WordPress vs. Joomla

For those who have decided to use a Content Management System (CMS) to build their own website, the next question is which system to use. The two most popular software solutions that usually make it to the shortlist are WordPress and Joomla. While both systems share many similarities, each software has its own strengths and weaknesses. Reason enough to take a closer look at both CMS. Let's unveil the showdown: WordPress vs. Joomla. Alternatively, website builders are also available. We have published a comparison of all website builders here. In particular, the Wix review can be recommended at this point.

History and Development

The development of WordPress began in 2003. Just a year later, the first stable version WordPress 1.0 was released by programmers Matthew Mullenweg and Mike Little. Since then, the WordPress team has grown significantly, and the software is continuously improved.

Joomla's development dates back to 2005. A group of programmers who previously worked on the CMS Mambo founded the project and released the first stable version, Joomla 1.0, in the same year. With an ever-growing team and continuous improvements, the software is regularly updated.

Both WordPress and Joomla are open-source software licensed under the GNU-GPL-v2 license. As is typical with free software, every user has the ability to view, use, distribute, and modify the complete source code. This allows experienced users with programming knowledge to develop custom extensions in the form of plugins and themes for both Content Management Systems. Due to WordPress's higher prevalence, the selection of extensions is significantly larger compared to Joomla.

Installation and Operation

Since both Content Management Systems WordPress and Joomla are based on the scripting language PHP, the technical requirements for web hosting are similar. Each requires a web server with PHP scripting language support and a MySQL database. The installation of both systems can be done with just a few clicks. A standard theme and various plugins are pre-installed, so both systems are ready for use immediately after installation. Thanks to the simple and intuitive menu navigation, getting started with WordPress is easier for inexperienced users.

Both Joomla and WordPress are designed to be operated by multiple users. Therefore, different users can be created and assigned different rights: for example, administrators who have full access to all system settings or editors who can only publish content. While WordPress only has six pre-defined user roles, these can be completely customised in Joomla.

WordPress allows for creating new content through the menu items "Pages" to create traditional subpages, or through "Posts" to write specific blog posts. In Joomla, new content is added through the menu under "Content" and "Articles". Unlike WordPress, which rigidly categorises content into posts and pages, all content in Joomla can be categorised into freely chosen categories.

Security

Both Content Management Systems are continuously kept up to date with security patches by the developers. However, due to the high level of customisation with themes and plugins, security vulnerabilities do occur. Due to the extremely high prevalence of WordPress, the system is a popular target for hackers and therefore often faces attacks. Additionally, some security measures such as SSL encryption for the admin interface or two-factor authentication for logging in are only achievable through plugins in WordPress, whereas these are standard features in Joomla.

WordPress vs. Joomla: Conclusion

In general, when comparing WordPress vs. Joomla, the following conclusion can be drawn:

Both Content Management Systems are suitable for implementing various web projects. While WordPress is primarily known as a blogging system, with the help of extensions, it can be used to create any type of website imaginable. On the other hand, Joomla is designed from the ground up as a versatile CMS for a wide range of purposes.

Due to its user-friendly interface, WordPress is the preferred choice for inexperienced users who want to quickly achieve a visually appealing result when creating a simple website. Joomla, on the other hand, requires a slightly more in-depth learning curve but ultimately allows for the implementation of particularly extensive and complex web projects.

There is no clear winner in the comparison of WordPress vs. Joomla. The choice of the right CMS depends more on one's own knowledge and the nature and scope of the planned web project.

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