Michael Kuhlmann

Rant of the Week: Joomla vs. WordPress

So I had initially attempted to post the message below to this forum http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?p=1455053 but as soon as I hit Submit, it took me to an empty forums page which had some options on where else I could find info for Joomla. Awesome. Just what I wanted. Case in point, if you’re interested in the whole Joomla vs. WordPress debate, I invite you to read this post. Otherwise, please enjoy some of my other work on this site =)

Anybody who says that WP/WPMU isn’t a good CMS outside of regular blogging has 1) never used their latest version, 2) never learned how to create themes, or 3) never pushed it beyond the default 2-column template. the bottom line is that it is just as easy/hard to create a custom php site using WP as it is using Joomla. i’m not trying to knock joomla or its developers but for a lot of the rants on this message board, they simply seem unjust, irrelevant or just completely slanted. it’s true that *if* you were to change from Revolution Theme to another theme that your slideshow would be broken… that’s just stating the obvious. That theme in particular seems to cater to those folk who just want to deploy a site quick & dirty within 30 minutes and just add massive content without really caring about anything else. WP is WAY more capable of something so bland, and if you’re an experienced designer, you’ll know exactly how to create such sites. Don’t just assume that every rant on here is accurate, because it’s not. Both CMSs are equally worthy options and if you’re trying to choose between them, I’d suggest to talk to the *developer* of each CMS rather than nodding your head to something that sounds so dismissive.

Noteworthy to point out is the fact that I’ve built www.AvenueK9.com on WordPress, which has TONS of functionality — some which probably aren’t even native to Joomla. And did I mention that Joomla doesn’t hook up to anything like BuddyPress? Nevermind. I guess, there is one out there… http://www.anahitapolis.com/

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3 responses

  1. joomla themes Avatar
    joomla themes

    Nice post about joomla template design. A+ to this post. thanks for the posting.

  2. Kray Avatar
    Kray

    Ohhh, interesting rant, but I am going to have to break out my argument gloves.

    Having used both Joomla and WordPress, I choose Joomla a majority of the time for most of the sites I build for a few reasons.

    1) Module Positions – With a good Joomla template, you have a multitude of positions to place content and modules using the module manager. I can have stuff show up on multiple different pages, or only a single page of interest.

    I am not limited by 3 columns either. I can easily have one module span 3 columns, then have 3 columns underneath it, or 2 and 3, or 2, 3, 2… the options are massive. It doesn’t require hacking the template to achieve either (Unless you are using a very basic theme)

    2) Extensions – While WordPress has the Extend section on it’s website, I have always had issues finding good extensions to incorporate into my sites, where as with Joomla I can find many that do the same thing in different ways quickly and easily.

    3) I find I get more control over my content in Joomla than with WordPress. More options for categories, sections and with extensions, there are even more options. Install a CCK and those options expand even more.

    Anahitapolis is only one of quite a few ‘social networking’ components for Joomla.

    Of course, the reason I went with BuddyPress over Joomla for the site I am currently working on was cost. I didn’t really want to put a lot of money into the site. While JomSocial is a great component, it’s $150USD.

    WordPress has it’s place, but I would never use it for many sites I have built because of the limitations for layout and extensions that I get with Joomla. That’s just my 2 cents of course, a programmer can make anything they want from either system LOL.

  3. Michael Kuhlmann Avatar
    Michael Kuhlmann

    Oh I didn’t even know about JomSocial or Module Positions, haha. I watched this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBRfjKS1N1I, though, and it gave me a pretty good overview of how it can simplify a lot of design decision. Same goes for JomSocial. I think what I like in particular about WordPress is that it’s very hands-on with a relatively easy learning curve when it comes to the codex. When I first decided to go with WordPress over Joomla (and Drupal) on my first web project, I was looking at WP 2.2 vs. the rest. At that time, I couldn’t wrap my head over Joomla (and a lot of people wrote horrific Drupal posts when it came to customizing it). I haven’t revisited Joomla since, so it might be easier to use now, but I’ve done so many WP sites now that I’ll always prefer to use WP over learning something entirely new… just a preference now, really. And I think that’s where a lot people are at now. If you started with Drupal a few years ago, you’ll probably lean more toward that. Same goes with Joomla and WordPress. I just hope that the WP = blog stigma will finally go away… especially with BP making lots of headway =)

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