The Popularity of Drupal: A Comprehensive Analysis

When evaluating career opportunities in web development, understanding the popularity and relevance of different technologies is essential. In the realm of content management systems (CMS), Drupal has long been a prominent player. However, quantifying the extent of Drupal’s popularity has proven challenging due to inconsistent data sources and methodologies. In this article, we delve into various metrics to provide a more informed answer to the question, “How popular is Drupal, really?”

W3Techs: A Glimpse into Drupal’s Presence

W3Techs, a subsidiary of Q-Success, is a reputable source for web technology surveys. They monitor an extensive sample of the top 10 million websites. As of January 2021, their data reveals that approximately 1.5% of all websites in their monitoring portfolio are Drupal-based. This constitutes 2.4% of all websites employing a content management system.

However, a deeper breakdown of Drupal usage among the top websites requires access to their premium product, which comes at a cost of 999 €. Furthermore, W3Techs reports that Drupal 7 continues to dominate, being employed by 66.4% of all Drupal-powered websites.

Built With: Another Perspective

Built With, an Australian company, offers insights into web development trends across numerous technologies. According to their data, around 618,000 websites are currently using Drupal, representing approximately 0.97% of all websites. This positions Drupal as the fourth most popular content management system, trailing behind WordPress, WooCommerce Checkout, and Joomla. Built With’s dataset comprises more than 35 million websites.

For the top 1 million websites, Built With indicates that Drupal holds a 3.28% market share in content management systems, securing the third spot. This figure increases to 7.73% for the top 100,000 websites (second place) and 12.56% for the top 10,000 websites (also second place). Remarkably, the United States stands out as the primary user of Drupal, with roughly 250,000 sites, followed by Russia with approximately 41,000 Drupal-powered sites.

SimilarTech: A Complex Picture

SimilarTech, a company specializing in lead generation, provides yet another perspective. They claim to scan over 30 billion web pages monthly. SimilarTech reports that around 236,000 unique domains utilize Drupal, equating to approximately 337,000 websites. It’s worth noting that the variation in these numbers might be due to subdomains being counted differently.

One potential issue with SimilarTech’s data is their classification of Drupal into multiple categories, such as “Drupal,” “Drupal 7,” and “Drupal 8.” This granularity can complicate the interpretation of their findings. For instance, it remains unclear whether their reported 0.483% usage of Drupal pertains solely to the “Drupal” category or encompasses the others.

In their ranking of the top 1 million websites, SimilarTech indicates that “Drupal” holds a 2.55% share, while “Drupal 8” captures 0.81% (they only provide data for the top 8 positions). Russia emerges as the second-largest user of Drupal, with approximately 32,000 sites.

Analysis: Seeking Clarity in the Numbers

Given the variations in data sources and their methodologies, it’s challenging to definitively answer the question of Drupal’s popularity. However, by combining insights from W3Techs and Built With, we can derive a more comprehensive perspective.

• W3Techs and Built With offer data on different aspects of Drupal’s usage, making direct comparisons difficult.
• Higher-ranked websites often have greater complexity and budgets, and Drupal 8 is geared more toward enterprise solutions. This may explain why Drupal appears more frequently among popular sites.

In summary, the answer to “How popular is Drupal?” can be best described as “sort of.”

We can reasonably extrapolate that Drupal powers approximately 3% of the top 1 million websites using a content management system. This estimate is supported by two independent sources, though it comes with the caveat that assessing Drupal’s popularity is a nuanced endeavor.

Conclusion

The popularity of Drupal in the web development industry remains a subject of interest and debate. While definitive numbers are elusive due to variations in data sources and classifications, a synthesis of data from W3Techs and Built With suggests that Drupal holds a notable presence, particularly among the top 1 million websites using content management systems.

In the end, the question of Drupal’s popularity doesn’t have a straightforward answer but rather a range of possibilities. Drupal continues to be a viable choice for web developers and organizations, with its usage concentrated among high-traffic and enterprise-level websites. Ultimately, the decision to embrace Drupal should align with the specific needs and goals of web projects, considering its capabilities and ecosystem within the broader landscape of content management systems.