Joomla vs WordPress: 5 Points of Comparison to Help Select a CMS For Your Website

Building a website is no easy task as it comes with many decision points that each require careful consideration and planning. One of these involves choosing a content management system (CMS), the main application that will be used to create, modify, and manage content for your website. Nowadays, many websites are built with the help of a CMS, which comes with features that allow you to customize your site without the need for coding. As such, your chosen CMS will have a huge impact on your website and how it performs. 

In selecting a CMS, two of the most popular options you may hear about are Joomla and WordPress. Both are widely praised in the digital space due to their easy interface, flexible customization range, and versatile functionality options, all of which will help build your site. That said, you may be thinking: which of the two should you choose? While it is true that Joomla and WordPress share many advantages, each platform still has its own pros and cons. Thus, a detailed Joomla vs WordPress comparison may help you decide which one will be best for you.

One thing to note is that there is no clear answer as to which of the two platforms is better. It ultimately boils down to your needs and the type of site you want to develop since each CMS will have unique features and functionalities. Here is a detailed comparison between Joomla and WordPress to get you familiarized with the differences in their interfaces to help you make the best decision. 

Introduction to Joomla and WordPress

WordPress was created back in 2003 to fill the need for blogging software, and has, since then, created a community and profitable industry of users, developers, publishers, designers, writers, and bloggers. Plug-ins were then introduced in 2004, extending the platform’s functionalities and making more customizations possible. Over the years, WordPress has gone through multiple improvements and innovations to provide for publishers’ growing needs. It continues to be a top platform today due to its adaptability, wide support, customizability, and compatibility with SEO.

On the other hand, Joomla was released in 2005 as a rebranding of a CMS called Mambo. It went through its first major update in 2008 when it received features that officially made it part of the open-source CMS world. One notable feature about Joomla is that it can support different databases, making it suitable for tech-savvy users. While it is still recognized as beginner-friendly, the platform comes with other complex features that can support more serious web development.  

WordPress and Joomla are two of the most popular CMS existing today, with the former accounting for approximately 59.7% of websites, and the latter accounting for approximately 6.7% of websites. Although both were originally established for different purposes, they have since become the leading platforms for creating and running websites. To help you understand the differences between Joomla vs WordPress, here are five points of comparison that may explain some of the nuances within the two platforms.

Learning Curve

If it is your first time building a website, you may be concerned about how long it will take you to get to learn about your CMS interface and get used to it. Though WordPress and Joomla are both suitable for beginners, WordPress has a slight advantage in this aspect since its whole interface is user-friendly, so much so that you can get a site up and running within a few hours. If you are completely new to web design and development, you will still be able to create your website and customize it with code-free themes that can suit your desired aesthetic.

To get started with WordPress, you need a web server host that is compatible with the platform. Most will come with pre-installed WordPress, but if yours does not, you can easily install it as well. New websites will come with the standard WordPress theme, but you can change this as you see fit. To customize your site, you can use the WordPress customizer, which is loaded with features, as seen below. Each panel allows you to modify a specific part of your site and is easy to work with, so feel free to experiment with your options until you get more acquainted. 

Web server hosts that support Joomla may also come with the application pre-installed, so getting the software should be quick and easy. However, compared to WordPress, Joomla’s dashboard is packed with more components that can easily get you overwhelmed. Its interface is more developer-centered, so there might be a larger learning curve required for beginners. Typically, you start by creating categories for your content so that you can sort your articles accordingly.

Search Engine Optimization Capabilities

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most popular digital marketing strategies today. For example, if you have a website for your business valuation firm or any other form of presence in the online space, use this to increase your visibility and attract more users to your platform. Fortunately, Joomla and WordPress have features to support different SEO strategies and help your site rank higher. Joomla may have a slight edge in terms of built-in functions, but both of the platform’s capabilities are maximized through plug-ins and extensions. 

