Joomla! has to be one of our favorite Content Management Systems available today. Unlike Wordpress, which was created as a blog (blogging platform) first, Joomla! was created from the ground up as a CMS (content management system). It's been around for years, has a strong following, and offers a powerful and flexible system allowing us to develop almost any type of website.
Joomla! is great for brochure sites, portal sites, news sites, membership sites, classifieds, product catalogs, image galleries and multimedia, blogs, forums and, to a limited degree, eCommerce. And, because it's a CMS, you're able to create and publish pages on your own, allowing you to manage your site's content yourself. In fact, you can have any number of people on your team access the site with different privelages in order to share and collaborate content and data.
The Power Of Extensions
You can probably tell that we're fans of Joomla!, but we do have to admit that when it comes to eCommerce, Joomla! falls a little flat. Joomla! is "open source" software, which means that it's free, and it's basic form is strictly as a CMS. A lot of the features and unique functionality that you will want for your site will come from "extensions", which are separate pieces of software developed specifically for Joomla! by 3rd party companies and individuals. Some extensions are free, but many effective extensions are "commercial" and available for sale.
By itself, Joomla! serves the purpose of being a powerful, flexible, and sophisticated CMS framework, but it's the extensions that allow you to take Joomla! to the 10th level in terms of design and functionality. So, if you want to add a blog, a community forum, or a photo gallery, you would find an extension that serves that purpose. Of course, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of extensions, both paid for and free, that cover mostly any category or function you can think of.
There is a bit of a learning curve in using Joomla!, but no worries ... we do include some basic training in our Joomla! development package to get you up and running. As great as Joomla! is, it isn't perfect, and we don't recommend it if you need a full-featured online store (eCommerce site).
Depending on your needs and requirements, Joomla! may be the answer for your new website. Please contact us today and let us determine the best solution for you.
