Why Drupal Is Killing Your Small Business (And What to Use Instead)

The Drupal Problem Nobody Talks About

Drupal is a powerful content management system. For the right use case.

That use case is large enterprises with complex content workflows, multiple content editors, granular permissions, and dedicated development teams to maintain everything. Think government agencies, universities, and Fortune 500 companies.

That use case is not a plumber in Brisbane, a dentist in Sydney, or a restaurant in Melbourne.

The Numbers Don't Lie

Let's look at what Drupal actually costs a small business:

5 Reasons Drupal Destroys Small Businesses

1. Security Nightmares

Drupal requires constant security updates. Miss one, and you're vulnerable. In 2018, "Drupalgeddon 2" affected over a million sites. Small businesses without IT teams often run outdated, vulnerable installations for months or years.

2. Developer Dependency

Want to change your phone number? That's a developer task. Need to add a new service? Developer. Holiday hours? Developer. Every small change requires technical expertise, which means ongoing costs.

And Drupal developers aren't cheap. The specialized knowledge required means you're paying $100-200+/hour for even simple changes.

3. Painfully Slow

Out of the box, Drupal is slow. It needs database queries, PHP processing, and proper caching configuration. Most SMB Drupal sites we audit score poorly on Google's Core Web Vitals.

Google has confirmed page speed affects rankings. Every second of delay costs you customers.

4. Mobile is an Afterthought

Drupal was built in the desktop era. While modern themes exist, many SMB Drupal sites are running old themes that render terribly on mobile. With 60%+ of traffic coming from mobile devices, that's a disaster.

5. Module Madness

Need a contact form? Install a module. SEO? Module. Image optimization? Module. Each module is another potential security risk, performance hit, and maintenance burden.

And when Drupal updates, modules break. Updating Drupal often means waiting for all your modules to be compatible, then testing everything, then fixing what broke.

But My Developer Said Drupal Is Best...

Let's be honest: some developers recommend Drupal because:

• It's what they know (even if it's wrong for your use case)
• Complex systems mean ongoing billable hours
• It sounds impressive to say "we use enterprise-grade technology"

A good developer matches the tool to the job. For most SMB websites, that tool is not Drupal.

What Should You Use Instead?

For small business websites, the best solution is usually a static site deployed on a global CDN. Here's why:

"But I need forms, booking, and dynamic features!" - No problem. Modern static sites integrate with specialized services that do one thing exceptionally well, rather than a monolithic CMS trying to do everything poorly.

The Bottom Line

Drupal isn't bad. It's just wrong for small businesses. Using it is like buying a semi-truck to pick up groceries. Yes, it can do the job, but at what cost?

If you're a small business stuck with a slow, expensive Drupal site, there's a better way. Modern websites are faster, cheaper, more secure, and actually designed for businesses your size.