Joomla Vs Wordpress
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- Dan L
- Elite Rocketeer
- Posts: 1453
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Both systems have their pros and cons of course. I've been working with Joomla now for 5 years but over the last year or two WP has taken over as my primary choice.
It's always gonna boil down to personal preference and experience of course. There's probably not a lot of point in me harping on about it on a forum that consists mainly of club theme users since most won't really be all that interested in how "from scratch" theme construction works.
For me, the biggest plus is WP's theming system and how much more it offers in terms of customization. You're kind of free to build pages just how you want them, and it's theme hierarchy allows you to cascade template priorities within a theme. Want to do something radically different but just on one single page? Then you just create a separate template file for it. You're still subject to some of the core output code that is generated in it's tags, but nothing like the degree Joomla forces upon you. Yeah, I know there's module chrome and overrides, but they just don't allow the same control as in WP.
It's not as good as, say, ExpressionEngine, where you have much more flexibility, but it's pretty close. Also, like EE, you can create your own post (article) types, with custom fields and custom taxonomy groups - it's bloody brilliant.
The source output is also much cleaner and leaner in my opinion. And you're not tied to a single JS library. And most plugins are written for jQuery. Also the admin control panel is WAY better.
The only thing I miss is granular module control, WP just doesn't have that, although there are plugins there to help add some of this functionality in - they just don't work as well. Plus Joomla's menu manager is much better. I also miss a few of the extensions, which may make me choose J! over WP in some cases. But for the majority of (my) sites, WP is a much better choice.
The other downside (depending on your experience) is that a lot of the cool stuff needs to be done at template level and written in PHP - although I'm more than comfortable with that personally.
This is all my opinion of course, I still love Joomla, it's just not my first choice any more
- Toolbox Digital | Dribbble | Forrst
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- RedRiverBlack
- Elite Rocketeer
- Posts: 1034
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Thanks very much for that info Dan. Very informative! I gave Wordpress a shot a couple of years ago and hated it but maybe it is time i gave it another try.
Liked your Portfolio website BTW. Did not recognise any of the templates!
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- Kent Black
- Hero Rocketeer
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Gotta ask Dan how do you transfer your sites to a live site or to a clients site? I really don't want to backup mySQL import it and ftp all the files and directories. And thanks for the information needed to hear that!
Kent
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- Dan L
- Elite Rocketeer
- Posts: 1453
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RedRum wrote:
Thanks very much for that info Dan. Very informative! I gave Wordpress a shot a couple of years ago and hated it but maybe it is time i gave it another try.
Yeah, it's changed a lot in that time - more CMS focused than just a blog platform. Just makes it a little easier to make it do what you need it to.
RedRum wrote:Liked your Portfolio website BTW. Did not recognise any of the templates!
That's because they are all custom designed sites. I haven't used a template in over 3 years.
Kent Black wrote:Gotta ask Dan how do you transfer your sites to a live site or to a clients site? I really don't want to backup mySQL import it and ftp all the files and directories. And thanks for the information needed to hear that!
Why not? Process is:
1. FTP files from->to new server.
2. Backup database.
3. Search/replace live site URL in MySQL file (easy but a bit of a pain).
4. Import database to new server.
5. Adjust config.
That's about all. With the exception of #3 it's exactly the same process as transferring Joomla. I've always done it manually like this (never used Akeeba for it). - Toolbox Digital | Dribbble | Forrst
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- RedRiverBlack
- Elite Rocketeer
- Posts: 1034
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Dan L wrote:
Why not? Process is:
1. FTP files from->to new server.
2. Backup database.
3. Search/replace live site URL in MySQL file (easy but a bit of a pain).
4. Import database to new server.
5. Adjust config.
That's about all. With the exception of #3 it's exactly the same process as transferring Joomla. I've always done it manually like this (never used Akeeba for it).
I find this very easy too, not tried Akeeba yet.
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- Kathy Rose
- Elite Rocketeer
- Posts: 726
- Thanks: 2
- Freelance web development and design
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Thanks Dan. I really appreciate what you're saying and it's quite helpful to get your perspective. Joomla is still my happy place, but I want to be fairly fluent in both, if it will serve my clients better.
