Freelance Web Development

When discussing about Wordpress vs Joomla, one common thing i have read is that Wordpress is mostly a bloging platform.With the new 3.0 version we have a Wordpress that has become a full featured CMS.Question is how does it weight against other CMS systems like Joomla.

For a developer a CMS is a very good tool to quickly product a fully functional website.There are various options including Wordpress and Joomla.But before making a selection,a wise person wants to know what is under the hood for each CMS.While reading , i have rarely read a full and indept discussion when comparing the two.This article's aim to cover a a little more with regard to the two .

Structure

Joomla

Joomla 1.5 support MVC is great as not only you have a framework but also a CMS .This makes Joomla powerful tool for software development.However Joomla is fairly complex with a steep learning curve.It is a framework so more to learn and dicipline is required.You need to know many things to do one thing, just my humble opinion.However, this is an attempt to help the developer to do an efficient job.Because you know enough, you do not have to do much,what is great to some extent.

In the MVC design of Joomla, the View seems to interact too much with the Model .A lot of coding is performed in the view.An excuse could have been the fact that a framework is solid , but it is the designer's responsibility to make proper use of it, deciding where to put different logics .However, core components of Joomla such as the Content component are also doing the same, what beaks the MVC pattern.

Wordpress

Wordpress has really been developed by the KISS-principle.The learning curve is short and that does not mean that you cannot be productive.Instead it means that you have a spare time saved to do the extra job.The use of custom post type means that every plugin does not need to create a new database table  for it contents.Storage is also available for extra fields, and if extra options are needed you have an option table.

You have the option to design your plugins as you want.There is little restriction to how you want to do things.As long as you know what you are doing, get going.

Usability

When talking about usability you have to consider both the developer and the user.I would not say much on this but the fact is that Wordpress is much better.The proof is here.Reason why Wordpress won the Open Source CMS Award 2009.

Features

Joomla has more features than Wordpress  that is clear.Still there are  so may options when you want to add those missing features to Wordpress.However, integrating many add ons in one application can be a double edged knife.On one side you have the flexibility to choose  from various extensions, and on the other side you might end up with too many extensions in the application.

Extensions Or Plugins

With Joomla  there is a plenitude of plugins but the best extensions are the one that cost.Wordpress  free plugins are every where.

Joomla aimed to solve most application needs and it has made Joomla a very complex platform that the geeks understand better.It is the corporate CMS which stays a CMS of choice for many and would hopefully improve in future version.Wordpress which started as a blog engine has turned into a full CMS is always evolving to fit nearly all possible design requirements.