Joomla! and WordPress are both award-winning open-source Content Management Systems. But which should you use? WordPress—or Joomla?We’re not trying to start any internet fights, we’re just trying to educate and help you to choose the platform that is right for your website and your situation.
Yep, we know, WordPress powers HUGE numbers of websites. But before you decide to follow the masses, hear us out as to why you should consider Joomla—not just as an alternative—but as a better choice.
First, let’s get familiar with a few terms.
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- Themes & Templates, they determine what your site looks like. WordPress has Themes, Joomla has Templates—they’re the same thing, just different names
- Same thing for WordPress plugins and Joomla extensions—but they’re essentially the same thing, and they add functionality.
- WordPress has Widgets, Joomla has Modules, same thing, but different names.
- Dashboard and Admin Panel, once again, same thing, but different names.
- And they both are Content Management Systems (CMS)
Before you build a website (or have one built) you need to do your research! And you need to know the reasons and the goals you wish to accomplish with your new website. Ask yourself several questions and your answers will help to dictate the kind of website CMS that you need.
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- Do I want or need a blog?
- Do I need a CUSTOM website? Or is there a template out of the box that will work just as well?
- Will I be handling the management of my site or will someone else?
- If I will be, how tech-savvy am I? Am I comfortable with troubleshooting if an extension causes problems?
- How committed am I to keeping my site up-to-date?
- Am I comfortable with handling the security aspects of my site? WordPress sites are hacked into more often than Joomla sites and they require more security configuration at the start—as well as more ongoing security maintenance.
- Does my website need to be in different languages?
- Do I need database flexibility?
- Will my website need to expand any time in the near future?
- Will my site be selling a product? If so, you need to take into consideration ecommerce plugins/extensions available for both platforms.
- What are my current website needs vs. my future website needs?
It’s not about which platform is BETTER, but which platform is BETTER for the specific things that you need it to do.
