A Content Management System (CMS) helps you create and modify your website content without any programming knowledge. Many websites today are powered by content management systems, and WordPress and Joomla are among the most widely used. Building a website isn’t easy. Someone with no website design experience can end up with a website with good content, but a very poor design, or vice-versa. A web developer is someone who makes use of programming languages such as HTML, CSS and Javascript to make your web design and content run and function like you want, and people who visit your website get what they want as well. In the past, websites were made by creating each web page separately using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Programming languages like PHP and SQL (used for databases) allowed web developers to create websites with far more functionality. A content management system is a computer software used to manage the creation and modification of digital content. WordPress and Joomla are both content management systems that rely heavily on PHP and SQL languages. Using Wordpress or Joomla, you can create a website easier than ever before.


Image from https://www.imaginovation.net/

Trying to decide between Joomla vs WordPress for your next website? Choosing the right CMS can be a tough decision. Both Joomla and Wordpress are good choices. Both of them can support your website. But since each CMS excels in a different area, you need to know which one is right for your needs before you decide which one to use. We at Obiltech have worked with both Joomla and Wordpress, so we have a good idea of each CMS' pros and cons. We have created templates for both, programmed new features for both, taken projects all the way to the end with both Joomla and Wordpress. Sometimes they are pretty similar. Sometimes they pose a whole new set of challenges.

There are many Content Management Systems out there. If you are going to choose a CMS for your website, you should choose one of the top 5-10 out there. They are mature, stable and easy to us, and that's why they are the market leaders. At the moment, Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, and Typo3 are among the most popular. We at Obiltech work with Wordpress and Joomla. These are the top reasons why we rely on them:

  • (1) More extensions
  • (2) More design templates
  • (3) Many programmers are familiar with them
  • (4) Better for SEO (search engine optimization)

Both Joomla and Wordpress rely on PHP and SQL languages. Both of them are open-source, and they are free to download (however extensions can range from $0 to $250). Both of them have a frontend where content is displayed, and a backend where you can change the settings and maintain your content. The processes needed for programming extensions for either Joomla or Wordpress are very similar.


Wordpress

Wordpress is the most famous open source content management system in the world. In fact, more than thirty percent of today's website rely on Wordpress, which is a staggering number. It started as a simple blogging platform, but it has evolved into a flexible website builder. Wordpress is a great CMS for beginners, since it is easy to install and set up. With Wordpress, you can have a site running in about five minutes. It enjoys an immense amount of support, and it has a large number of tutorials and forums for beginners. Many hosts include WordPress auto-installers or even come with pre-installed WordPress.

Plugins for Wordpress
Wordpress Themes


Joomla

When it comes to popularity, Joomla comes in close second. Launched in 2005, Joomla is almost as old as WordPress. This Content Management System is used by businesses, schools, corporations, and a lot more. With Joomla, just like Wordpress, you can have a website running in just a few minutes. Like WordPress, most web hosts contain a Joomla auto-installer that makes it easy to get Joomla software installed. But Joomla has a downside: it is not friendly toward beginners. You can build some powerful features, but it can scare a few beginners away. Since Joomla uses a combination of Articles and Categories, before you start creating content, you need to create categories for the content you want to write. But if you spend, let's say, 30 minutes toying with it in the administration (backend), you will notice that Joomla is easier than Wordpress in many areas. In Joomla, creating menus is way easier, for example. Inside the Wordpress backend (version 5.4.4), in order to create a menu, you need to click on the Appearance tab.

But Joomla only has pages that display content. WordPress has "pages" and "posts". It can be confusing to some. Posts are blog articles. Pages are for normal content. If you want to run a blog using Joomla, you'd need to install a component that allows you to do it. With Wordpress, you'd be able to do it as soon as you install it.

Joomla Extensions
Popular Joomla Themes


Updates

A new WordPress version comes out every 50-60 days. Many of the updates are minor and just small bugs fixes. Bigger WordPress releases come out a couple of times a year. Joomla updates are more frequent: every 10-40 days. But big updates are less frequent: once every year. Sometimes they take even more.

Which one is better?

WordPress is probably better for the vast majority of websites, but your choice of CMS depends on your needs. If you want a webshop, Wordpress has a plugin called WooCommerce that is great, but Joomla has Virtuemart which is also great. If you want a social network, Joomla wins because it has a component called JomSocial that can provide you with everything a good social network needs.

Let's compare them even more:


Wordpress

Pros:

  • It is small compared to the other options, so it can work well with small hosting plans
  • Immense amount of support available
  • So widely used, many web hosting providers offer WordPress hosting plans
  • Great for small websites
  • Good for blogging
  • Wordpress has better extensions (plugins)

Cons:

  • Interface focuses on small websites
  • WordPress does not scale well. Complex websites can be troublesome to develop on this platform
  • The code becomes difficult to manage, can take up a lot of space, and it can even slow down your website. As stated before, it does not scale well.
  • Due to its popularity, and so many plugins available, some of which are hard to maintain, Wordpress is often the target of hacker attacker. However, there are tools that can make Wordpress safer.

  • Joomla

    Pros:

    • Designed for larger websites, so you won't run into performance issues while scaling your website
    • Good for complex websites that need flexibility. Websites such as Wikipedia
    • More hacker-proof than Wordpress, but some components, modules, and plugins have shown vulnerabilities in the past
    • More advanced user management, which is great if your website has to be managed by multiple people.
    • Joomla has multilingual support built right in the core. With WordPress, you need to use a third-party plugin.
    • Joomla lets you use different templates for different content types. Doing the same thing with Wordpress would require extensive coding.

    Cons:

    • Less user friendly than Wordpress
    • Creating a blogger can be difficult.

    If you want a website, and you cannot decide what Content Management System you want to use, we at Obiltech can help you. You just need to tell us what it is you need. For small projects, Wordpress sounds like the best option. For bigger projects, Joomla is preferable, but that's not always the case. It all comes down to your own needs and preferences.

About Obiltech

Obiltech is a 10+ year-old IT a full-service software development company.

Learn More

Web Development



Every client website is different, but the development process tends to be similar. It all begins with gathering information, and it ends with maintenance to keep your web site up to date and current.

Application Development

Web Mobile



Every year, people rely more and more on mobile devices to meet their needs. Websites used to be the gold-standard, but mobile applications are gaining more popularity. Since technologies used to create mobile applications are improving and keep getting better, it’s an exciting time to develop a mobile application.

Mobile Development

Angular and React Development



Fortunately we at Obiltech can work with both frameworks. If you have an application in mind, and you cannot decide which one to use, we can help you. The factors that need to be considered are: time to adapt, deployment speed, and employer/client business requirements.

Angular and React Development