WordPress vs Joomla: Pros, Cons & Key Differences

Choosing the right content management system for your website or blog can be tricky, especially if you don’t know the pros and cons of each CMS. What makes the decision even more difficult is that many content management systems share some similarities and differences.

Joomla and WordPress are two of the most popular content management systems out there. Which one should you choose? The answer to this question depends upon several factors that we will cover in this article. After reading this article, you will be able to choose between Joomla and WordPress

In this article, HostNOC will compare Joomla and WordPress and tell you who wins the battle Joomla vs WordPress in 2020.

WordPress

Initially launched as a blogging platform in 2003, WordPress evolved into the most popular content management system in the world. According to statistics, WordPress enjoys a dominant position in the CMS market with more than 60% market share and powers 34% websites on the web. It is an open-source, free and easy to use platform.

Joomla

Joomla was launched in 2005 and became the second most popular content management system in the world behind WordPress. It powers 1.8 million websites on the web and has a market share of 3.5%. Joomla was giving WordPress a run for its money till 2004 but its popularity graph started to decline after 2014 and has dipped considerably since then.

Joomla Vs WordPress: A Comparison

Still confused which one to choose? This Joomla vs WordPress comparison will help you decide..

Similarities

Here are some of the similarities between WordPress and Joomla.

• Both are free and open-source
• Both require installation, setup, and hosting
• Both WordPress and Joomla offer mobile responsive themes
• Both offer a wide range of templates to choose from
• Both platforms have powerful developer APIs
• Both CMS let you extend the functionality of your website with add-ons

Differences

Here is what differentiates WordPress from Joomla.

• WordPress has a native app that let you update your website on mobile, but Joomla does not have it
• Joomla supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MySQL but WordPress only supports MySQL
• Joomla has integrated unit testing and system testing, while WordPress users will have to use a plugin to test websites.

WordPress Vs Joomla: Pros and Cons

Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of both Joomla and WordPress.

WordPress Pros

• Easy to learn and use
• Customization
• Extensibility
• Mobile responsive
• SEO friendly
• Large community
• Brilliant support
• Lower development cost

The small learning curve makes it easy for anyone to learn and use WordPress. With thousands of themes and plugins to choose from, you can not only customize your WordPress website but can also add new features to it with plugins and extensions. Thanks to its huge community, you can easily find answers to queries and getting support won’t be a problem either.

More importantly, WordPress offers mobile-friendly themes that help you create responsive websites. Additionally, WordPress websites are optimized for search engines meaning that your website will get more exposure, higher rankings on search engines and attract more traffic if it is built using WordPress.

WordPress Cons

• Security and privacy issues
• Frequent updates
• Slower website speed due to generic and unnecessary code
• Customization requires coding

WordPress is notoriously famous for being vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks. To iron out all the bugs and loopholes, WordPress developers frequently release updates. If you want to customize your WordPress website to your heart’s content, you should familiarize yourself with technical stuff like coding.

Joomla Pros

• Powerful and user-friendly admin interface
• Tailor-made for E-commerce
• Flexibility
• Strong developer community frequently release plugins and extensions
• Free video training classes
• Multi-lingual support

Joomla has an excellent admin interface, which is both feature-rich and intuitive. Thanks to a strong developer community at Joomla, you will see a constant introduction of new plugins and extensions, bolstering its library of plugins. Don’t be bogged down by the steep learning curve because Joomla also offers a free video training classes to help you master Joomla. It supports multiple languages and offers some useful features for E-commerce as well.

Joomla Cons

• Plugin compatibility issues
• Steep learning curve
• Small module marketplace

When it comes to downsides, users can bump into plugin compatibility issues. Its steep learning curve might put off many users from it. Its limited module market makes it tough to find the right modules to customize your website.

I hope that this article might have helped you in choosing the best content management system for your website. Which content management system do you use and why? Tell us about your choice in the comment section below.