Drupal 7 has served many businesses well, but its January 5, 2025 end-of-life date is rapidly approaching. This means no more security updates, no more bug fixes, and no more official support. For businesses still relying on Drupal 7, this poses significant risks. Staying on an unsupported platform is like leaving your front door wide open – an invitation for trouble.
At LazyLizard Internet, we understand the challenges this presents, and we’re here to guide you through a smooth transition to a more secure, flexible, and cost-effective solution: WordPress from LazyLizard.
Why Migrate from Drupal 7?
The risks of sticking with Drupal 7 are simply too great to ignore. Here’s why:
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- Security Risks: Without ongoing security updates, your website becomes a prime target for hackers. This could lead to data breaches, website defacement, and damage to your reputation. Imagine the consequences of sensitive customer information falling into the wrong hands!
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- Maintenance Nightmares: Maintaining an outdated system is like keeping an old car running – it requires constant attention, specialized parts, and expensive repairs. This drains your resources and takes your focus away from growing your business.
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- Compatibility Issues: As technology advances, Drupal 7 websites may struggle to keep up. This can lead to broken features, poor performance, and a frustrating user experience.
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- Limited Functionality: Outdated modules and themes can restrict your website’s capabilities, hindering your ability to innovate and adapt to changing market demands.
Why Choose WordPress through LazyLizard?
WordPress with LazyLizard offers a compelling alternative to Drupal 7, especially for small businesses. Here’s why it’s the smart choice:
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- Ease of Use: WordPress is renowned for its user-friendly interface, making website management a breeze, even for those without technical expertise.
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- Unmatched Flexibility: WordPress can power anything from simple blogs to complex e-commerce platforms. This scalability ensures your website can grow with your business.
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- Vibrant Community: A massive community of users and developers provides unparalleled support, resources, and a wealth of knowledge. You’re never alone with WordPress.
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- Cost-Effectiveness: WordPress is open-source and free to use, with a vast library of affordable themes and plugins that extend its functionality. This significantly reduces development and maintenance costs.
Don’t wait until it’s too late! Contact LazyLizard Internet today for a free consultation. We’ll help you migrate your website to WordPress seamlessly, ensuring a secure, high-performing, and future-proof online presence.
In What Ways is LazyLizard‘s WordPress Easier to Use Than Drupal?
1. Content Management:
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- WordPress: Imagine writing an email. That’s pretty much what it’s like to add a blog post or page in WordPress. You have a title, a big area to write your content, and simple buttons to format text, add images, or embed videos. It’s intuitive and familiar.
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- Example: Want to bold a sentence? Just highlight it and click the “B” button. Need to add a photo? Click “Add Media” and upload it from your computer. No complicated coding or settings to fiddle with.
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- WordPress: Imagine writing an email. That’s pretty much what it’s like to add a blog post or page in WordPress. You have a title, a big area to write your content, and simple buttons to format text, add images, or embed videos. It’s intuitive and familiar.
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- Drupal: Drupal’s content editing can be more abstract. You might have to deal with different “content types,” “fields,” and “taxonomies” even for basic tasks. This can be confusing for beginners.
2. Website Updates:
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- WordPress: Updating WordPress is usually a one-click process. You get a notification when a new version is available, and you simply click “Update Now.” It’s like updating an app on your phone.
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- Drupal: Drupal updates can be more involved. Sometimes, they require manual steps, downloading files, or even using command-line tools. This can be intimidating for non-technical users.
3. Finding Help:
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- WordPress: Stuck on something? Chances are someone else has had the same problem. With its huge community, a quick Google search will usually lead you to a helpful forum thread, tutorial, or video.
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- Example: Search “how to add a contact form in WordPress” and you’ll find tons of easy-to-follow guides.
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- Drupal: While Drupal has helpful resources, its smaller community means finding specific answers can sometimes take more digging.
4. Customization:
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- WordPress: Want to change your website’s look? Just install a new theme. Need extra features? Add a plugin. It’s like adding apps to your phone – easy to find, install, and activate.
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- Example: Need a photo gallery? Search for a “gallery plugin,” install it, and you’re good to go.
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- WordPress: Want to change your website’s look? Just install a new theme. Need extra features? Add a plugin. It’s like adding apps to your phone – easy to find, install, and activate.
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- Drupal: Drupal allows customization too, but it often involves configuring modules and themes with more technical settings.
In short, WordPress prioritizes simplicity and ease of use, making it a great choice for small businesses like those LazyLizard Internet serves. It empowers people to manage their websites without needing a degree in computer science!
Why should someone upgrade from Drupal 7 to WordPress instead of to a higher version of Drupal?
While upgrading to Drupal 9 or 10 might seem like the natural progression, migrating to WordPress offers some distinct advantages, especially for small businesses and those who prioritize ease of use and cost-effectiveness. Here’s a breakdown of why WordPress might be the better choice:
1. User-Friendliness:
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- WordPress: Known for its intuitive interface and ease of use. Even those with limited technical skills can easily manage their website content, updates, and basic functionalities.
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- Drupal: Drupal has a steeper learning curve. While newer versions have improved usability, it still requires more technical know-how to manage effectively.
2. Flexibility and Scalability:
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- WordPress: Highly flexible and scalable, capable of powering a wide range of websites, from simple blogs to complex e-commerce stores. Its vast library of themes and plugins makes customization and expansion easy.
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- Drupal: Also scalable, but often favored for larger, more complex websites with specific customization needs. This can sometimes translate to higher development costs and longer project timelines.
3. Cost-Effectiveness:
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- WordPress: WordPress itself is open-source and free. Many themes and plugins are available for free or at affordable prices, making it a budget-friendly option.
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- Drupal: While Drupal is also open source, development and customization can be more expensive due to its complexity and the need for specialized Drupal developers.
4. Community and Support:
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- WordPress: Boasts a massive and active community of users and developers, providing readily available support, resources, and a wealth of online documentation.
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- Drupal: While Drupal has a dedicated community, it’s smaller than WordPress’. Finding support or specialized developers might be more challenging.
5. Plugin Ecosystem:
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- WordPress: Offers an extensive plugin ecosystem, with thousands of plugins available for various functionalities, making it easy to add features and extend your website’s capabilities.
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- Drupal: While Drupal has modules that provide similar functionality, the selection is not as vast as WordPress’.
In essence, if you’re looking for a user-friendly, cost-effective, and highly flexible platform with a large support network, WordPress is a strong contender. Migrating to a newer version of Drupal might be suitable for larger organizations with complex needs and dedicated development resources.
