Drupal would be more adoptable if the first step felt simpler
Drupal would be easier to adopt if the first step felt more obvious. Something simple like: Download Drupal 11. You click the button, get a zip file, upload it to the server, create a database, open the URL, and run the installer. Basically, the WordPress experience.
That sounds very basic, but it matters more than we sometimes want to admit. WordPress is not popular only because of plugins, themes, or market share. It’s also popular because the first step is easy to understand. You download it, upload it, install it, and you are in the admin.
Even if the project becomes more complicated later, the beginning feels approachable. Drupal doesn’t always feel like that. It’s powerful, very powerful. But the first impression can feel like you need to understand the architecture before you’re allowed to try it properly. Install Composer. Use the command line. Understand dependencies. Understand the project structure. Know why there’s a web folder. Know what belongs in the document root. Know how updates should work.
For experienced Drupal developers, that all makes sense. Composer is the right tool for serious projects. It makes dependency management cleaner, updates safer, and development workflows more professional. But for someone trying Drupal for the first time, it’s a lot.
And that’s where Drupal loses people.
The problem isn’t power, and it isn’t Composer
Drupal does not have an adoption problem because it cannot do enough. It can handle complex content models, multilingual sites, editorial workflows, permissions, APIs, integrations, structured content, and large websites with serious requirements. The problem is that people often don’t get to experience that power quickly enough. With WordPress, you can start before you understand the architecture. With Drupal, it often feels like you need to understand the architecture before you start.
Nor do I think Drupal should abandon Composer. That would be the wrong conclusion.
For real Drupal projects it’s usually the correct way to manage the site, and if you are building a production site, you should understand Composer, configuration management, deployment workflows, environments, patches, and updates. But it shouldn’t be the first thing every new user has to understand. Someone who is just curious about Drupal should be able to install it, click around, create a page, and see what it feels like before they have to learn the full development workflow.
The first step should be about getting into Drupal, not proving that you already know how modern PHP projects are structured.
A simpler first path, next to the Composer one
I would love to see a very clear first path for people who just want to try Drupal: download it, upload it, run the installer, create the first page.
It doesn’t need to replace the Composer workflow. It can exist next to it, along with a recommended developer workflow, documentation explaining why Composer is better for long-term maintenance, and warnings about production projects, updates, hosting, and security. The first experience should not feel like a wall. It should feel like an invitation.
When someone is choosing a CMS, they are not only comparing features. They are paying attention to how the product feels. Can I install it? Can I understand it? Can I create something? Can I imagine using this for a real project?
If the answer requires too much documentation before anything appears on screen, many people will never get far enough to see what Drupal is good at. That doesn’t mean they are not technical enough. It means the first step was harder than it needed to be.
Drupal CMS is a good sign
Drupal CMS feels like a step in the right direction. A blank Drupal core install can feel too empty for new users. You install it, and then you still need to know which modules to add, which settings to configure, which content types to create, and how to turn it into something that feels like a real website.
Drupal CMS tries to solve part of that by giving people a better starting point: better defaults, recipes, useful modules, and a more complete first experience. That’s good. But the installation experience still matters. If the first step feels too developer-focused, some people will leave before they ever get to the improved part.
Optimize for the people still deciding
Drupal doesn’t need to become WordPress, and it doesn’t need to become less powerful or less serious. It just needs a smoother first step. Make the first install easy and let people create the first page quickly. Then, when the project grows, introduce Composer, configuration management, recipes, environments, caching, deployment workflows, permissions, and everything else that makes Drupal powerful.
The first experience should not be optimized only for people who already chose Drupal. It should also be optimized for people who are still deciding.
