Web Design – Joomla versus Wordpress

November 14, 2009

Web Design Companies across the world have been quick to adopt open source technologies for designing websites. Both Joomla and Wordpress have become popular platforms for developing and designing websites in the last few years. Although there are other successful web design/ CMS platforms such as Drupal and Typo3, Joomla and Wordpress have seen a higher growth in popularity.

On one of our web design projects, the company we were in negotiations with, wanted our advice on whether Joomla will be better for redesigning their company website website or Wordpress. The web design company I work with in London, offers web design services using both platforms. Personally, I have many years of web design experience using both Joomla and Wordpress. I have monitored the growth and improvements in subsequent versions of both these platforms.

Wordpress versus Joomla

Usability

Wordpress is very easy to use. Due to its simplicity, learning to use Wordpress is fairly easy to familiarise with. However a lot to do is due to fewer features offered by the software. Joomla too is not far behind usability however there are many more features and additional options for administration. The new Joomla 1.5x series has made significant improvements in usability and makes it easier for non-technical users to master. The good thing about Joomla is the consistency. Almost all features are managed in a consistent manner.

According to SEOMOZ.org, a reputable technical blog, “Your site will look great in about 5 minutes using Wordpress, but if you are willing to trade some extra learning time for a more advanced site, go with Joomla.”

Versatility

Although Wordpress can be used as a regular CMS, it is essentially designed as a blogging platform. Joomla on the other hand is an advanced content management system (CMS). Wordpress may be easier to install and customise for a web designers with limited technical experience, however Joomla by far offers a more advanced platform that can be used for a variety of websites or web applications. I would like to quote Seomoz.Org once again in support of my opinion. According to their article, If your site is only a blog, use Wordpress. The more cool-looking static content you need, the more Joomla will help you.

Search Engine Optimisation

Out of the box, Wordpress is much better for search engine optimisation. If Joomla is left to its default settings then the websites designed in Joomla are not optimal for ranking high on Google or other search engines. However with a little customisation, which any expert Joomla developer will do, Joomla can be made SEO friendly.

Joomla websites can rank equally high on search engines as long as the relevant customisation is done. Any professional web design or Joomla development company will customise a website accordingly to overcome any shortcomings.

Scalability

Joomla has clear advantages when it comes to scalability. Wordpress is great out of the box and will work excellent if the only purpose of the website was to publish informational content. Wordpress is not suitable for expansion to include a variety of other advanced features. Joomla can be scaled as required. Almost any bespoke functionality can be developed and added to a Joomla website. Joomla has been designed for extending and modifying to meet specific needs. Wordpress is fairly limited. There are add-on features available for Wordpress as well in the form of Wordpress plug-ins but they do not compare to the advanced features that can be developed as add on Joomla modules or components.

Integration with other websites, applications, databases or data sources

Joomla is the clear winner here. The core features of Wordpress work great but they only include basic abilities such as updating content and images. However it is not straightforward to integrate a Wordpress website with other software, applications or third-party sources (Including proclaim). Joomla on the other hand is excellent for any type of bespoke integration with other sources or websites.

Development of bespoke features

As discussed above, Joomla is more versatile for advanced development. It offers a well developed API that can be used to develop custom features to meet the specific needs of a business. Web designers and developers have been quick to offer thousands of bespoke add-on features for Joomla that are readily available for installing on websites. Wordpress too is easy to extend and it is possible to develop bespoke features. However they are comparatively light-weight and limited.

Power of Backend

Wordpress has a very simple back-end which is mainly limited to updating or adding new content. Joomla has a powerful back-end can be used for a variety of purposes including large e-commerce (Shopping cart) websites, managing or fulfilling orders, managing customer enquiries, managing documents on the website, multi-lingual websites, and so. With Joomla, the possibilities are endless and the back-end can be fully customised for any business need no matter how small or complex the requirements may be.

SUMMARY

Wordpress is better for developing a blog or a website for which the main purpose is sharing information. However Joomla is better for developing websites that may require advanced features in addition to providing information. It is for this reason that Wordpress is hardly ever used for developing document management systems, e-commerce websites, property websites, financial websites, and so on whereas Joomla is ideal for development of such sites.

All features offered by Wordpress are available in Joomla however there are literally thousands of features in Joomla that are not available in Wordpress.

As a Web Design and Development company, we work with both Wordpress and Joomla. However we find it useful to use Wordpress for light-weight websites or blogs only. On many occasions the main websites is built using Joomla; however the blog or news section runs on Wordpress. This combined approach is proving popular and is being adopted by many Web Design & Development Companies.

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