WordPress aims to simplify the optimization process to make its interface user-friendly, so most of its SEO potential comes from plug-ins. Specifically, Yoast and All in One Pack are some of the top-used plug-ins for SEO as they provide you with almost all the technical optimization assistance you need. For example, Yoast can analyze your content to improve readability and tell you how you can optimize it to make your keywords rank. 

Since Joomla is more developer-focused, it comes with basic SEO functions, such as adding global meta description and keywords, setting title tags, and enabling URL suffixes. Like WordPress, however, Joomla’s functionalities can be fully maximized with the help of extensions. 

Some of the options considered to be Joomla equivalents to Yoast include Easy Frontend SEO (EFSEO) and Sh404sef. EFSEO is particularly useful for optimizing your meta tags and descriptions, while Sh404sef is considered the all-around extension for SEO features. It can help create SEO-oriented URLs, customize your metadata, display a customized 404 error page, and provide other features that ensure your site complies with SEO guidelines.  Taking all this into consideration, we must award the SEO round of WordPress vs Joomla to WordPress 

Customization Range

CMS today must also be equipped with functionalities that allow you to design your website without having to code from scratch, and WordPress and Joomla can do just that. Both platforms allow you to customize your site to suit your desired design and format. In terms of versatility, however, WordPress still wins because of the number of options that you have available.

WordPress is lauded for its wide selection of themes, making it easy to build a professional-looking website with little to no effort. You can select from thousands of free and premium themes, and even customize them to create a design unique to your website. WordPress themes essentially eliminate the need to build your site from scratch, so you can create a fully functional and aesthetic website in no time. You can also explore over 55,000 plug-ins to help you with just about any aspect of your site.  

Joomla also comes with templates and extensions, which you can customize to suit your needs, but there are noticeably fewer options available, limiting your customization options. Furthermore, you cannot search for templates or extensions from your Dashboard or the administrative panel, as you normally would on WordPress. Instead, you have to manually search for these and install them. 

However, one advantage of Joomla is that you can use different templates for different pages, as opposed to WordPress, which only allows a single theme for the entire website. This feature provides you with more flexibility as you can create a separate design for your homepage and landing pages for better distinction. 

Security

With the rising number of threats evident in the digital space, it is natural to have concerns about your website’s security. WordPress and Joomla have both undergone many stages of hardening to improve their core software’s security. However, there is no direct method that can eliminate all vulnerabilities and security issues, so as a user, you still have to take proper precautions to mitigate these risks. 

WordPress tends to be more vulnerable to security risks due to its popularity and prevalence, but this only means that you have to take stringent measures to keep your site safe. Before anything else, make sure you use the latest version of the software at all times to keep the platform functioning at its safest. The same principle applies for outdated themes–make sure to update them immediately as these can provide an opening for cyberthreats.

Some additional steps you can take to tighten security include selecting a secure web host provider, installing security plug-ins from reputable and legitimate sources, and enabling a secure sockets layer (SSL) for site visitors. At the same time, you have to be wary about themes that you get from third parties. Since WordPress does not regulate these, you have to double-check to see if they comply with the platform’s standards. Site security should be one of your top priorities, so do not rush into installing a theme simply because of how it looks.

Evidently, most of the advanced security features are only made possible with WordPress plug-ins. Contrary to this, Joomla has a slight advantage as its core comes with features like two-factor authentication (2FA) and SSL. The platform comes with its own set of security extensions, but you can also explore a range of options from other providers. Like WordPress, you have to be wary of these extensions and make sure you select those from credible providers.

As a whole, both platforms have secure core software, but it is nearly impossible to ensure a perfectly secure system. Thus, you will still have to exert effort to monitor your site and implement security practices to keep it functioning well. In terms of the Joomla vs WordPress comparison, however, Joomla has the edge as it comes with basic built-in security features, which would require plug-ins for WordPress.

Usability and Support

Today, Joomla and WordPress are used for just about any website, but you may notice that each platform has features that make it suitable for specific sites. For example, WordPress began as a blogging site, so it is no surprise that it is perfect for blogs and personal websites, but it is also extensively used for business websites, portfolios, and directories. On the other hand, Joomla is one of the best choices for social networking due to the availability of cost-effective extensions. That said, it is also popularly used for business and organization websites and e-commerce.

