The WordPress vs Joomla debate is understandable since these are the two most often used open source content management systems. You don’t want to start building a website, only to find that the CMS that they selected is difficult to work with or there are no plugins available to make the site do what you envisioned. Depending on your skill level and what type of website you want to develop, one of these two content management systems is right for you.
Ease Of Use
WordPress is simple to use if you’ve never build a website before, however Joomla has more of a learning curve. WordPress has an intuitive interface, while Joomla’s interface is not as user-friendly. WordPress is ideal for daily bloggers who don’t want to invest a lot of time setting up their site. Joomla’s interface requires time to master, nevertheless, for enterprise-level websites, it’s time well spent. Joomla’s 3.5. release does have a more user-friendly interface, but WordPress still wins in this category.
WordPress and Joomla both have extensive documentation for direction, but if run into trouble, WordPress and Joomla have online user communities where you can ask for advice. Since more websites use WordPress, there are more third-party websites with WordPress tutorials and tips than there are websites devoted to Joomla tutorials. If you need to hire a CMS expert, expect to pay more for Joomla assistance than for WordPress help.
Appearance
Hundreds of free themes for WordPress are available directly from the user interface. Simply select a new theme and hit install, and you are ready to go. More free and premium themes are available online; simply search the web for WordPress themes and you will discover one that is ideal for your website or blog. You download the theme and then upload and install your new theme using the WordPress interface. In Joomla, you install new themes, called templates, from the web, the Joomla Extension Directory or from a package file from your PC. Fewer themes are available for Joomla; nevertheless, there are at least 1,000 templates available, so finding a suitable design is not too difficult.
Features And Functionality
Widgets for WordPress and modules for Joomla add features to the sidebars of your website, such as an article archive or a search box. Both CMSs make it easy to add extra features to give website visitors a better experience.
Plugins for WordPress and Joomla extensions add additional functionality to websites, such as e-commerce and members only portals. WordPress has a plugin directory or you can search the Internet for free and premium plugins. Joomla’s extensions directory offers free and paid extensions, which you download and then upload to the extension directory. There are more WordPress plugins than Joomla extensions, although numerous third-party plugins on the Internet only work on previous versions of WordPress.
SEO
Although search engine optimization depends primarily on the content that you create, both Joomla and WordPress have extension and plugins for SEO. Out of the box, WordPress makes SEO easy, while Joomla requires extensions for many of the same functions, such as tagging posts, If you’re unfamiliar with SEO or you are creating your first website, WordPress is the more appropriate choice.
Security
Both WordPress and Joomla release regular security updates. Since WordPress is the most popular CMS, hackers concentrate their efforts on it; however, there is no real difference between WordPress and Joomla, as far as security goes.
Neither CMS wins the WordPress vs Joomla debate since each has their own advantages and disadvantages. If you’re not a tech-savvy person, WordPress is the easiest CMS to use. Joomla has a learning curve, but it is not as difficult to learn as other CMSs like Drupal and Magento. Joomla is the best platform for e-commerce or social networking websites, while nothing beats WordPress for blogging. Extensions, modules and plugins turn both CMSs into whatever type of website that you desire, however, you are limited by the extension’s capabilities unless you have a developer create customized extensions for your website.
Still undecided? If your hosting company allows free one-click installation of CMSs, install both WordPress and Joomla and browse the available templates and add-ons. Create a post or an article, publish it, and see how comfortable you feel with the CMS. Select the CMS you are most comfortable using, because you will want to update your website often.