When you’re comparing a Drupal agency with a general web agency, the difference can seem straightforward at first glance. One specializes in Drupal. The other works across multiple platforms, sometimes including Drupal.

But that explanation barely scratches the surface.

Because this decision isn’t really about a CMS list, it’s about the approach. It’s about how a partner thinks about architecture, scalability, performance, security, and what happens long after launch. It’s about whether your next migration feels controlled or painful. (If you’ve been through one before, you already know.)

And that’s usually where the real questions begin.

If you’re evaluating options and trying to decide which direction makes sense for your organization, you’ve reached the right place. Below, we’ve addressed the most common questions we hear during this exact decision-making process.

First, let’s define them

What is a Drupal agency?

A company that specializes in building, optimizing, and managing websites using Drupal as the Content Management System (CMS) is typically referred to as a Drupal agency. They would likely have a team of skilled Drupal developers who can build custom modules, create and manage multisite architectures, and integrate the CMS with any third-party tools, such as CRMs, ERPs, Marketing automation systems, and more. 

What is a general web agency?

A company that builds websites using a variety of platforms like WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, or even Drupal is often referred to as a general web agency or web development agency. They focus on design, development, and basic marketing needs across different industries rather than going deep into one technology.

1. Isn’t the only difference that one uses Drupal and the other uses many platforms?

While it may seem as simple as that, the answer is a resounding no - it goes far beyond just the platform used. A general agency may know how to build in Drupal. But a Drupal agency has technical depth because of its focus, and it understands:

• Core architecture - How to model content properly from day one, how entity relationships affect performance and editorial workflows, how architectural shortcuts today become migration pain tomorrow, and more.
• Configuration management - How to create predictable environments across dev, staging, and production, how to maintain version control discipline, etc.
• Composer dependency workflows - How dependency conflicts happen, how to manage semantic versioning, how to test updates before deployment, and more.
• Upgrade-safe development - How to avoid deprecated APIs even if they work for now, how to write custom modules cleanly and modularly, keeps business logic separated from theme logic.
• Contributed module ecosystems - Which modules are stable and actively maintained, which ones are abandoned, and when to use contributed modules vs. build custom.
• Security advisory cycles - To actively monitor advisories, the impact scope, how to apply patches quickly and safely.

2. How to know if I really need a specialized agency?

This usually comes down to complexity and consequence. But to be honest, if your website is:

• A small marketing site
• Low traffic
• Light on integrations
• Not deeply tied to internal systems

.. then you might need deep specialization. Our recommendation is to go with a general web development agency.

But if you’ve answered yes to any of these questions below, then you are more likely to benefit from a Drupal-focused agency:

• Does your site integrate deeply with CRM, ERP, marketing automation, or internal systems?
• Do you manage complex editorial workflows and permissions?
• Does your business operate across multiple regions or languages?
• Do you expect traffic spikes or enterprise-level scale?
• Do you plan to stay on Drupal long-term?

3. Is there a pricing difference between a Drupal agency and a general web agency?

TBH - yes, at least upfront. 

General web agencies may quote lower initial build costs, particularly for smaller or less complex sites. You can find many industry listings on Clutch that work on CMS projects starting under $25,000, of course, depending on scope and customization level. 

Drupal projects, particularly mid-to-enterprise level, often range from $25,000 to $150,000+ based on complexity, integrations, governance, and scale. Enterprise-focused studies from Acquia and Forrester also highlight that Drupal implementations typically factor in architecture, DevOps, and long-term maintainability.

But the real difference isn’t just the launch cost. It’s what happens 2–3 years later. While a general web agency may provide a lower upfront cost and possibly faster launch timelines, a Drupal-focused agency often provides higher upfront architecture rigor but also lower long-term migration friction, more predictable upgrade cycles, and reduced technical debt. 

We’ve stepped into many Drupal projects that needed rescue - unstable migrations, brittle custom code, broken upgrade paths, performance bottlenecks, security gaps. Most of them weren’t built by bad teams. They were built by capable agencies that simply didn’t specialize deeply in Drupal.