Nowadays, multilingual sites are becoming more attractive as they can boost your site traffic by a large margin. From the get-go, Joomla offers this option, allowing you to select languages and translate your content immediately without installing other software. WordPress will need third-party services to support multilingual content as you can only select one language at a time by default.  

In terms of support, both WordPress and Joomla platforms have communities of users, developers, and publishers to help make the learning process more collaborative. In particular, Joomla is known for its documentation, an extensive collection of articles contributed by community members to help beginners get through the learning curve and navigate the platform. Similarly, WordPress has support pages and forums to help you create your site or solve any technical problems that may arise.

With that said, WordPress may still have a larger support system due to the number of people using the platform. You can easily enlist the help of a WordPress professional to do more complex customizations, whereas this may be harder to do in Joomla due to the limited number of users and experts.

Joomla vs WordPress: Which is the Better CMS?

As seen in the extensive discussion of the five points above, the battle of Joomla vs WordPress comes down to the question of “Which is better?” between WordPress and Joomla cannot be answered unilaterally. Each platform has its respective advantages and disadvantages, so it performs better in some aspects, but also falls short in others. As a result, the “better” CMS can be highly subjective and will depend on each user’s needs. 

Rather than thinking of which platform between Joomla and WordPress is superior, it will be easier to decide if you think about which platform will be more suitable for the website you want to create, along with its needs. For example, if you are a total beginner wanting to build a site, you may find more use out of WordPress since its interface is easy to understand and learn. Even without coding skills or knowledge, you can design and optimize your website with themes and plug-ins. The platform also boasts the largest community among all available CMS.

On the other hand, Joomla has a more complex dashboard, which can make the learning process much longer. However, it is suitable for social networks and e-commerce stores and can be further explored by tech-savvy users who want to become more involved with the web development process. It also provides more flexibility in content management and supports multi-user environments, making it suitable for community sites like university websites.

Building a website is no easy task as it comes with many decision points that each require careful consideration and planning. One of these involves choosing a content management system (CMS), the main application that will be used to create, modify, and manage content for your website. Nowadays, many websites are built with the help of a CMS, which comes with features that allow you to customize your site without the need for coding. As such, your chosen CMS will have a huge impact on your website and how it performs. 

In selecting a CMS, two of the most popular options you may hear about are Joomla and WordPress. Both are widely praised in the digital space due to their easy interface, flexible customization range, and versatile functionality options, all of which will help build your site. That said, you may be thinking: which of the two should you choose? While it is true that Joomla and WordPress share many advantages, each platform still has its own pros and cons. Thus, a detailed Joomla vs WordPress comparison may help you decide which one will be best for you. 

One thing to note is that there is no clear answer as to which of the two platforms is better. It ultimately boils down to your needs and the type of site you want to develop since each CMS will have unique features and functionalities. Here is a detailed comparison between Joomla and WordPress to get you familiarized with the differences in their interfaces to help you make the best decision. 

Introduction to Joomla and WordPress

WordPress was created back in 2003 to fill the need for blogging software, and has, since then, created a community and profitable industry of users, developers, publishers, designers, writers, and bloggers. Plug-ins were then introduced in 2004, extending the platform’s functionalities and making more customizations possible. Over the years, WordPress has gone through multiple improvements and innovations to provide for publishers’ growing needs. It continues to be a top platform today due to its adaptability, wide support, customizability, and compatibility with SEO.

On the other hand, Joomla was released in 2005 as a rebranding of a CMS called Mambo. It went through its first major update in 2008 when it received features that officially made it part of the open-source CMS world. One notable feature about Joomla is that it can support different databases, making it suitable for tech-savvy users. While it is still recognized as beginner-friendly, the platform comes with other complex features that can support more serious web development.  

