When it comes to choosing a CMS, I am often asked which one is better: Joomla or WordPress. Although they are uniquely and powerfully different, they also have many similarities. Both Joomla and WordPress are open source software, allowing you to easily customize them to suit your needs, it often becomes a daunting task to decide which one is best to use. So, we bring you a comparison between Joomla and WordPress to help you make an informed decision:
Basic function:
In WordPress: WordPress is a website engine, which allows all the installation and execution work of the system, as well as the publication of basic content in the blink of an eye.
In Joomla: Joomla is for managing and publishing a bunch of different types of content, in various ways.
Primary use:
On WordPress: Although it started as a blogging tool, it has grown into a complete CMS. You can check out the NY Times blogs to take a look at what WordPress can do. However, WordPress still caters primarily to beginners.
In Joomla: It is aimed at end users, developers and designers alike.
Estimated number of users:
On WordPress: There are 54,971,377 WordPress sites in the world. More than 333 million people view more than 2.5 billion pages each month. WordPress.com users produce around 500,000 new posts and 400,000 new comments in an average day.
On Joomla: As of March 2012, Joomla has been downloaded over 30 million times. It is believed to be the second most used CMS after WordPress.
Expansion plugins vs. extensions:
On WordPress: There are over 20,951 WordPress plugins in the directory, which have been downloaded 338,446,638 times and counting.
In Joomla: Joomla has 3 types of extensions: components, modules, plugins. Each of these extensions handles a specific function. According to Joomla! Extension directory, 10019 extensions have been provided to the community.
Expansion issues vs. templates:
On WordPress: There are thousands of WordPress themes, some free and some paid. The free WordPress themes directory lists 1,580 themes, which a user can download at no cost.
In Joomla: although there is no central directory where the templates are stored, it is estimated that there are more than 8,000 templates (including both free and commercial ones).
Popular companies using the CMS:
In WordPress:
Yahoo! (Internet search)
PlayStation blog (video game blog)
eBay (online auction purchases)
State of Boise (educational)
Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs (Celebrity)
In Joomla:
MTV Networks Quizilla (social media)
IHOP (restaurant chain)
Harvard University (educational)
– Citibank (intranet of financial institutions)
– The Green Maven (Eco-resources)
– Outdoor Photographer (Magazine)
– Play Shakespeare.com (Cultural)
– Senso Interiors (furniture design)
– Thousands of government agencies around the world
Security:
In WordPress: The availability of various security plugins for WordPress has simplified the task of managing the security of your CMS. WordPress tools can check for various core file updates and installed plugins, and patch them automatically, further simplifying the admin’s job. You can further enhance security by renaming the default administrator administrative account through the MYSQL command line client. Features like password protection, restricting and changing file permissions, managing separate databases, firewall plugins, etc. help to strengthen the overall security of WordPress.
In Joomla: The core Joomla code, built on top of MySQL and PHP, is largely considered safe and secure.
User base and support:
On WordPress: Although it has a loyal user base, WordPress forums are not as active as Joomla.
On Joomla: a huge user base and a high level of activity on the Joomla forum.
Installed CMS size:
In WordPress: about 10 MB on the server.
On Joomla: Joomla installs in about 30MB, while a small workstation can take up 100MB of space.
SEO:
In WordPress: WordPress has adjustable plugins, which can help improve your ranking.
In Joomla: You can get 100% perfect metadata and SEF URLs if you have your website set up correctly. However, the tables in the design schema pose a problem.
Ideal for:
In WordPress: from small sites with 5 to 10 simple pages to large and expansive sites.
In Joomla: websites that can be expanded to include a multitude of functionalities.