One thing I don't like about Wordpress is the way the custom text widgets have to be written in code. That's fine for ME, but my clients aren't going to be able to deal with that at all. (On the other hand most of my Joomla clients wouldn't mess around with the modules either.)
I personally like the Joomla backend better, although Wordpress lets you access the site files easily--I guess that is a plus....it feels a little ramshackle to me for some reason but that's subjective.
I've gone through some tutorials on building themes from scratch in Wordpress, and I do, for whatever reason, find that is more accessible to my brain than Joomla template-making.
Very helpful to get your perspective. - Kathy
KT Web Design
developing Joomla websites in the sweet, sunny South
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- Dan L
- Elite Rocketeer
- Posts: 1453
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Kathy Rose wrote:
One thing I don't like about Wordpress is the way the custom text widgets have to be written in code. That's fine for ME, but my clients aren't going to be able to deal with that at all. (On the other hand most of my Joomla clients wouldn't mess around with the modules either.)
Sure, I can understand that. I actually prefer to be able to write in code (in Joomla, I almost always have the editors switched off), but you're right, it's not ideal for clients.
However, the system's and theme engine's flexibility means that you can often find other ways around this. For example, I've implemented "module" positions which load up content from a group of custom post types - and custom post types can have whatever fields you want within.
For example: http://www.inform.co.uk/media-and-resources/
This particular page is made up of several custom post types - the brochures and case studies are each a single custom post, which contains just two simple fields - an "upload" dialogue, and a space for the thumbnail image. If the client wants to upload a new case study, he just needs to have the PDF ready on his computer, then upload it via the admin. The PHP in the template takes care of the rest (the thumbnail, the link, and the file size). WP even trims the thumbnail to size if it's incorrect when the client uploads it.
The template file then just loops through each of these custom posts to built the page.
You could easily create "modules" specific to the development in this way - all depends on what's needed at the end of the day. Sounds cheesy, but only your imagination limits you in this respect.
If I ever had to build something like this in Joomla, I think I would cry. - Toolbox Digital | Dribbble | Forrst
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- Craig Crossland
- Jr. Rocketeer
- Posts: 38
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- An affiliate and SEO.
- It looks like you have had some good feeback but I used to use Wordpress before Joomla, infact 1 of my sites still run Wordpress, the site does not get much traffic but I got a hell of a lot of comment spam. I have not signed into the site in a while and a dread to tbh.
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- cmarie
- Newbie
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I agree with Dan L in that I do both, but Wordpress has become my preference too. FYI - Kent - Wordpress has back-up plug-ins; I use one called EZPZ backup that let's me backup my sites with one click. Like Joomla developers, Wordpress developers have created plug-ins for everything - it's versatility extends far beyond blogging - photography portfolios, video walls, social communities, it's expansive. There's "buddy press" & "mingle" for community-building, and it's very easy to configure. Furthermore, the "shortcode" feature is a rapid way to add functionality so I use it constantly and can get sites up fast.
The main reason I prefer Wordpress now is because when you search for new 'plug-ins' (comparable to Joomla's modules & components) you get a vast number of choices, and when you see one you like, you simply install it from the browser just by clicking the word "install." Activate it by clicking the word "activate." No downloading required. Occasionally I get a buggy plug-in, but for the plug-ins with a 4 or 5 star rating they've all worked flawlessly.
I used to dread using Wordpress compared to Joomla - but after I quit whining and got used to it, now I prefer it because it saves me time.
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- cmarie
- Newbie
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Craig Crossland wrote:
It looks like you have had some good feeback but I used to use Wordpress before Joomla, infact 1 of my sites still run Wordpress, the site does not get much traffic but I got a hell of a lot of comment spam. I have not signed into the site in a while and a dread to tbh.
Craig - on your dashboard go to - Plugins, then Add New. Then search for "eliminate spam" or "prevent comment spam." You'll find many plugins to choose from.
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