Hi Drupal Gurus,
This is my first post here.Recently I have started taking interest in Drupal.Other day my friend (Java developer) and I were talking about Drupal's capability in handling large and complex web development.
And I was wondering if Drupal is capable of replicating following websites exactly.
www.realestate.com.au and www.carsales.com.au
Honestly I dont have programming knowledge but I am asking this as my friend thinks that Drupal might not be suitable platform to create and maintain those type of websites with high traffic.From what I have been reading recently I feel that Drupal can handle sites with high traffic and large database.I have seen some generic posts about this question but I am talking about those specific websites.
Cheers
Hemant
Comments
It has been proved that
It has been proved that Drupal can work well with high traffic and large databases. Whether it is the best tool for the job is a different question. Assuming you are doing large and complex web dev, implying you have the money to hire a small team of professionals, it would be really interesting to weigh up the pros and cons of using Drupal. One nice thing about Drupal is that it makes it possible to a hard-working and intelligent sie builder get somewhere close to a good complex site without hiring a Java or asp.net programmers (to name only the languages used for for sites you link). So if you did not have the money and skills for a custom-programmed site, the attraction of Drupal is obvious. If you do have the funds to build a custom Java or .ASP site, or to get a Drupal site professionally built to a high standard, would it still be the right choice to pick Drupal? I am not sure.
Digit Professionals specialising in Drupal, WordPress & CiviCRM support for publishers in non-profit and related sectors
Thanks
Thanks for reply.Good to know that Drupal have the capacity to handle large complex site if built professionally.Assuming if we have a enough budget to build it professionally, would you have any idea how much does it cost to build and then maintain it? I beleive large chunk of budget would have to allocated for marketing/advertising compare to development for this sort of online business ventures.
However,its very important to have robust site which doesnt crash often before we launch the site.so aim is to get good site up and running and then start advertising.Before even we start building its important to choose right platform.So question is if we have a good enough money to build it professionally, is it worth to go with Drupal ? If not what else would be right platform?
Thanks once again,
Hemant
What I have seen in three
What I have seen in three years in the Drupal world is that developer rates vary from US$20-200 per hour (that is an under-estimate) and that established Drupal shops vary massively in their pricing. Clients understandably rarely go to the the most expensive, but the cheaper ones are often under pressure to keep getting work in and under-bid. A big percentage of customers pick what looks like a good deal, and find they are disappointed (not only by the way the site works, but also by the problems of maintaining it). To be honest very disappointed customers in the Drupal world are common. It is not just crashes, but small irritations which are hard to fix, poor communication, late delivery, etc. On the other hand Drupal can work very well but it usually works out more expensive than people expect, because the fact it is free software creates an expectation that a Drupal site will be fairly cheap.
I know that does not really answer the question, and it probably sounds downbeat coming from a Drupal fan, but I do not have a better answer. For other platforms I guess the options are custom programming in .asp, django or whatever language or framework your developers happen to prefer. All software projects can run into trouble, not only Drupal projects, and I guess hiring a developer or team is a skill in itself.
Digit Professionals specialising in Drupal, WordPress & CiviCRM support for publishers in non-profit and related sectors
Looks like there is no
Looks like there is no definitive answer unless I jump into developing it and overcome the problems.I will be still digging around to get more knowledge.Appreciate your effort for reply to this post.