8 reasons to bet on Joomla!

When selecting a CMS manager for our projects,  very often we hesitate on what software we should choose. It is an important decision indeed: an effective management of our time, our expectations and our resources, both human capital and economic, are going to depend on the kind of decision we make.

This post is intended to help in the assessment of Joomla as an option on the possible choice of CMS.

Why Joomla!?

In my opinion,  it is the best CMS in the market. I know it may sound quite a subjective statement, but in fact, I am saying that after 15 years of development, testing, facing failures and successes, developing experiences with other CMS's like WordPress and Drupal, and after more than half a million free and open software plugins downloads.

What knowledge do I need to go for Joomla!?

In order to take advantage of Joomla!, you (or your team) need to have a minimum knowledge in PHP, HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and you also need to know how to work with SQL and FTP. If you don’t have those specific knowledge but you like to learn, or you want/can hire them, that would also work :).
On the other side, if you don’t have that knowledge, nor time/money/desire to hire/acquire it, my recommendation is to go for another CMS: Blogger, Wix, Blogspot, or other similar.

And what are my 8 reasons to bet on Joomla !?

Here they go:

Reason 1: as it ages, it becomes more and more attractive.

No doubt, Joomla is now at its best.
For many users Joomla has a bad CV. Years of bugs (legacy of earlier versions), slow adaptation to change, security failures... but things change and evolve, and Joomla has done it... and now it is much, much better.
The current version 3 maintains all the charm of earlier versions (those that we loved), while integrating all the work and community experience developed over the years.
So, if you once discarded Joomla, it may be a good idea to give it a new opportunity. And if you start now, I am sure you are going to love it.

Joomla! = past + present + future

Reason 2: high return on investment

Joomla initial learning curve isn’t too high: newcomers can quickly achieve high returns without investing too much time. But keep in mind that Joomla is more than a simple CMS to develop websites: it has a powerful Framework / API. If you dedicate resources to it, it will allow you to master a powerful programming environment.

Joomla Framework >= CMS

Reason 3: because a tailored suit is always better than one off the rack

Templates, components, modules and plugins: Joomla extensions will enable you to develop nes features and functionalities, and customized solutions.
Joomla is highly extensible: thousands of open source software extensions are available in the extensions directory (JED) (most for free). In addition, you can also develop your own extensions to design more complex websites.

Web (simple || complex) = Joomla!

Reason 4: because you don’t have to request permission

One of the biggest advantages of Joomla is its powerful user and access levels management (ACL).
In short, for Joomla any "thing" (menu item, module, component...) can be assigned to a specific access level or user group.
This gives Joomla a tremendous power in the field of intranet developing.

Intranet = Joomla!

Reason 5: Because we speak Joomla!

Joomla comes standard with a powerful multi-language manager: without installing any additional component you can easily develop projects in different languages.
There are translations of Joomla for every language, ​​thanks to the generous support of a worldwide network of volunteers.

Joomla! = languages ​​(volunteers)

Reason 6: for its heart of gold

Working with Joomla involves respecting and caring for its core. Keeping it always young, healthy and safe is easy, due to its scalable MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture, and to its highly advanced override system.
This structure provides an efficient, organized working environment, making easier growth and scalability as well as code reuse.

Joomla! = Core Respect

Reason 7: because it's ready for big parties

For all the reasons I mentioned above, its consolidated experience, its powerful Framework, its API, its powerful extensions, its updated core, its debug and cache tools, its internal logic, the community of volunteers, users and developers that quickly adapt to changes (PHP7)... thanks to all this, Joomla is a robust tool, able to optimize the power of the environments in which it is implemented (mainly LAMP ) and to efficiently manage load speeds and concurrent users.

management(speed && users) = Joomla!

Reason 8: because good things are best enjoyed in good company

And I am keeping the best for last: my favorite reason to love Joomla is the Joomla Community, where for years ideas , volunteer work, developments, articles, contributions, etc. are exchanged.
If you participate in the community, "you'll never walk alone". You will find support, friends, solutions, and the possibility of contributing to a better future for Joomla.
Remember that –in Swahili– Joomla means "all together". Its foundation "Open Source Matters" (OMS) gives support to the community; OMS key values are Freedom,  Equality, Trust, Community, Collaboration and Usability. Moreover, Joomla is a free software distributed under the GNU General Public License.

Joomla! = contribute + friendship + participation

End of POST.
I hope you liked it.

[ Spanish version ]

Greetings, Ciro Artigot.

PD:  Thanks to my friend Carlos who helped me with the traduction :)