WordPress and Joomla are two of the most popular CMS existing today, with the former accounting for approximately 59.7% of websites, and the latter accounting for approximately 6.7% of websites. Although both were originally established for different purposes, they have since become the leading platforms for creating and running websites. To help you understand the differences between Joomla vs WordPress, here are five points of comparison that may explain some of the nuances within the two platforms.

Learning Curve

If it is your first time building a website, you may be concerned about how long it will take you to get to learn about your CMS interface and get used to it. Though WordPress and Joomla are both suitable for beginners, WordPress has a slight advantage in this aspect since its whole interface is user-friendly, so much so that you can get a site up and running within a few hours. If you are completely new to web design and development, you will still be able to create your website and customize it with code-free themes that can suit your desired aesthetic.

To get started with WordPress, you need a web server host that is compatible with the platform. Most will come with pre-installed WordPress, but if yours does not, you can easily install it as well. New websites will come with the standard WordPress theme, but you can change this as you see fit. To customize your site, you can use the WordPress customizer, which is loaded with features, as seen below. Each panel allows you to modify a specific part of your site and is easy to work with, so feel free to experiment with your options until you get more acquainted. 

Web server hosts that support Joomla may also come with the application pre-installed, so getting the software should be quick and easy. However, compared to WordPress, Joomla’s dashboard is packed with more components that can easily get you overwhelmed. Its interface is more developer-centered, so there might be a larger learning curve required for beginners. Typically, you start by creating categories for your content so that you can sort your articles accordingly.

Search Engine Optimization Capabilities

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most popular digital marketing strategies today. If you have a website or any other form of presence in the online space, use this to increase your visibility and attract more users to your platform. Fortunately, Joomla and WordPress have features to support different SEO strategies and help your site rank higher. Joomla may have a slight edge in terms of built-in functions, but both of the platform’s capabilities are maximized through plug-ins and extensions. 

WordPress aims to simplify the optimization process to make its interface user-friendly, so most of its SEO potential comes from plug-ins. Specifically, Yoast and All in One Pack are some of the top-used plug-ins for SEO as they provide you with almost all the technical optimization assistance you need. For example, Yoast can analyze your content to improve readability and tell you how you can optimize it to make your keywords rank. 

Since Joomla is more developer-focused, it comes with basic SEO functions, such as adding global meta description and keywords, setting title tags, and enabling URL suffixes. Like WordPress, however, Joomla’s functionalities can be fully maximized with the help of extensions. 

Some of the options considered to be Joomla equivalents to Yoast include Easy Frontend SEO (EFSEO) and Sh404sef. EFSEO is particularly useful for optimizing your meta tags and descriptions, while Sh404sef is considered the all-around extension for SEO features. It can help create SEO-oriented URLs, customize your metadata, display a customized 404 error page, and provide other features that ensure your site complies with SEO guidelines.  Taking all this into consideration, we must award the SEO round of WordPress vs Joomla to WordPress 

Customization Range

CMS today must also be equipped with functionalities that allow you to design your website without having to code from scratch, and WordPress and Joomla can do just that. Both platforms allow you to customize your site to suit your desired design and format. In terms of versatility, however, WordPress still wins because of the number of options that you have available.

WordPress is lauded for its wide selection of themes, making it easy to build a professional-looking website with little to no effort. You can select from thousands of free and premium themes, and even customize them to create a design unique to your website. WordPress themes essentially eliminate the need to build your site from scratch, so you can create a fully functional and aesthetic website in no time. You can also explore over 55,000 plug-ins to help you with just about any aspect of your site.  

Joomla also comes with templates and extensions, which you can customize to suit your needs, but there are noticeably fewer options available, limiting your customization options. Furthermore, you cannot search for templates or extensions from your Dashboard or the administrative panel, as you normally would on WordPress. Instead, you have to manually search for these and install them. 

However, one advantage of Joomla is that you can use different templates for different pages, as opposed to WordPress, which only allows a single theme for the entire website. This feature provides you with more flexibility as you can create a separate design for your homepage and landing pages for better distinction. 

