Freelance market

Joomla: Have a more expensive market. If you need to hire a freelancer to do some jobs on your joomla website, that will cost you more then on a wordpress user.

Wordpress: The freelance market for wordpress jobs tend to be cheaper then on joomla, that probably because wordpress is more used and competition is tougher among freelancers.

Theme market

Joomla: Even online are some great websites that deliver nice themes, at this point isn’t comparison with wordpress. The free joomla themes available are outdated like look and feel. On websites what sell templates joomla templates are cheaper then wordpress theme (are exceptions).

Wordpress: A lot of free quality themes are available, and that can be a start for any customization. Themes available for purchase are a bit expensive, even the warez sites are full of them. You can pay ~175$ for instance to have a theme what you see there was sold just few hundred times, but on internet probably is used thousand more times.

Design concept integration

Both of CMS need a ready prepared css/xhtml template. From here things are different.

Joomla: With insertion of few lines of code you did the entire job. Course, you need to change the way of call of images from template. The template files structure is simple and use just an index.php (what contain entire sliced template) and a configuration file (xml).

Wordpress: To call functions for wordpress cms inside of your template isn’t so easy like on joomla, in special if you are developing a more then a simple blog. The file structure of template contains more many files for each part of template (header, sidebar, footer) along with other function files.

Theme administration

Joomla: Weak Point. When they are, you need to edit the code of template using administration panel.

Wordpress: Great options here. When template is built to have administration options, is very user friendly the way to manage them.

Content management system

Joomla: With just few clicks in administration panel you can manage a very complex website from a social one to a director listing style website. If you buy a template, usually in inside of the zip file you will find a start package what contain the sql data to can import in your database to make the template to have same look like on demo server.

Wordpress: To can use it like a CMS, you need to be a good php programmer. Like end user, will be not that easy to understand the options of theme and make it to work like you saw on demo server of website from where you bought it, even you have instructions inside of package.

Website features

Joomla: Strong point. Many features and all are easy to be managed by module section from administration panel.

Wordpress: Weak point. The basic wordpress features almost doesn’t exist.

Localhost

Joomla: Great point. Except the SEF plugins, all are working on local machine. In case you don’t have wamp, xamp or other similar local servers, you can download JumpBox, what can deploy on your local machine a full working joomla system, even you are using a Mac, Windows or Linux computer.

Wordpress: You need to have installed a web server on your computer. Beware: many wordpress themes have functions what don’t work on local server but are ok when template is uploaded on ftp.

Hosting

Joomla: Are problems on some host solutions, even when they say: “joomla” ready on.

Wordpress: Usual there are no problems even exist a big vulnerability of script.

Size (FTP)

Joomla: Can be huge.

Wordpress: Very small.

Folder Structure

Joomla: Weak point. This is huge and complicated. Each side, from admin to front end, use many folders and files, for plugins, components, editors, themes, configurations, scripts etc.

Wordpress: Great point. Few folders contain the entire engine.

Flexibility

Joomla: Use modules and give you many possibilities to insert anything, from banners to articles, news, and that in any position builded. Also, you can choose what and where to appear, when etc.

Wordpress: Weak point. You have limited options here. In general you have available just a sidebar and a footer where you can put widgets. Those will appear on all pages. For customization of how widgets appear and on what pages, you need to have programming knowledge.

Content

Joomla: Even is not so easy to be manipulated by a beginner, are available a very large palettes of options regarding articles and content organization. Each menu item can have different content arrangement, with columns or not, with intro articles or not. The user can chose what articles can be listed on front page or on a specific module.

Wordpress: Weak point. You don’t have many options here. You can find complicated themes what offer many possibilities to organize your content, but those are expensive, or on free ones, you need to hire a programmer to skin the layout according to your needs.

Menus

Joomla: Can have how many menus you want and in many positions with options of on what pages to be active.

Wordpress: Weak point. You have just the menu of template (pages and sometimes depending on theme, categories)

Advertising

Joomla: Have built in a very good advertising system for banners. On joomla components website you can find a lot of plugins what can increase the monetization of your website, even is talk about adsense or other things.

Wordpress: Nothing built in (just if you are not considering the blogroll like a part of advertising). You need to install plugins to can have banners on your website. For adsense, wordpress is a more recommended solution then joomla, because are more and better solutions available then on joomla components.

Loading speed

Joomla: Weak point. Always that was a problem for joomla. If you have some plugins installed the time of loading can increase a lot. A bad point is that many Joomla! websites aren’t loaded progressive. You can stay 10 – 30 sec in front of page without to see anything.

