Drupal vs. Acquia - Part 2

Everyone loves a deal. For this reason, DIY Drupal hosting can be very enticing. Drupal provides the opportunity to create your own website and save money simultaneously — or does it?

Drupal vs. Acquia - Part 2

In part one of this blog series, we outlined the difference between Drupal and Acquia. Now, let’s talk about why you should consider leaving the DIY trend behind and seeking out an Acquia partner. 

Benefits of Working with Acquia-Certified Developers & Drupal Specialists:

No hidden or surprise costs.

DIY has become such a trend because it initially seems more affordable. However, DIY often involves unforeseen costs. 

Watch any TV series where a contractor provides a quote for services and then finds out the plumbing is 100 years old or that the foundation of the building is cracked. Cue big-ticket expenses that make the homeowner swoon. 

Web development is full of the same hidden and surprise costs. Businesses and individuals often work long hours to create a DIY Drupal site only to discover they want to make some customizations outside of their skill level. Then starts a series of one-time contract jobs, additional fees, and expensive upgrades and hosting fees.

With Acquia, all these costs are built-in. You don’t have to worry about expensive invoices from contracted developers for odd jobs or missing out on valuable time you could be spending growing your business. 

Better security.

The internet can be a dangerous place, so customers are looking for more security when interacting with brands and businesses. It’s your job to ensure that all customer information is safe and secure. As security threats evolve and change, you must stay up to date and maintain the infrastructure crucial for web security. When you choose the DIY Drupal route, all this responsibility falls on you. 

Acquia is a cloud-based platform with three dedicated security teams to keep it updated and safe. As Acquia is optimized for Drupal, it works hard to improve the page speed while maintaining security against cyberattacks. The Acquia cloud platform is also audited quarterly for compliance with industry security standards.

Your customers want to be able to interact with your business in a digital world without worrying about their personal information ending up in the wrong hands. The Acquia platform can help you provide this security.

Flexibility and scalability.

Your business is going places — some of these places you may not have even imagined yet. In the future, your single site may branch off into multiple sites and channels. You may create a custom booking platform or online store. Wherever you go, your website must be easy to scale to keep up with this growth. 

Working with Drupal developers that are Acquia-certified experts means you can scale your business when it needs to happen. The Acquia Site Factory already allows Acquia partners to manage multiple Drupal sites from a single dashboard. 

Additional tools and platforms.

A successful website is more than pretty graphics, fast load times, and quality content. The best websites support all aspects of a business, from development and R&D to marketing and customer service. 

The Acquia cloud platform allows developers to access tools and systems immediately thanks to the Cloud Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) to start writing code as soon as they connect to the internet. There are also built-in services to help developers optimize code.

Developers aren’t the only ones who benefit from Acquia’s cloud-based platform and tools. Marketers will love the Site Studio and its user-friendly site builder tool. This is the perfect system for the non-technical team member who needs to build stunning landing pages quickly for launches, ad campaigns, and promotions. When marketers are empowered and able to do these jobs, your developers aren’t being pulled away from crucial tasks to help. 

Access to 24/7 support.

Working with an Acquia partner means you have access to 24/7 support. Waiting for hours on the phone, or sending an e-mail and being promised a response in 7 business days, isn’t going to cut it when your site goes down or a page breaks. In these stressful situations, you don’t want to be figuring it out on your own. Trust us on that one. 

The Endnotes:

Time is money, and you can’t run your business, be a web developer, research the latest internet security measures, perform market research, and implement innovative changes simultaneously. Choosing a Drupal specialist and an Acquia-certified partner allows you to tick all these boxes and get you back to focusing on doing what you do best: providing your product or service. 

If you’re still wondering if you should seek out a Drupal developer and Acquia-certified partner to help you, ask yourself this: “If I didn't know how to build a house, would I take a year off of work to build one with the help of YouTube videos?” We hope you answered no because the safety of that house may be questionable, and you’ve just decided to spend money for a year without making any. 

Ready to take advantage of these advantages and join up with an Acquia partner and Drupal expert? Our team is here to help. Get in touch with us today.

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