Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS) created in 2003 with a difference. It enables you in website development and powerful applications, Joomla lies somewhere between simple WordPress and comprehensive and advanced Drupal. The funny named CMS solution is a mixture of the plug and play WordPress blogging platform with the wide development toolbox in Drupal.
Joomla is a complex CMS that has become popular among small businesses it simplifies and automates many aspects of the running website. This open source CMS is very popular among developers and they can create an advanced site with it.
Users can create their very own websites, spawning from business to personal and more. The benefits of choosing Joomla website development consists of page caching, printable versions of pages, RSS feed, a sidebar that collapse and much more.
Joomla is an effectual solution to the design and development of CMS (content management system) websites. It’s always a better idea to discuss with or ask our Joomla website developers who are skilled with Joomla to achieve the desired result.
Here, we will discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of Joomla CMS.
Advantages of Joomla CMS development
1. Open Source infrastructure
Joomla is an open source so its license is available free of cost. Joomla is created using PHP and in most of the cases it uses MySQL for data storage, this combination made it that much easier for developers across the world to create extensions for Joomla as well as supporting the CMS itself.
You can get the source code free of cost and can use and reuse it according to your need. In this way, you can save your initial investment and in total it can reduce the project cost for Joomla CMS development.
2. Easy installation
It is easy to install; Joomla installation takes only a few minutes from downloading to having a working script on the server. So, to install this user doesn’t need to have complicated process and advanced knowledge web development as it takes only a few clicks to get installed.
Even though, it is not easy as WordPress or Quick.CMS but is much simpler than Drupal, anyone can download and install it from the internet but its installation is more difficult than WordPress.
Also Read:- Drupal - The CMS That Grew Overnight
3. Joomla is Plugin Rich
Joomla CMS has several thousands of free plugins more than Drupal that means for single event hundreds of plugins are there. Even though Wordpress has more, but to make it’s as functional as Joomla you must install dozen or more plugins to start with. The good thing about Joomla is that many functionalities are inbuilt due to which fewer plugins are engaged at a time.
4. Good Technical Support
For Joomla users, there is an abundance of programmer’s tools and tutorials available. It has large user-led communities from where you can get tips and tricks at any time. There are more than 200,000 extensive online community for you to connect with and can get regular updates from the community.
Since Joomla CMS is run by a vast community you just have to submit a report or a bug and your problems will be fixed in real time by experienced developers.
5. Easy Updating
Even if you hire a company to create your Joomla based website then also when the page design gets ready you must update the script to a newer version. In another CMS, this is one the most difficult task but with Joomla, you can do this from your web browser or iPhone. All you need is basic word processing skills.
6. Complex Hierarchies
In the recently updated version of Joomla, the script got a comprehensive navigation pattern which can easily support more two-level hierarchies. Due to which the website becomes more in-depth with hundreds of pages. On the other hand, WordPress lacks this feature because it was not designed with hierarchies in mind.
7. Easy usage
Joomla is a too simple tool to use. It's easy to set up, learn and use which requires only a little technical knowledge. Even a layman having no technical knowledge of HTML programming can make a website using it. Due to this advantage, Joomla is becoming popular day by day.
Just install the Joomla CMS and you are ready to create, edit and manage your website. You do not need to have any previous knowledge about Joomla website development to make a website using this easy CMS. But, Joomla is more complex than WordPress and other simpler platforms, due to which you will need a little bit knowledge about web design principles.
8. Extensions
Joomla has more than 6,686 extensions (still growing) that you can choose, which means it can be customized to create any web-based action sites. With the help of the extensions you can add the following functionalities: -
i. Subscription based service.
ii. Calendars.
iii. Blog Software.
iv. Email based newsletters.
v. Image and multimedia galleries.
vi. Shopping carts and e-commerce engines.
vii. Dynamic form builders.
viii. Forums and chatting tools.
ix. Banner advertising systems.
x. Reporting and analytical tools.
9. Uncomplicated URL’s
Joomla doesn't support any string queries in their URL titles, which makes the URL SEO crawler friendly. This means your site can possess simple URL. For Example: -
Your URL will look like this www.mysite.com/myjoomlapage instead of www.mysite.com/w/index.php?title=Main_page=action-raw-PMD
10. Plenty of modules
Like Drupal Joomla also uses modules and currently has more than 80 modules which can supply a wide range of design and functionality option. Due to this module abundance, Joomla can be used to create any kind of website spanning from small, simple and personal blog to large corporate website.
You can also create the website for organizations or government applications using Joomla. Even online communities or online magazines could be created easily by using Joomla CMS.
11. Themes and Templates
Joomla CMS has thousands of themes and templates. You just install Joomla and make your website attractive by using different inbuilt themes and templates. From a wide range of templates, you can select the one which suits your requirement. Selecting or changing an existing theme and template is absolutely easy in Joomla CMS.
12. Simple Migration
Joomla can be easily migrated to any server and most of them can work with any database. This means, if you have your website in Joomla you can migrate to any other server
Disadvantages of Joomla CMS development
Even though Joomla has many advantages then also like any other CMS it also has some disadvantages. Let’s discuss some of its flaws.
1. Usability Complexity
Joomla is mainly focused on people with only some knowledge of website building so that the can create simple blogs and websites. This means that it lacks many advanced functionalities for those looking to customize complex websites.
Many users fall under beginner or advanced category and due to this they either prefer simple WordPress or advance Drupal. Many users, therefore, find Joomla too difficult or too basic.
Also Read:- Top 5 Reasons Your Blog Should Be Powered By WordPress
2. Paid Plugins
Unlike Drupal and WordPress some plugins and modules are paid in Joomla. It pays to spend some time just to make sure that you won’t have to buy an addition that is free in other CMS. You have to check the functionality before choosing your CMS if your budget is limited.
3. Incompatibility
In Joomla installation of several modules, extensions and plugins have compatibility issues. May users have experienced that some of its plugins work with only some particular sites. This can cause real frustration if you are near the end of the site and just realized that the plugin you point out earlier is not compatible with the module you used to build.
4. Limited Customization Option
Joomla has many modules and templates (80 modules to be exact) but for advanced users, this still feels too basic for advanced users, it always missing something for more. But, Joomla is still far better than WordPress.
5. Inefficient and Limited server resource
Unlike other CMS Joomla system and sites consumes a lot of server resources. Due to this couple of sites can run successfully, but if you increase the number you can experience slow loading time. Modularity and singularity often demand more from the server side.
If the website is not too large there will not be thousands of visitors. So, in the beginning, there should be no problem. Joomla usage will make the website heavy to load and run.
Conclusion
If you have some site building skills with CMS system and you want something more than WordPress but little less than professional level Drupal. Then, Joomla is a perfect answer to all your questions. Joomla is the first choice for multimedia sites or sites with lots of content. Joomla is the most trusted CMS ever.