Just like Drupal, the Joomla! CMS has a seemingly random word for a name. It doesn’t matter though, just because WordPress says what it does in its name doesn’t mean it’s the only game in town. Joomla! is, just like WordPress, an excellent content management system ( CMS ) which is widely used for websites around the world. In fact, it’s one of the most popular CMS options out there. In this article we’ll uncover why Joomla! CMS is so popular.
A quick introduction to Joomla! CMS
A wide variety of websites make use of Joomla!. Think IKEA for example, while the main LINUX website also runs on Joomla! – and don’t forget about the Guggenheim museum.
In fact, Joomla! says that the CMS has been download 50 million times. As a result, Joomla! is arguably the second most popular CMS after WordPress. It’s been around for a long time too, with the first edition of Joomla! launching back in 2005.
Joomla! top features
It might not be first but getting to be the second most popular CMS in the world does not come easily, and Joomla! has a lot of terrific features that makes a solid match against WordPress. Let’s take a look at some of Joomla! key characteristics.
It’s easy to localise
Don’t forget, English is not the only language used around the world. Developers who need to deliver web content in a different language than English can struggle with pre-packaged CMS due to language restrictions.
Not so with Joomla!, which is known as one of the easiest CMS engines to customize for a language other than English. Joomla! comes with 70 languages you can choose from, these language are just a few clicks away.
Joomla! also provides a tool that can cope with themes that do not cover your language of choice. In contrast Joomla’s rivals may require you to hack away at the theme code in order to meet customer language requirements.
Joomla! support is broad and deep
Developers like open source because they feel they can consult with a supportive community. Joomla! is, of course, open source and anyone can add to Joomla! or offer support – it’s all done by volunteers.
The team behind Joomla! has developed documentation for the CMS that is very in depth and there is also an official discussion forum where Joomla! users can post questions and concerns. Of course, as open-source software, Joomla! doesn’t have an official support line you can call, but the wide user support base means this is rarely an issue.
In particular, it’s worth remembering that the problem you are experiencing has already been experienced by another Joomla! user. So, in most cases, the answer you are looking for is already available in a discussion forum.
Responsive design
With mobile devices increasingly used to access web content, Joomla! has long ago catered for responsiveness. In other words, websites running on Joomla! will smoothly resize to fit whatever screen they are viewed on.
Using Joomla! you can make sure that your website will appear in good shape whether it is viewed on a desktop PC, a laptop, a smartphone or a tablet.
Updates are hassle-free
CMS platforms inevitably see regular updates, whether it is to add features or to improve security. Some say that Joomla! is one of the most frequently revised CMS engines, in part because the developers behind Joomla! are very keen to get new features out to Joomla! users.
Thankfully Joomla! makes it easy for you to update the CMS, it’s just a couple of clicks in the control panel and your update is ready. Of course, as always, even with Joomla!’s excellent upgrade tools, backing up your site before an upgrade is a good idea.
What makes Joomla! better than other CMS options?
Each CMS has its own pros and cons and Joomla! is popular with developers for a range of reasons. We think these five factors are the most important reasons why people choose Joomla! over other CMS solutions.
Edit your site from the front end
Do you find it tedious to always log into the admin panel to make changes to your site content? WordPress forces you to log in to the administration area to access article editing tools. Not so with Joomla!.
Using Joomla! you simply click on the gear wheel that appears next to a module and proceed to make any modifications right on the page. It saves you time and makes sure you can keep your site up to date much more quickly.
Contact and user management
A CMS’ core purpose is the management of content, and here Joomla! does a top job – even if it might be a little more difficult to learn compared to WordPress. This learning curve comes with a benefit: many people find that Joomla! is simply more flexible when compared to WordPress.
This flexibility also shows in Joomla!’s user management facilities which are really great for large companies who have a lot of users editing a website. You can specify very detailed roles for users and can split users into specific departments and categories.
Large extension database
At last count, Joomla! had more than 8,000 extensions which can build on internal CMS functionality. Whatever you want your website to do, chances are you will find a plugin or a module that can do it for you, with many of these modules completely free of charge.
Even the paid modules often have free versions, or at least a version you can try before you buy. This large extension database makes Joomla! even more flexible than its peers and it’s a key reason why developers are so keen on using Joomla!.
Joomla!’s media manager
Websites often have a lot of media, think images, video and sound. The Joomla! Media Manager is packaged with the Joomla! CMS and is an excellent way to manage thousands of media assets. It is really simple to use and just works.
In a big distinction between Joomla! and other CMS systems, the Joomla! Media Manager can even pick up files that you add to your website via FTP or hosting control panel – just create the files and folders and the media manager will find your content.
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