Wordpress: Is very fast and that is an important point. Even with more then ~10 plugins working the loading speed can be a problem, always will be more better then a loaded joomla.

Both CMS have plugins to manage the cache and solve the loading speed problem. On Joomla no one works with great results. For wordpress are few reliable solutions.

Updates

Joomla: Weak point. Even is no problem in updating the joomla installation, there are some issues when are involved plugins and components. Not an easy task to do.

Wordpress: Very easy. Direct from your admin panel. A bad point here is that many times updates bring more bugs then fixes and are too many updates in a period. That’s why is quite difficult to have always the latest wordpress release.

SEO

Joomla: Weak Point. The user have option to edit meta-tags, description and titles like those appear on search engines etc, but never will be a comparison point here with wordpress. In case you are using ecommerce or directory plugins, you need to install SEFs components what are not so easy to be used.

Wordpress: Great point. Wordpress is born for SEO.

Multilanguage

Joomla: A very strong free component (Joom!Fish) what give you opportunity to write translations for articles, components, tags etc.

Wordpress: Weak point. You can use just a Google translation plugin what isn’t for professional area or plugins like qTranslate with limited CMS area covering (you can translate just posts, dates, time format and missing message).

Ecommerce

Joomla: A very powerful free ecommerce component is released by Virtuemart. You have same option there like on any Creloaded , Oscommerce or other ecommerce scripts, except is done in a more user friendly way.

Wordpress: Weak point. On market are few free plugins what are not so great in look and is needed special skinning and programming skills. At this moment one of most comprehensive ecommerce solution for wordpress is developed by Sarah Newber, but the solution is integrated in wordpress and is not acting like a plugin.

Blogging

Joomla: Even have incorporated a blogging component, joomla isn’t used often for that. Probably that is a reason for that are just few plugins to fire up the blogging on joomla.

Wordpress: Probably most used blogging system. You can pick one of many plugins for comments and blogging, sharing etc.

Social website

Joomla: Can be a solution. At this moment are few good components developed – free or paid – what can transform your joomla website in a full social website.

Wordpress: Weak point. Custom work can do that, but the prices involved worth just if you have already a strong business there.

Director website

Joomla: Can be a solution. At this moment are few good components developed – free or paid – what can transform your joomla website in a full listing director website. Will be need some custom works on joomla system to enhance the search function to can get results from directory component. Also, you can meet problems on SEO. To fix them you need to buy some add-ons.

Wordpress: Can be just a light solution without big claims. Custom programming works can transform wordpress categories and comments system in a director listing website.

Forms

Joomla: Have a very good integration of them. The CMS have built-in contact forms what can be used on categories, drop down selections etc. Have custom fields what can be edited and placed along to the contact form. For more complicated forms you can use free and paid components.

Wordpress: Not so strong point. A standard wordpress installation doesn’t have any contact form. You need to install a plugin. The form customization isn’t that easy like on joomla.

Membership systems

Joomla: The basic one is built-in. Social and ecommerce components come with integrated membership systems. Not need to pay more.

Wordpress: Weak point. Even the basic membership is also built-in, if you are looking for paid membership levels for ecommerce reasons or for private sections, you need to pay for plugins and outside of wordpress solutions.

jQuery and Mootools

Joomla: With few clicks you can install them.

Wordpress: For installation you need to have programming knowledge’s.

Shutdown for maintenance

Joomla: Have built in an option to shut down your website for audience in time what you can work on it and see without problems all the changes.

Wordpress: Have built in a privacy option what can look like a shut down for maintenance just with few programming touches. Other solutions involve use of special themes to announce your visitors the website is under maintenance works. The problem is that you cannot see the progress of work. Some plugins offer you a way to restrict access of visitors on levels.

Migration

Joomla: Easy task. You just need to pack the files, dump the database and move them on your new host. You can use plugins what did that without pains.

Wordpress: Weak point. The files can be moved fast but you’ll have problems in moving your database which will keep old web address for articles. Eventually you can use the wordpress tool for export and import but it happen to have problems and there.

Community

Joomla: have a very big and active community. Very friendly. If you have problems, just write a post on joomla forums and almost always you will receive an answer.

Wordpress: have also a big and active community. Just that is not so friendly. You can post questions about an issue and remain with that, eventually somebody ask some cash for answer.

Published on: October 7th in Joomla, Wordpress .
Post tags: cms, component, ecommerce, Joomla, plugin, theme, widget, Wordpress