A chainsaw is a practical, powerful tool. But you wouldn’t want to use it to trim your hedges or cut back weeds. Sure, it might get the job done, but there are faster, better ways to do the same job. Ways that don’t risk you losing a finger.
Drupal is more elegant than a chainsaw, but it's still a powerful tool. Like any tool, it’s at its best when used for the right job and when wielded by a seasoned practitioner. Using it for tasks it's not suited for can lead to less-than-ideal results. Even if the job gets done, it can take you longer to get there, and your shins are banged up from tripping over unexpected barriers.
When is it overkill to use Drupal? When should you reach for a different tool?
When a content management system (CMS) is overkill
Drupal enables powerful and flexible content management. But do you even need a CMS?
Suppose you're managing a small business website where the most frequent change is updating your holiday hours. In that case, you're probably looking at a static site solution instead of any database-driven CMS. You don’t need the power of Drupal for Brochure-type websites where all you do is list your services and contact information, and nothing ever changes.
Static site generators like 11ty or even hand-coded HTML served through GitHub Pages or Netlify can give you better performance, lower hosting costs, and fewer security concerns.
If you just need a newsletter, you might be able to make do with Substack or your newsletter service’s simple website capabilities. If you just need a landing page or a simple one-page site, try a service like Carrd.co.
When downtime isn't a big deal
No one likes it when their website is down. But would you even notice the hiccup? Is your website a critical business asset? If your website disappeared for a few days, would business continue mostly as usual?
These questions also get to the heart of how much you should spend on your website and how likely it is that you have developers on staff or an agency partner with appropriate expertise.
Drupal and other CMSs require ongoing maintenance to manage security and version updates. Currently, for Drupal, these can’t be done automatically. Either you invest in premium hosting that allows you to do it with the click of a button, or you invest in premium talent that can handle the complexities for you. More on this below.
If your website isn’t that important for your business, however, think hard before you invest in a “premium” of anything.
When the website has a single use case
Drupal is great when you need to manage multiple content types, serve different audiences, or handle complex relationships between pieces of content. But what if you just need a blog? Or just a photo gallery? Or just an event calendar?
For a single-author blog with straightforward posting requirements, Drupal is like hiring a full orchestra to perform at the bar when you just need someone to play acoustic guitar.
If you're confident your website will never grow beyond its current purpose, simpler tools will serve you better. However, many websites that start with a single use case don't stay that way. A business blog often needs event management. A photo gallery site often needs newsletter integration. An e-commerce store often needs more robust content marketing capabilities.
Drupal can help your website meet your current needs and exceed your future requirements. You might need that flexibility someday. If there’s a good possibility of expansion, starting with a platform designed for multiple use cases is a good idea, especially if your website is critical to your business.
When you don’t need a user management system
If your website only has one editor, Drupal’s granular user management and permissions system can become a liability. If “I write it, I publish it” is the extent of your content workflow and governance, Drupal’s user system is overkill.
Even with small teams, ask yourself: Do you actually need different permission levels? We've worked with smaller marketing teams who thought they needed complex approval workflows, only to discover that their actual process was much more informal.
The maintenance burden of user management extends beyond initial setup. As team members change roles, leave the organization, or assume new responsibilities, someone needs to manage the corresponding permission changes. It becomes just another administrative task that pulls focus from creating and managing content.
When external integrations aren't a priority
One of Drupal's greatest strengths is its ability to integrate with external systems, consume APIs, and serve as a content hub for multiple channels. Many of these integrations already have contributed modules, free and ready to use. If you don’t need to:
- Sync with CRM systems
- Push content to mobile applications
- Integrate with marketing automation tools
- Consume data from external sources
Then you won’t be using one of the things that makes Drupal special. You’re carrying around a Swiss Army knife in your pocket and only ever using the bottle opener.
When your team lacks development expertise
Drupal can be likened to owning a high-performance sports car. You want someone who knows how to handle the clutch and has knowledge about unique maintenance requirements. Especially when something goes wrong.
Simple updates require knowledge of Composer workflows and how to handle version conflicts. Many performance issues require knowledge of Drupal to solve. This burden can compound over time if the development team doesn’t follow best practices.
If your primary web team consists of content creators and marketers, platforms with automatic updates and managed hosting might serve you better. There's no shame in choosing tools that match your team's strengths rather than forcing your team to develop entirely new skill sets.
If you don’t need Drupal’s flexibility, hosted solutions like WordPress.com and Squarespace can get you up and running more quickly, and without requiring development expertise to maintain.
When your content strategy isn't mature
Drupal's sophisticated content modeling capabilities are only as good as your organization's understanding of what you're trying to model.
We've encountered organizations that were drawn to Drupal's flexibility but hadn't yet developed the foundation to use that flexibility effectively. They knew they wanted "better content management" but couldn't articulate:
- What their content goals were
- Who their audiences were
- How different pieces of content should relate to each other
If you’re committed to figuring this stuff out (time and budget) as part of your new website project, then sure, keep considering Drupal.
If you charge mindlessly ahead, however, you end up with the complexity of Drupal but none of its benefits. Everything is crammed into the body field. What should be structured components become one-off text blocks. The navigation is a confusing mess. The taxonomy is littered with single-use categories that are unhelpful.
All of these problems can lead to disillusionment with your teams, which might lead to spending more money on a new website sooner than you expect.
Does Drupal CMS change the equation?
Drupal CMS promises to shift some of these calculations and give more power to non-technical stakeholders. Creating and maintaining a Drupal website might not be such a complicated task anymore. Recipes could simplify installation and configuration for rich features and allow site owners to expand beyond their “single use case” website easily.
If Drupal CMS succeeds, it might expand the range of projects where Drupal makes sense.
But for now, it’s worth tempering expectations. Although Drupal CMS targets smaller budgets, those budgets are still in the $25,000 to $100,000 range. Also, some fundamental questions don’t become irrelevant. For example, a more user-friendly interface doesn't eliminate the need for mature thinking about structured content.
The right tool for the right job
Drupal is powerful, but with great power comes great responsibility. Make sure you actually need that much power, as managing the responsibility can be costly and distracting.
Recognize the problems it's uniquely positioned to solve. Make sure you have the expertise and budget to maintain it.
The goal isn't to use the most sophisticated tool available. You want to use the right tool, at the right time, at the right budget so that you can accomplish your actual goals.