HI! Sorry if the question has already been asked, it’s to make my situation better understood. I currently work in a small company of a few people and they are teaching me various things because this is my first experience and I only know HTML, CSS and Javascript (I’m lucky ngl). In this company they make their sites 30% of the time with WordPress and the rest with Drupal, so they mainly use Drupal and I’m using that too. Now, although I like it, I think that Drupal in case I had to change company or something else in the future, I don’t think I would need it much since where I live (Italy) there are few requests for Drupal but A LOT of requests for WordPress (Not to mention the fact that there are tons of WordPress tutorials online while almost 0 for Drupal) . I’ve always thought about to suggest using WordPress and not Drupal but I’m nobody to say such a thing, so I ask you…Should I learn WordPress on my own or do I continue to learn only Drupal? I wish I could not have problems in the future. Thanks for reading 🙂 (And sorry if I wrote something wrong in English)
I would suggest to learn WordPress because it’s the most widely used CMS and you can scale you knowledge (integrate API systems, Headless CMS with ReactJS). You can also do e-commerce, and there you have other competitors like Shopify. However, in WordPress you have the freedom to develop themes, plugins – features without any limitations, whereas in Shopify you don’t have that freedom. The approach there is different.
The languages you will need in WordPress are php, JS (jQuery), CSS (scss) and mySQL.
Yes! I would recommend reading a book on it first, and also learning vanilla PHP and mySQL. If you can understand how the WP core works, hooks and filters and the load sequence, you’ll be far ahead of many who just wing it from the start.
I’ve seen quite a few experienced programmers coming from lower level languages like C# who out of what I assume is hubris think that they don’t need to learn much about WP because it’s “easy”. They bypass learning how WP works at its core, and make an app that has a huge amount of technical debt, as they are working too far outside of the WP framework, writing huge SQL commands and using raw PHP when there are WP functions that can do what they need so much easier, more reliably and better for future maintainability.
Get the fundamentals right and you will do well. It took me a while to get my head around it all and it was quite a while after reading a book on WordPress that I really understood it, but what I read originally became clearer and clearer over time. It was an important first step.
Sounds like you’ve got a pretty sweet setup already getting to learn the ropes with Drupal! Since WordPress is super popular, especially in your area, beefing up your skills with it on the side could definitely give you an edge. The transition might be smoother than you think, since you’re already familiar with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — skills that come in handy when working with WordPress too.
Plus, WordPress has a massive community and loads of resources online that can help you learn at your own pace. Whether it’s customizing themes, working with plugins, or even diving into more advanced stuff, there’s no shortage of info out there. Learning WordPress could be a wise move for future-proofing your career and opening up more opportunities in the web development world.
>Should I learn WordPress on my own or do I continue to learn only Drupal?
I learned WordPress on my own, and so did my wife – mainly from [WPBeginner & WordPress.org sites](https://www.reddit.com/r/WordPress_org/comments/147qits/wordpressfriendly_trainings_for_beginners) (with a little help from me), back in 2011, and we still learn it. Now we even have our own digital agency and make a living mainly from it. Blessed WordPress! 😉
However, this doesn’t mean you can’t expand your knowledge, as all CMS platforms are somehow similar. We were previously working in Joomla and later switched to WordPress.
Drupal, while powerful and flexible, might not be as widely used or in demand in your local job market compared to WordPress. As you mentioned, there’s a significant demand for WordPress skills, and it’s supported by a vast ecosystem of tutorials and resources. Additionally, the majority of websites built by your company are already using WordPress, which indicates its relevance in the industry.
However, it’s essential to consider the context of your current role and your learning journey. If your job heavily involves Drupal, it might be valuable to continue mastering it for your current tasks and responsibilities. This would allow you to excel in your current role and contribute effectively to your team.
That being said, supplementing your Drupal knowledge with WordPress skills can broaden your opportunities, especially if you foresee the possibility of changing companies or roles in the future. Learning WordPress on your own could be a proactive step towards ensuring your skill set remains relevant and adaptable to market demands. You could start by exploring online tutorials, documentation, and perhaps even experimenting with building simple WordPress websites in your spare time.
Moreover, familiarity with both Drupal and WordPress could make you a more versatile developer, capable of working with different content management systems based on project requirements. This adaptability can be valuable in various job scenarios and may increase your employability.
As for managing websites, regardless of the platform used, you might also want to explore tools like CyberPanel, which can streamline website management tasks, improve performance, and enhance security. Integrating such tools into your workflow can add efficiency and proficiency to your work, regardless of whether you’re working with Drupal, WordPress, or any other CMS.
Learn WordPress for small sites, Drupal for big sites.