The end of the first decade of the 20th century was a time of real breakthrough online. Perhaps more than any other respect, the way in which this breakthrough was most obvious was the increase of user-generated content. As the decade ticked on, more and more people were moving from becoming internet users to putting their own sites up. In many cases, this was achieved by the huge increase in choice and availability of blogging platforms – of which WordPress was one of the firsts. It could be said that Joomla has taken the WordPress model one step further.
While the people running both companies, and the users who align themselves specifically to one or the other, will argue that their site has its own specific identity and is very much a stand-alone entity, there can be no doubt that
WordPress and Joomla have many similarities. Both can do a lot of the same things. If you want to create a blog, you can do it with WordPress or with Joomla. If you want to make your site more general, then both platforms make it possible. However, there are many Joomla users who will not use WordPress, and as many vice versa – so what is the dividing line?
Many of Joomla’s supporters will indicate that it is “more than just a blogging platform”, either stating or implying that that is all WordPress is. And although this is not exactly true, there is enough of a grain of truth in it to make it an issue for some. WordPress gained most of its early adopters by being a very user-friendly site for bloggers, and has since diversified. On the other hand, Joomla was created after the development of WordPress and has to its advantage the fact that it was developed to be more right from the start.
There is some truth to the suggestion that the sites are similar enough to be used almost interchangeably while being different enough to have their own specific identities and attract people who will use one, and only one of the two for all of their site-creation needs.
For what it is worth, the two sites do specialize enough to give them their own defined position:
- If you wish to create a blog, or a specific “user generated” site, then WordPress is better, and is conceived with your needs in mind.
- If you wish to create something more individual, then it is better to use Joomla.
It would also be entirely fair to point out that if you have been using WordPress all this time and have found it to meet all your needs perfectly well, then a switch to Joomla will be more hassle than it really is worth. And, of course, vice versa.
One thing that might help you make up your mind is by looking through sites created using each application and deciding based on the ones which you find most applicable to your needs. Both are certainly good, user-friendly sites and won’t let you down.
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user generated content,
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WordPress,
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The benefit of using a content management system (such as Joomla!) to set up a website is the ease it introduces to a process that, ordinarily, takes a lot of hard work and knowledge of a process that involves specialist information when done the “hard way”. If you use Joomla, you may not have the absolute freedom that a web designer enjoys, but you will be able to create quality websites which are easy to use and navigate.
To set up a website using Joomla – if you want to get the best out of it – it is best to start by setting up web hosting. It is possible to get free hosting, however this is not the best way to do things. Yes, it is free. But it isn’t very good, unfortunately. Free web hosting does have the benefit of being free, but you get what you pay for. Free web hosting tends to be less reliable, and may result in a lot of downtime, as well as poor functionality if you receive a lot of visitors to your site. A good, cheap web hosting provider will give you more reliability for a price you can afford.
Once you have organized web hosting, it is then a matter of installing Joomla on the hosting account. This is a simple process and involves downloading the Joomla software from their website and following the simple instructions that come with it. This is a step-by-step process and allows you to concentrate on bringing your specialist knowledge to the process. Your part in this is content provision – you write or create the content, and Joomla will manage it. Your web host will ensure its place on the Internet.
In addition, you will want to ensure that the content is displayed in a way which is going to attract the right kind of attention – so you want it to look good. This means finding a Joomla template that you are happy with. There are several sites which provide free templates. When you look at templates, what you will see is a general idea of how it will look – obviously the banners and finer details will change when you update the content and make other changes. What the template shows you is how the colors, fonts and other elements of your site will look like on screen.
There is plenty of support on the Joomla website itself – in the form of forums and FAQs, as well as a lot of partner sites which provide specialist advice and information so that novices can create a usable, high quality website without having to go from the beginning and learning how to write code. For someone looking to create a good website from scratch, Joomla is an option which allows you to concentrate on what you are good at and leave the technicalities to the experts.
Once the software and template are downloaded, they are highly customizable and can be edited without fuss so that you achieve exactly the right look.
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