Security

With the rising number of threats evident in the digital space, it is natural to have concerns about your website’s security. WordPress and Joomla have both undergone many stages of hardening to improve their core software’s security. However, there is no direct method that can eliminate all vulnerabilities and security issues, so as a user, you still have to take proper precautions to mitigate these risks. 

WordPress tends to be more vulnerable to security risks due to its popularity and prevalence, but this only means that you have to take stringent measures to keep your site safe. Before anything else, make sure you use the latest version of the software at all times to keep the platform functioning at its safest. The same principle applies for outdated themes–make sure to update them immediately as these can provide an opening for cyberthreats.

Some additional steps you can take to tighten security include selecting a secure web host provider, installing security plug-ins from reputable and legitimate sources, and enabling a secure sockets layer (SSL) for site visitors. At the same time, you have to be wary about themes that you get from third parties. Since WordPress does not regulate these, you have to double-check to see if they comply with the platform’s standards. Site security should be one of your top priorities, so do not rush into installing a theme simply because of how it looks.

Evidently, most of the advanced security features are only made possible with WordPress plug-ins. Contrary to this, Joomla has a slight advantage as its core comes with features like two-factor authentication (2FA) and SSL. The platform comes with its own set of security extensions, but you can also explore a range of options from other providers. Like WordPress, you have to be wary of these extensions and make sure you select those from credible providers.

As a whole, both platforms have secure core software, but it is nearly impossible to ensure a perfectly secure system. Thus, you will still have to exert effort to monitor your site and implement security practices to keep it functioning well. In terms of the Joomla vs WordPress comparison, however, Joomla has the edge as it comes with basic built-in security features, which would require plug-ins for WordPress.

Usability and Support

Today, Joomla and WordPress are used for just about any website, but you may notice that each platform has features that make it suitable for specific sites. For example, WordPress began as a blogging site, so it is no surprise that it is perfect for blogs and personal websites, but it is also extensively used for business websites, portfolios, and directories. On the other hand, Joomla is one of the best choices for social networking due to the availability of cost-effective extensions. That said, it is also popularly used for business and organization websites and e-commerce.

Nowadays, multilingual sites are becoming more attractive as they can boost your site traffic by a large margin. From the get-go, Joomla offers this option, allowing you to select languages and translate your content immediately without installing other software. WordPress will need third-party services to support multilingual content as you can only select one language at a time by default.  

In terms of support, both WordPress and Joomla platforms have communities of users, developers, and publishers to help make the learning process more collaborative. In particular, Joomla is known for its documentation, an extensive collection of articles contributed by community members to help beginners get through the learning curve and navigate the platform. Similarly, WordPress has support pages and forums to help you create your site or solve any technical problems that may arise.

With that said, WordPress may still have a larger support system due to the number of people using the platform. You can easily enlist the help of a WordPress professional to do more complex customizations, whereas this may be harder to do in Joomla due to the limited number of users and experts.

Joomla vs WordPress: Which is the Better CMS?

As seen in the extensive discussion of the five points above, the battle of Joomla vs WordPress comes down to the question of “Which is better?” between WordPress and Joomla cannot be answered unilaterally. Each platform has its respective advantages and disadvantages, so it performs better in some aspects, but also falls short in others. As a result, the “better” CMS can be highly subjective and will depend on each user’s needs. 

Rather than thinking of which platform between Joomla and WordPress is superior, it will be easier to decide if you think about which platform will be more suitable for the website you want to create, along with its needs. For example, if you are a total beginner wanting to build a site, you may find more use out of WordPress since its interface is easy to understand and learn. Even without coding skills or knowledge, you can design and optimize your website with themes and plug-ins. The platform also boasts the largest community among all available CMS.

On the other hand, Joomla has a more complex dashboard, which can make the learning process much longer. However, it is suitable for social networks and e-commerce stores and can be further explored by tech-savvy users who want to become more involved with the web development process. It also provides more flexibility in content management and supports multi-user environments, making it suitable for community sites like university websites.