When it comes to creating a professional website, the choice often falls on a CMS rather than a traditional HTML + CSS system. Choosing a CMS (Content Management System) is therefore one of the first fundamental steps.
Two of the most popular and widely used CMSs in the world are WordPress and Joomla. Both WordPress and Joomla offer advanced features, but they have different approaches in terms of management, flexibility and ease of use, even for the less experienced.
In this article, we will analyse in detail the features of WordPress and Joomla, evaluating the main differences, advantages and disadvantages of each CMS. The goal is to help you make an informed decision based on your needs, whether you are creating a showcase website, a blog, an e-commerce site or a more structured corporate portal.
Before getting into a direct comparison, it is important to understand what WordPress and Joomla are, their history and how they have evolved over time.
WordPress was created in 2003 as a platform for creating blogs, but over time it has evolved into a complete CMS, ideal for all types of websites. Today, it is the most widely used CMS in the world, powering over 43% of all existing websites.
Joomla, on the other hand, was released in 2005 as a development of another CMS called Mambo. It is also open source software (i.e. it can be obtained and used free of charge), powerful and flexible, but with a slightly steeper learning curve. It is mainly chosen by those with a more advanced technical background. These characteristics already make it a less frequent choice than WordPress.
WordPress aims for simplicity, with an intuitive interface and a wide range of plugins to easily extend its basic functionality: there is practically a plugin for everything you want to do or manage. It is particularly suitable for those who do not have in-depth technical knowledge.
Joomla is aimed at more experienced users, offering greater native control over advanced site features. Its modular structure is designed to handle complex web projects from the outset.
One of the main criteria when choosing between WordPress and Joomla is the ease with which you can create and manage content. Here, the differences are quite obvious.
WordPress is famous for its user-friendly interface. The dashboard is clean, well organised and designed to guide even those with no experience. Creating articles, pages, image galleries or a blog is extremely intuitive.
In contrast, Joomla has a more complex administration panel, with more options available right from the start. This can be daunting for beginners, but is appreciated by developers for the level of customisation available from the outset.
Both CMSs offer quick installations via automatic scripts (such as Softaculous or Fantastico in hosting panels), but WordPress is more straightforward, with its well-known “5-minute installation”, even for those starting from scratch.
Joomla requires a few more steps and a deeper initial understanding of the site structure, such as the distinction between articles, categories, modules and components.
Another crucial point in the WordPress vs Joomla comparison is how much you can customise your site, how easy it is and what tools are available to do so.
WordPress boasts an impressive ecosystem of plugins (over 60,000 on the official website), which allow you to add all kinds of features: SEO, security, e-commerce, bookings, translations and much more.
Joomla also has a wide range of extensions, but fewer than WordPress. However, many advanced features are already included in the basic version, without the need for additional extensions.
In terms of graphic themes, WordPress has a huge advantage, thanks to the vast availability of free and premium templates, which can also be customised with visual editors such as Elementor, WPBakery or DiVi.
Joomla offers fewer templates, and adapting them often requires manual code changes or the use of frameworks such as Gantry or T4.
Both CMSs are SEO-friendly, but they differ in how they interpret SEO.
WordPress, with plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math, allows you to easily optimise content, metadata and sitemaps. It is therefore the ideal choice for those who want to take care of SEO independently.
Joomla, while powerful in terms of SEO, requires more technical expertise to achieve the same level of optimisation. Meta tags, URL structure and XML sitemaps often need to be configured manually.
The security of a website is a fundamental component. Let’s see how WordPress and Joomla address this issue.
WordPress releases frequent and automatic updates for the core, as well as for plugins and themes. This is an advantage in terms of security, but can create conflicts if you use outdated plugins. However, you can configure plugins to update automatically. Security plugins such as WordFence then send warning emails to the user when the WordPress or plugin version needs to be updated.
Joomla is more conservative with updates, giving more control to the site administrator. This reduces the risk of conflicts, but requires more attention and manual maintenance.
Both CMSs are subject to vulnerabilities, but WordPress is often a more popular target for hackers due to its widespread use and casual use of third-party plugins. However, using a good security plugin will protect you from attacks.
Joomla, being less popular, is less attacked, but requires a more robust initial configuration to ensure security.
In both cases, the use of firewalls, regular backups, two-factor authentication and secure hosting (such as Hostingfy) is highly recommended.
An often overlooked aspect when choosing between WordPress and Joomla is the support available, both before and after installation, when you need help.
WordPress has one of the most active communities in the world. Forums, tutorials, videos, social groups and documentation are available in every language, including Italian. This makes it easier to solve problems and learn new features. There is no problem on WordPress that cannot be solved after a quick search online.
Joomla also has an active community, but it is smaller. The materials are still high quality, but the amount of resources available is lower than WordPress.
For both CMSs, you can find freelance developers or specialised agencies, although the availability of WordPress professionals is significantly higher, resulting in lower costs.
Joomla is often chosen for complex corporate web projects, and developers who know how to use it professionally tend to charge higher rates.
In light of everything we’ve said so far, we can identify several scenarios in which one of the two CMSs is more suitable.
WordPress is the ideal choice if:
Joomla is more suitable if:
Choosing between WordPress and Joomla depends on your needs, the type of project you want to create, and the resources you have available. Both are excellent open source CMSs, but they cater to different audiences.
WordPress stands out for its simplicity and ease of use, while Joomla is more effective in more technical and complex scenarios (although, in general, a Joomla site can also be replicated in WordPress). If you are a beginner or need a quick website to get online, WordPress is the most effective choice. If, on the other hand, you are planning a customised project with complex editorial flows, Joomla can offer you greater control.
Carefully consider what you want to achieve with your website and choose the platform that best suits your goals.
If you have any doubts, you can contact our technical staff at support@hostingfy.eu, and we will advise you on the best choice for your business.
However, it is important to remember that the scalability and reliability of your project depend not only on the platform used to build the website, but also on the overall digital strategy applied.
From professional activity to business, we are able to satisfy your needs.
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