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Survey Analysis Part 1: Developers and Documentation

The questions from the survey break down into five categories: Developers, Documentation, Performance/Functional Aspects, Appearance, and Ease of Use/Learning. A good place to start analyzing the results is with questions related to developers, since this is where most websites begin. Documentation questions are grouped with these because developers rely upon documentation to answer questions or explain problems that may arise. Taken together, questions about developers and documentation give us a sense of what types of web development projects each CMS is best suited to.


The following table displays the questions in which each CMS scored better,

Areas in Which Each CMS Performed Best
Drupal

Joomla

Client Satisfaction

Availability of Developers

Experience of Developers

Ease of Finding Qualified Developers

Documentation

Easy to Learn for Developers

Module Documentation

Core Documentation

Ease of Finding Support for Development Related Questions

SURVEY RESULTS

The results show a greater supply of Joomla developers (view tables). Respondents felt is was easier to find and access qualified Joomla developers while believing there is great difficulty in finding qualified Drupal developers (view tables). The greater supply could be attributed to the fact that Joomla is easier to learn for developers (view tables), thus requires less practice to use effectively. While there is a smaller supply of Drupal developers they seem to have a greater amount of experience (average 7.14 years of experience for Drupal vs. 6.06 for Joomla)(view table). Drupal developers also report a higher level of client satisfaction than their Joomla counterparts (view tables).

D

rupal outscored Joomla in all of the documentation related questions. Joomla also scored well on these questions, however , requires improvement to match Drupal's scores. An area where Joomla needs significant improvement is in the documentation of its modules.

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

In terms of selecting a CMS, these results suggest that Joomla is ideal for projects with smaller budgets, while Drupal may better suit larger projects. In our survey Drupal users reported larger average budgets than Joomla users, as seen in the data tables (view tables).

Lower startup costs are the main reason Joomla is better for smaller projects. For small projects, startup costs are a smaller proportion of the total budget, therefore reducing startup costs has a proportionally greater impact on smaller projects than on larger ones. Joomla reduces startup costs in a number of ways. First, it is easier to learn for developers (view table), so they can use the system productively right away. Second, there is a greater supply of Joomla developers and it is easier to find qualified developers for the Joomla CMS. Searching for qualified developers to staff a new project can be a expensive for businesses, both in terms of money and time.

Drupal meanwhile seems better suited for larger projects. Survey responses indicate that Drupal developers are more experienced, on average, than their Joomla counterparts. This seems to indicate that Drupal developers may be somewhat more capable of taking on larger projects. However, data from responses about the availability of qualified developers for each CMS cuts the other way. Respondents indicated that it is easier to find qualified Joomla developers. One interpretation is that once you find a Drupal developer she/he is likely to be more experienced than your average Joomla developer. This MAY indicate that Drupal would be a better choice for a larger project.

Years of Experience in Web Development

CMS

Avg

Median

Drupal

7.135714

7

Joomla

6.059524

5

Other

6.5

4.5

Total

6.502604

5

Stronger evidence that Drupal is better for large projects comes from responses to questions about documentation and support. The more complex a project the more important good documentation and support is to its successful completion. On complex projects development teams will invariably delve into aspects of the system they are unfamiliar with. Drupal scored slightly better on the availability of developer support. While both CMSs got good marks for the documentation of the core system, Joomla falls short in the documentation of its modules (view table).

This is a critical drawback for large projects. Both content management systems large active communities that provide important third party add-ons. These third-party add-ons are an important source of added value for nearly all web development projects using either content management system. However, as development projects get larger the interaction between add-ons becomes increasingly complex. Good documentation allows developers to leverage the work of the community for their own purposes. For large projects that may make use of a lot of third-party code, clear, accessible documentation is a major asset.

Our next blog post will concentrate on the Performance/Functional Aspects results.