So the pricing question becomes - Are you looking for the lowest upfront investment or for long-term stability and predictable lifecycle costs?

4. What does “Drupal Certified Partner” mean for me as a client? (Does it really matter?)

First, let’s talk about what it takes to be a Drupal Certified Partner.

1. You have to actively contribute to the Drupal project in terms of code contributions, community work (events, mentoring), and case studies. You need to actively build Drupal and not just use it.
2. You must provide financial sponsorship. The monetary commitment scales with the company size. This helps fund the Drupal Association and ecosystem.
3. You need to prove your Drupal expertise with verified case studies and proven outcomes.
4. You must show consistent commitment by contributing year after year, supporting Drupal initiatives, and staying active in the community.

So when you choose a Drupal agency that is also a Drupal Certified Partner, you know they’re vetted and will have structured expertise and validated skills. While certification alone doesn’t ensure exceptional execution, it does provide a layer of validation that lowers ecosystem and delivery risk.

5. Isn’t “Platform-Agnostic” a good thing?

Sometimes. If your organization has not committed to a CMS long-term, or the project lifecycle is short (2–3 years), or governance and integrations are limited, then choosing a platform-agnostic agency makes more sense.

Most digital agencies that describe themselves as platform-agnostic typically divide teams across multiple CMS ecosystems. That creates breadth of exposure, but not necessarily depth in one architecture.

And depth matters more as complexity increases.

For example:

• According to W3Techs, WordPress powers over 40% of websites globally, while Drupal powers a smaller share (around 1–2%).
• However, Drupal remains disproportionately represented in government, higher education, healthcare, and large enterprise environments where governance, multilingual publishing, and security requirements are stricter.

That distinction is important. When complexity increases, specialization tends to become less of a preference and more of a risk management decision. Drupal is often selected not for simplicity, but for structural capability. 

6. How do I know if an agency truly specializes in Drupal?

You can usually tell even before you dive too deep. A Drupal-specialized agency will naturally talk about:

• Content architecture before design
• Configuration management as standard practice
• Composer workflows and dependency control
• Upgrade paths during the build phase
• Security advisories and module sustainability

They won’t treat them as advanced add-ons. They’ll treat them as default discipline.

Now, when you compare that to a general web agency, the conversation often centers around:

• Features
• Design
• Timelines
• CMS familiarity

Again, neither of them is wrong. But it shows different priorities. 

So here’s what you should ask them before you make your choice:

1. Have they handled major Drupal migrations?
2. How do they prevent technical debt from adding up?
3. Do they reference Drupal ecosystem involvement?
4. Do they publish insights specifically about Drupal evolution?
5. Do they focus only on launch, or do they extend the discussion to what happens two years after launch?

And most importantly, agencies that deeply invested in Drupal often contribute back to the community, monitor roadmap discussions, and stay close to the platform’s direction.

7. So which one should I choose?

There is no universal answer to this question. It totally depends on what role your website plays within your organization.

You should go with a general web agency when:

• The project is of relatively low complexity and primarily marketing-driven
• The site has limited integrations with CRM, ERP, or internal systems
• Governance and permissions are straightforward
• The primary focus is branding, campaigns, and creative execution
• Drupal is not a long-term strategic commitment

And you should choose a Drupal agency if:

• Drupal is central to your long-term digital strategy, and you expect your platform to evolve over 5+ years rather than be replaced
• Your site integrates deeply into your broader technology stack
• You manage complex editorial workflows, roles, or multisite environments
• Multilingual publishing or structured content modeling is critical
• Performance directly impacts revenue, reputation, or user trust
• Security, compliance, and upgrade predictability are extremely crucial to your business

Final thoughts

The final decision truly depends on the alignment between your platform’s role and your partner’s depth. But this decision shouldn’t be only about your current requirements. It’s about how your platform will evolve.

So if you choose a Drupal-focused agency or a broader web partner, it’s worth asking:

How well does this team understand where the platform is heading, and how today’s architectural choices may affect tomorrow’s capabilities? Because in the end, the build is just the beginning.

If you’re weighing your options and want to talk it through, the team at Specbee is always open to a conversation.