Choosing a content management system while making a blog can be extremely difficult with all the choices that are out there. There are the giants of CMS – WordPress and Joomla, whereas there are also many less popular CMS’ out there that one can use. However, for a beginner, it is better to pick wither Joomla or WordPress for easy setup and better support. Moreover, they offer tons of customizations, plug ins and strong security.
WordPress
WordPress is a popular choice for small to medium sized blogs and even smaller e-commerce stores. WordPress is actually very popular – powering about 19% of all the sites on the internet and 40% of all the CMS based websites. Over 60 million websites are using WordPress, making it the most popular by a wide margin.
One of the primary reasons why WordPress has gained so much popularity is because its ease of use. When you first get a domain and server for your website, setting up a web application or a CMS in this case, can be cumbersome. However, WordPress is just super easy to install, and more importantly, a lot of web hosting companies even offer instantons and automated installation of WordPress. You’ll be up and running in just five minutes.
Next comes the price tag. WordPress is absolutely free. Moreover, it has tons of free customizations and plug ins that you can add to it to extend its functionality. There is other freemium content too. But most of the free plugins and themes are great to get your up and running. With tons of free content, you can make your blog look like an expensive website in no time.
Next comes the support. Since WordPress is so popular, if you ever have an issue, you will always find an answer on the internet. The support forum is also very helpful with a handsome bunch of contributors.
Coming to the cons, WordPress’ only major drawback is your inability to make major changes to the website. Obviously, a professional web developer can take care of that, but in general, WordPress framework locks down the ability to make major visual edits.
Joomla
Joomla is the second most popular CMS, right after WordPress. Joomla also has tons of plugins and customizations. It is a bit more difficult to use than WordPress. Without prior knowledge in web development or even the basics of web hosting, getting started with Joomla can be a bit of a hassle.
Joomla is great for creating social networks. It can be a critical requirement for many sites and even is a very big asset. Along with vanilla blogging and publishing ability, the ability for users to interact and share is very crucial for user engagement. This makes Joomla a bit different from WordPress and attracts a different user base.
Joomla is great for e-commerce sites too. You can set up shop with minimal effort. It also has a great help portal like WordPress, but lacks the extensive community. Also, it is free too.
One of the biggest advantages of Joomla is the immense customization options that the users get. It brilliantly balances power, flexibility and ease of use. This makes it a good middle ground for a crowded marketplace.