SURVEY DATA TABLES

Average Budget for Drupal Users

Budget Range

Midpoint Value

For Avg. Estimation

Responses

Total

Budget Value

Below $2,500

$1,250

22

$27,500

$2,500 - $4,999

$3,750

5

$18,750

$5,000 - $9,999

$7,500

10

$75,000

$10,000 - $19,999

$15,000

6

$90,000

$20,000 - $49,999

$35,000

2

$70,000

$50,000 -$99,999

$75,000

8

$600,000

$100,000 - $249,999

$125,000

5

$625,000

$250,000 - $499,999

$375,000

2

$750,000

$500,000 +

$500,000

1

$500,000

Total Value of Budgets

61

$2,756,250

Average Budget For Drupal Users

$45,184.43

Average Budget for Joomla Users

Budget Range

Midpoint Value

For Avg. Estimation

Responses

Total

Budget Value

Below $2,500

$1,250

45

$56,250

$2,500 - $4,999

$3,750

15

$56,250

$5,000 - $9,999

$7,500

8

$60,000

$10,000 - $19,999

$15,000

4

$60,000

$20,000 - $49,999

$35,000

5

$175,000

$50,000 -$99,999

$75,000

1

$75,000

$100,000 - $249,999

$125,000

1

$125,000

$250,000 - $499,999

$375,000

0

$0

$500,000 +

$500,000

2

$1,000,000

Total Value of Budgets

81

$1,607,500

Average Budget For Joomla Users

$19,846.68

Overall my clients are satisfied with Drupal

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

62.75 %

31.37 %

5.88 %

0 %

100 %

32

16

3

0

51

Joomla Users

30.77 %

38.46 %

15.38 %

15.38 %

100 %

4

5

2

2

13

All Users

55.56 %

31.94 %

8.33 %

4.17 %

100 %

40

23

6

3

72

Overall my clients are satisfied with Joomla

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

19.23 %

38.46 %

34.62 %

7.69 %

100 %

5

10

9

2

26

Joomla Users

63.16 %

28.95 %

5.26 %

2.63 %

100 %

24

11

2

1

38

All Users

41.33 %

33.33 %

20 %

5.33 %

100 %

31

25

15

4

75

It is easy to find qualified developers who know Drupal

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

15.91 %

43.18 %

34.09 %

6.82 %

100 %

7

19

15

3

44

Joomla Users

7.14 %

14.29 %

50 %

28.57 %

100 %

1

2

7

4

14

All Users

13.04 %

37.68 %

34.78 %

14.49 %

100 %

9

26

24

10

69

It is easy to find qualified developers who know Joomla

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

8.7 %

69.57 %

21.74 %

0 %

100 %

2

16

5

0

23

Joomla Users

50 %

35.29 %

11.76 %

2.94 %

100 %

17

12

4

1

34

All Users

28.36 %

53.73 %

14.93 %

2.99 %

100 %

19

36

10

2

67

Drupal is easy to learn for developers

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

24 %

50 %

22 %

4 %

100 %

12

25

11

2

50

Joomla Users

5.88 %

41.18 %

29.41 %

23.53 %

100 %

1

7

5

4

17

All Users

18.18 %

49.35 %

23.38 %

9.09 %

100 %

14

38

18

7

77

Joomla is easy to learn for developers

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

13.04 %

43.48 %

21.74 %

21.74 %

100 %

3

10

5

5

23

Joomla Users

45.71 %

37.14 %

17.14 %

0 %

100 %

16

13

6

0

35

All Users

28.79 %

40.91 %

21.21 %

9.09 %

100 %

19

27

14

6

66

How Would You Rate the Availability of Drupal developers

Very Good

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Very Bad

Total

Drupal Users

25.58 %

48.84 %

23.26 %

2.33 %

100 %

11

21

10

1

43

Joomla Users

0 %

72.73 %

18.18 %

9.09 %

100 %

0

8

2

1

11

All Users

21.31 %

50.82 %

22.95 %

4.92 %

100 %

13

31

14

3

61

How Would You Rate the Availability of Joomla developers

Very Good

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Very Bad

Total

Drupal Users

31.82 %

54.55 %

13.64 %

0 %

100 %

7

12

3

0

22

Joomla Users

50 %

40.63 %

6.25 %

3.13 %

100 %

16

13

2

1

32

All Users

36.51 %

49.21 %

11.11 %

3.17 %

100 %

23

31

7

2

63

It is easy to find support for most Drupal development related questions

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

52.94 %

39.22 %

7.84 %

0 %

100 %

27

20

4

0

51

Joomla Users

30.77 %

38.46 %

15.38 %

15.38 %

100 %

4

5

2

2

13

All Users

45.95 %

37.84 %

12.16 %

4.05 %

100 %

34

28

9

3

74

It is Easy to find support for most Joomla development related questions

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

12.5 %

41.67 %

37.5 %

8.33 %

100 %

3

10

9

2

24

Joomla Users

55.56 %

30.56 %

11.11 %

2.78 %

100 %

20

11

4

1

36

All Users

34.78 %

40.58 %

18.84 %

5.8 %

100 %

24

28

13

4

69

Documentation (Drupal)

Very Good

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Very Bad

Total

Drupal Users

42.86 %

46.94 %

10.2 %

0 %

100 %

21

23

5

0

49

Joomla Users

15.38 %

53.85 %

30.77 %

0 %

100 %

2

7

4

0

13

All Users

36.76 %

45.59 %

16.18 %

1.47 %

100 %

25

31

11

1

68

Documentation (Joomla)

Very Good

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Very Bad

Total

Drupal Users

13.64 %

54.55 %

27.27 %

4.55 %

100 %

3

12

6

1

22

Joomla Users

26.47 %

52.94 %

17.65 %

2.94 %

100 %

9

18

6

1

34

All Users

20.31 %

54.69 %

20.31 %

4.69 %

100 %

13

35

13

3

64

The Drupal core is well documented

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

36 %

52 %

8 %

4 %

100 %

18

26

4

2

50

Joomla Users

15.38 %

38.46 %

38.46 %

7.69 %

100 %

2

5

5

1

13

All Users

31.51 %

46.58 %

16.44 %

5.48 %

100 %

23

34

12

4

73

The Joomla core is well documented

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

8.7 %

52.17 %

21.74 %

17.39 %

100 %

2

12

5

4

23

Joomla Users

17.14 %

48.57 %

22.86 %

11.43 %

100 %

6

17

8

4

35

All Users

14.93 %

50.75 %

20.9 %

13.43 %

100 %

10

34

14

9

67

Drupal modules are well documented

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

28 %

54 %

16 %

2 %

100 %

14

27

8

1

50

Joomla Users

8.33 %

50 %

25 %

16.67 %

100 %

1

6

3

2

12

All Users

21.43 %

54.29 %

18.57 %

5.71 %

100 %

15

38

13

4

70

Joomla modules are well documented

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Total

Drupal Users

7.69 %

30.77 %

38.46 %

23.08 %

100 %

2

8

10

6

26

Joomla Users

14.29 %

48.57 %

34.29 %

2.86 %

100 %

5

17

12

1

35

All Users

10.14 %

43.48 %

33.33 %

13.04 %

100 %

7

30

23

9

69

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