Joomla is an open-source content management system released in 2005 that powers about 1.9% of websites worldwide. Native multilingual support and a strong user permission system, combined with 6000+ extensions, suit membership sites, social platforms and organizational portals.

Strengths and Features

✅ Released in 2005 as the second largest open-source CMS, powering about 1.9% of websites according to W3Techs statistics
✅ Built on the PHP + MySQL stack (2 technologies) and compatible with mainstream shared hosting, keeping deployment and migration costs low
✅ 1 native multilingual support system manages multilingual sites without plugins, lowering internationalization costs
✅ Powerful user and access control (ACL) with fine-grained permissions suits 3 portal types - membership, social and organizational
✅ The Joomla Extensions Directory lists 6000+ extensions for on-demand feature expansion
✅ Joomla 5 (released in 2023) improved performance, accessibility and developer experience
⚠️ According to W3Techs, Joomla's market share has declined in recent years, with a less active ecosystem than WordPress
⚠️ The admin and editing experience is relatively traditional, and the learning curve is steeper than WordPress
⚠️ The JED extension directory lacks unified quality control, so plugin compatibility and security must be verified independently
⚠️ No official hosting service; deployment, backups and security operations must be managed by the user

Product Information

Category CMS

Tags PHP Multilingual Open Source CMS Template System User Permissions content management system Joomla Extension Ecosystem Membership Website Community Portal

Company joomla

Service Region United States

Official Website https://www.joomla.org/

Recommendation Score 4 pts

Published 2026-08-09

Detailed Notes

Overview

Joomla! forked from the Mambo project in 2005 and is an open-source content management system built on PHP and MySQL. It is governed by the non-profit Open Source Matters and is a globally community-driven open-source CMS project. According to W3Techs, Joomla powers about 1.9% of websites worldwide, making it the second largest open-source CMS after WordPress.

Joomla sits between the ease of use of WordPress and the enterprise capabilities of Drupal. Its native multilingual support and strong user permission system make it outstanding for membership, social and organizational portals. Joomla 5, released in 2023, further improved performance, accessibility and developer experience. See open-source software market trends.

Key Strengths

Open source and free: GPL licensed with no software licensing costs, freely deployable, modifiable and usable commercially.
Stable market share: About 1.9% of websites worldwide run on Joomla, with a large community and third-party resources.
Native multilingual support: A built-in multilingual system manages multilingual sites without plugins. See multilingual internationalization.
Strong user permissions (ACL): Fine-grained user and access control suits membership, social and organizational portals.
Rich extension ecosystem: The Joomla Extensions Directory lists 6000+ extensions for on-demand feature expansion.

Product Ecosystem

Joomla CMS Core

Provides content management, menus, modules, templates and the user system, covering the fundamentals of website building.

Joomla Extensions Directory (JED)

The official extension directory lists 6000+ components, modules, plugins and templates, forming the heart of the Joomla ecosystem.

Native Multilingual System

Built-in language management and content association support true multilingual sites.

Joomla Framework

A developer-facing PHP framework that can be used independently to build non-CMS applications.

Community and Documentation

Official forums, documentation and certification programs support developers; see related practices in the website SEO guide.

Limitations

Declining market share: According to W3Techs, Joomla's share has declined in recent years, with a less active ecosystem than WordPress.
Higher beginner barrier: The admin and editing experience is relatively traditional, with a steeper learning curve than WordPress.
Inconsistent extension quality: JED lacks unified quality control, so plugin compatibility and security must be verified independently.
No official hosting: Deployment, backups and security operations must be managed by the user. See the tech stack evaluation guide.

Use Cases

Membership and social websites (★★★★★): Strong user permissions and multilingual support suit communities and member portals.
Multilingual organizational sites (★★★★★): Native multilingual support lowers international site building costs.
Corporate and institutional websites （★★★★☆）: Open source and free with a mature extension ecosystem.
E-commerce websites （★★★★☆）: Full e-commerce can be built with extensions such as VirtueMart and HikaShop. See the multilingual e-commerce guide.
Small sites seeking extreme simplicity （★★★☆☆）: Beginners may evaluate the easier WordPress.

Pricing

Cost Item	Reference Price	Notes
Software license	EUR 0 (GPL)	Joomla is open source and free
Shared hosting	~USD 3-10/month	Requires PHP + MySQL support
Domain	~USD 10-15/year	Registered by the user
Extensions and templates	Free to hundreds of USD	Purchased as needed from JED
Development and maintenance	Custom quote	Custom development and security operations

Note: Joomla itself is free; total cost depends on hosting, extensions and development investment.

FAQ

Joomla vs WordPress: how to choose? Choose Joomla for stronger user permissions and native multilingual support; choose WordPress for ease of use and plugin ecosystem. See the website builder comparison and open-source software market.
Is Joomla suitable for e-commerce? Yes. Full e-commerce can be built with extensions such as VirtueMart and HikaShop. See the multilingual e-commerce guide.
Is Joomla secure? As an open-source CMS it requires timely updates of the core and extensions, plus backup and security policies. See the website operations and SEO guide.
Does Joomla support multilingual sites? Yes. The native multilingual system builds multilingual sites without extra plugins; see website internationalization guide.
Is Joomla free? Yes, GPL open source and free; the main costs are hosting, domains and optional extensions; see website hosting cost-saving tips.

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