Joomla

Joomla

Joomla! is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on the planet. It is used all over the world for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications. Joomla! is easy to install, simple to manage, and reliable.

Latest Joomla version is 1.5.10! Be Sure to check Joomla.org regulary for security updates!

Ease of Use

Although Joomla does not have one of the easiest to use interfaces once a user becomes familiar with the basic functions it should become much easier to use. If you have some experience with Mambo this interface may seem familiar however since the changes in Joomla v1.5.2 I believe its become easier to use than Mambo. There are many online tutorials which are available to help beginners with this CMS.

Learning Curve

Again, since v1.5.2 Joomla has had some significant changes in the interface compared to previous versions. In my opinion it is now much easier to use and the learning curve is not as steep. If you are struggling with this CMS please read up on some online tutorials to understand the basics.

Features

Although it may not seem like Joomla comes bundled with endless features it does have all the core essentials you may need to create a website. Third party addon's are in abundance so no worries there. Joomla's core comes with:

Easy to use Installer
Powerful Article Manager
Media Manager
Search Engine Friendly URL's
Excellent Module/Extension Manager!

One thing that Joomla does lack is a good user management system but I believe this may be improved on in future releases.

Online Support

Joomla's main website is using phpBB v3.0 forums which makes it a breeze to navigate and search for anything you may need. The forums are very active and thus support is provided fairly quickly by the Joomla Community! Big Thumbs up here!

Available Mods

Although Joomla v1.0 modules are plentiful, Joomla version 1.5.0 is relative young and there are many modules that still need to be converted to work with Joomla 1.5.0+ Native. Some v1.0 modules may work if you enable Legacy mode.

Available Themes

As this is one of the most popular open source CMS System there is a abundance of free and commercial themes available for Joomla! Some of the premium templates are simply amazing!