Both Joomla and WordPress are great systems for managing your website.
I’ve been using Joomla for years and have been using Wordress for the last year, my last 4 sites have been built with Joomla 1.6 and WordPress 3.0. This post and subsequent posts on this topic will compare the pros and cons of each system based on my own observations and observing others as they try and keep their website updated. How their sites fare in search engine placement will also be addressed.
I’d like to start off with my initial observations:
- First, the administrative interface for wordpress is more intuitive and fun to use. It just makes sense and flows better. The learning curve for adding posts/pages and menus is definitely shorter. But that said, I only recommend my clients use the front-end editing for joomla since the back-end adminstrator is still non-intuitive. Learning to edit and add articles is relatively easy with this method. Generally, I set up the website so that most things can be done through the front-end. If a client needs to do something that can only be done in the back-end I offer detailed explanations or just do it for them. In the long run this is easier and works out well.
- Editing and creating templates is about the same, once you have a little experience. But joomla has the edge for giving different sections of the site a different look and feel since it enables you to assign templates to sections. As a side note, I am really enjoying the structure of Joomla 1.6 – the core is much improved and fun to work with. Editing wordpress templates is not that difficult there are just more variables and bits and pieces involved.
- Joomla 1.6 has access control in the core. These areas will contain information specific to each client. You can do the same thing with
Wordpress it just isn’t as nice.
- WordPress 3.0 has the ability to have a network of blogs per website. This is not exactly a social networking type of site, it is just the ability to have multiple little websites. A system like this encourages a shared responsibility for updating the website. Each individual blog/webiste will have its own site admin and possibly unique design. This type of site would be a great fit for schools, community organizations or businesses that have small groups or individuals responsible for a part of the website. For example a school could have a blog/site for the administrators, the teachers, and each extra-curricular activities group. All the individual websites would be under the umbrella of the main site but would be easily controlled by the responsible party.
- And in regards to SEO – out of the box joomla 1.6 is excellent. However WordPress has some excellent plugins that are easy to implement and use.
To sum up, I still think it is very important to evaluate the needs and future plans of each organization before recommending either joomla or wordpress. I’d also like to add that each system has a strong developer community with thousands of third-party add-ons. And each system needs a few add-ons to work well. My next post in this series will begin to evaluate the add-ons that are essential for a professional website.
