quick way for designers and web content managers to add new features to their already awesome website. Adding a newsletter registration section, contact forms, twitter feed, etcera, can easily be accomplished through widgets mostly done through the WordPress drag and drop interface. On the other side, Drupal makes it hard for non-technical users to add new widgets and features. With the demand for Drupal developers being so high in this area, it can become very time-consuming and costly just to have a registration widget installed on to your Drupal page.

User-Friendly and Then Some
DC Drupal organizations spend alot of time and efforts learning how to configure the product. If you want to be able to fully control your site due to having a technical team on staff, or you are a coder, then Drupal is platform for you. WordPress is more streamlined and “non-technical”-user friendly, and it’s easy to install and update when needed. You don’t have as much control as you would with a Drupal system, but if you’re running a marketing brochure-type website, you don’t need to have Drupal complicate your daily life.

These are just a few of the many reasons of why WordPress may be a better fit for you than Drupal. If you’re looking to migrate from your existing Drupal site, or you’re just wanting more information on which open source platform is best for your organization, drop us a line! We’re located right by the water in Old Town, Alexandria, so just stop by and let’s grab a cup of coffee while we discuss your needs and project.

Email us at business@webdevelopmentgroup.com or call us at 703-652-7103

We are looking to do this again with WDG – if you are junior or senior open source web developer contact us and learn more about our open web developer positions. We are hiring designers, front end developers, and PHP developers to join our DC web firm.

Contact us at jobs@webdevelopmentgroup.com and let’s meet! Lots of perks, benefits, cool office, arcade games etc and Friday Water Front happy hours!

• Getting To Know the WordPress Dashboard
• Creating Content: Posts vs. Pages
• How to Write a Post in WordPress
• Add Images and Create a Photo Gallery
• Add Video to a Post
• Edit and Manage Existing WordPress Posts
• How to Write a Page in WordPress
• Edit and Manage Existing WordPress Pages
• Create a Collection of Links in WordPress
• WordPress Categories Explained
• How to Use WordPress Tags
• Categories vs. Tags (when to use each)
• How to Use the WordPress Media Library
• Managing WordPress Comments

Customize Your WordPress Site

• Change Your WordPress Theme
• Create A Custom WordPress Menu
• Using WordPress Plugins
• How to Use WordPress Widgets

Getting to know WordPress Settings

• General Settings
• Writing Settings
• Reading Settings
• Discussion Settings
• Media Settings
• Privacy Settings
• Permalink Settings

WordPress Installation and Upgrades

• Installing WordPress
• Upgrading WordPress
• WordPress Importing and Exporting Tools

How to Use WordPress Administration

• Managing WordPress Users
• WordPress User Roles Explained

If you are looking for WordPress training classes in DC or Virginia contact us today to learn more by email us at training@webdevelopmentgroup.com.    Seats available for the following dates:

WordPress Training in Virginia:

Dates

February 27th

February 28th

WordPress Training in DC:

Dates

February 2oth

February 21th

Full day Class – $900.00 Dollars per Student.   Discount rates provided for 4 or more students from same organization.

http://webdevelopmentgroup.com/wordpress-development/dc-wordpress-training-classes/

For WordPress, Drupal and Joomla web development services please contact us by emailing us at business@webdevelopmentgroup.com or visit our contact form.

We, here at WDG, were excited to have the opportunity to help this cause for Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association. You can check out the festivities from this year’s parade by visiting their facebook photo album – Visit FaceBook Page and visiting their website at http://alexandriaparadeoflights.com

The new WordPress website features an integrated directory and advertising engine including detailed search options for local businesses to use to showcase their services.

The new website is approximately thirty percent faster than the previous website. Along with the more detailed navigation, the new website is more user-friendly and mobile friendly.

Visit http://www.alextimes.com to experience the new website and catch up on local news.

DC based Web Development Group specializes in designing and developing Drupal, WordPress, Joomla and Ruby on Rails custom driven websites. Contact us at business@webdevelopmentgroup.com for information on our services.