WordPress vs. Joomla: Which CMS Should You Choose For Your Website?

Choosing a content management system (CMS) is an important decision that can have a huge impact on your website. There are a number of options, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, and fanatical fan bases advocating their chosen platform. Nevertheless, there are two platforms that stand out from the crowd and can be compared directly with one another: WordPress versus Joomla.

Both platforms are known for their ease of use, extensive customization options, and active communities. While WordPress and Joomla have their respective advantages and disadvantages, both can be used to build modern, feature-rich websites - so how do you choose which one is right for you?

Do not worry! We're here to help you by comparing both platforms over four adrenaline-filled laps (we may be exaggerating a bit here) to determine which one has the upper hand. Without further ado, let's use WordPress against Joomla! Begin.

WordPress vs Joomla: A 4-round comparison

The fundamental difference between WordPress and Joomla is that Joomla started out as a CMS that was supposed to serve portal-like websites, while WordPress was originally a blog-oriented platform. However, these days, both WordPress and Joomla are perfectly capable of running any type of website.

From a technical point of view, both WordPress and Joomla are not standalone software - they only work when installed on a web server. This is usually a web server that you can get from a third party company and here we recommend Bluehost.

If you are going to build a website, the most important aspect to think about is how well you are familiar with configuring web software, working with servers, and dealing with the technical aspects of the process in general.

Traditionally, Joomla is aimed more at developers who are not afraid of "getting their hands dirty" when working with servers. WordPress, on the other hand, is more beginner-friendly and extremely easy to use.

For example, the common way to start a website with WordPress is the following:

• Choose a web host for your website and sign up for an account.
• During the registration process, choose an option to automatically install WordPress on your hosting account
• (Yes, you don't have to install WordPress yourself).
• Complete the hosting setup and log into your WordPress dashboard.
• Configure your website, install a theme, and some much-needed plugins

With Joomla, however, you don't have your hands free. The hosts that allow Joomla usually don't have these custom installation processes, which means you have to do most of the things yourself.