This is what you should know about Joomla
Joomla is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) that you can use to create and manage a website. The good thing about this system is that it is free to use. But that's not all: there are countless free extensions available that you can use to expand the functions of the system and your website. In this article you will learn what advantages Joomla offers.
Joomla: These are the most important facts and figures
Joomla is under an open source license. This means that anyone can freely use it and program extensions to the system. On September 19, 2005, the Joomla developers released the first version of the content management system. At that time it was a further development of the Mambo web content management system. This proximity to Mambo is no coincidence. The Joomla development team split off from the Mambo developers to start their own project. A look at the version history shows how long the journey was for them back then. It wasn't until February 2008, almost two and a half years after its release, that the first Joomla update was released, version 1.0.15.
The developers now release a new version almost every month. The most current is Joomla 3.8.10, which was released in June 2018.
In the first few years, Joomla was the content management system with the most widespread use. WordPress has now overtaken it. Nevertheless, Joomla can impress with its functions and its numbers. Almost 2 million websites use the system. This corresponds to 3 percent of all websites available on the Internet.
Joomla offers you these 7 advantages
Joomla is a content management system that has been on the market for a long time. That's why it runs stable and reliably. Nevertheless, there are always updates from the developers or extensions from the community that expand the system. If you are planning to set up a website, you should take a close look at Joomla. Below you will find some reasons for using Joomla.
The large number of additional installations is one of Joomla's strengths. No two homepages have to look the same. There are thousands of extensions and themes that you can use to customize your website. Themes are there to determine the design of a website. You determine, among other things, the fonts used, the format templates stored in the system, the arrangement of a menu or the color scheme. Extensions, on the other hand, fulfill other tasks. They aim either to make important changes in the backend, i.e. in the administration of the homepage, or to make it easier for users to use the site.
Extensions can therefore help you better organize the website in the background. With the right extensions, you can, for example, better analyze visitor numbers or improve performance. This reduces loading times, which has a positive effect on search engine rankings. Extensions that make navigation easier for the user can, for example, help you integrate multimedia content on your website or make articles and posts more clear. They increase both the joy of use and the usability.
You can easily install the extensions and integrate them into the existing website. So you don't need to rebuild and set up the site.
Joomla is free and can be used free of charge
It's not just the large community of third-party developers that makes Joomla an effective and modern content management system. Thanks to the updates that the system regularly receives from the official developers, it is always up to date. You can discuss questions and problems in the community forums. The good thing about it is that you can come into direct contact with the developers. After all, they are the ones who know the most about your extensions and can give you the best advice if you have any problems.
This means you can not only set up private websites cost-effectively, but also commercial homepages in particular. With the right extensions, it is not difficult to set up a technically flawless online shop. This makes it easier to start a new business.
Joomla is search engine optimized from the start
In this day and age, it is important to have a good ranking in search engines. Only if your homepage is high up in the search results list will you be noticed and clicked on frequently. It is important to carry out search engine optimization. You can often find this under the name SEO (Search Engine Optimization). There are some factors that influence search engine rankings and they are within your control. You can influence these with the appropriate extensions.
But even in the standard installation, Joomla includes functions for search engine optimization. You can define a so-called meta description in the system yourself. This is the text that the user sees in the ranking of the search results. So it is the appetizer with which you want to draw a user's attention to your site. This text should therefore be selected with appropriate considerations.
Joomla offers security
Joomla has been using two-factor authentication for some time now. If you have activated this function, you will not only need your account login details in the backend, but also an additional six-digit code in order to make changes. This code is generated via a smartphone app and is only valid for a few seconds.
Joomla is available in your language
The system is available in 70 language versions. This means you don't have to familiarize yourself with the names of foreign languages, but you can easily use Joomla in the language you prefer. The practical thing about Joomla is that it can also be used to easily create multilingual websites. This way you can address users from different countries well and individually.
Joomla grows with your site
If you initially set up a website with just a few subpages, you can easily expand the scope of your Internet presence with Joomla. You can add new categories, pages and content little by little. This doesn't slow down performance, so your website will load just as quickly as before.
As a website grows, the number of people working on it usually also increases. You can easily add new roles to them. This defines the rights and powers that people have. This allows you to control who can create or edit posts. You can also use it to assign the background tasks of website management.
Joomla allows to develop PHP applications
Joomla is more than just a content management system. The software also allows you to write PHP applications. This allows you to program your own extensions or interfaces to applications.
These are the most important functions of Joomla
The basic installation of Joomla includes the functions necessary to operate a website. There are also numerous extensions and settings that you can use to give your website an even more professional design. This is very easy because Joomla can be managed according to the “What You See Is What You Get” principle. This means you don't need any programming knowledge. The editor makes it much easier to create new posts and manage the content. If you still encounter problems, the community will help you with your questions.
This is what version 3.9 will offer
The developers have already announced the next two versions. The Joomla 3.9 update will focus on implementing the requirement of the General Data Protection Regulation. The update makes it easier to manage consent to data processing. In addition, the data is collected in a central file, making exporting easier. If users want to request the personal data collected about them, Update 3.9 makes processing this request much easier. The developers have not yet announced a date for the release of the next update.