1. Content Management Systems for the ICCNS Web Site
Comparing Joomla and WordPress

2. Managing Content WordPress and Joomla are applications that can
be installed on a web server to assist in creating
and maintaining one's web site. Joomla is a
Content Management System (CMS) and
WordPress is a "blog tool and publishing
platform" often used as a CMS.
Both are Open Source - which means they are
free to use - and encourage users to develop
visual designs and add-on applications.
Each offers advantages and disadvantages for
different projects. While Joomla is a
consideration for the ICCNS web site,
WordPress is the best available option.

3. Ease of Use Both applications promise ease of use. Joomla
promotes itself an alternative to the traditional
web site structure (a key trait of every CMS), in which
one expert webmaster created all the pages in
markup language and maintained them with file transfer.
With Joomla, many people can contribute to the web
site. However, all users require some training, and the
user interface is not straightforward. The ease of use
is compared to that of running a traditional website.
WordPress has an intuitive interface. Those
accustomed to using web-based and social
networks like Facebook will feel comfortable adding
content and maintaining the pages. This comfort level
encourages regular updates and activity.

4. Appearance Joomla and WordPress include templates and
themes, respectively. These let the visual design
change without affecting the site content.
Thousands of free templates and themes are
available free to download for each application;
you can customize them or create your own.
Joomla's templates tend to have a rigid, blocky
appearance necessary to accommodate the CMS's
functions. Developing new templates is an
involved process: they require special formatting.
WordPress's themes are diverse, and incorporate
contemporary web trends and features to a great
extent. Creating themes is straightforward since
they are based on regular web code.
For producing an original design representing
ICCNS and other NS Web sites, WordPress
offers the most appealing options.

5. Source Code The Open Source movement is closely associated with
the Web Standards movement. Web Standards are
advocated by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
and many people who believe that all web sites should
display the same for everyone, regardless of which web
browser or device you are using to view the Internet.
Web Standards pertain to the source code that displays
web sites. Traditional webmasters write and edit this
code directly - but since not everyone knows the
markup languages, a CMS will generate code for you.
The source code for Joomla web sites uses depreciated
(outdated) elements such as tables, and contains
clutter and redundancies.
WordPress, by contrast, always generates concise code
that meets Web Standards.

6. Search Engines If someone searches for "ICCNS" or "Inverness
County Network Society", our web site is #1.
But what if they type "computer access cape
breton" or "inverness county jobs"? We must
make sure these searches lead to our web site.
Pages are search engine friendly when their
titles and URLs contain keywords with
relevant content. Web Standards are also good
for Google: it finds the right information quickly.
Joomla's page titles and URLs are not inherently
search engine friendly, and require extensive
editing just to meet the norms, using additional
software applications.
WordPress's page titles and URLs are optimized
for search engines, and as we've discovered,
Standards-based code lies behind each page. With
WordPress, we simply need to create great
content for Google searches to find.

7. Contribution Joomla allows different levels of users to edit and
contribute to the web site. Most users will be set at a
low level, meaning they can add content but not
approve or incorporate it into the web site. Those
who administer the site and approve content must be
diligent and maintain a keen sense of site organization.
With WordPress, users can also be given different
permissions, and content can wait for approval. Yet
content pages are integrated into the site more
naturally, meaning more control for users and
less work for administrators.
Most people who use the web on a regular basis can
learn to add content to a WordPress web site with little
difficulty. Creating a variety of pages with strong
content is enormously beneficial for web sites.

8. Blogs and Structure Joomla offers "blog style" pages and can display
new articles on the homepage, but it's missing
key blog tools like tags (for organizing blog posts
by a common subject) and comments (so that
visitors can comment on what they read, creating
two-way interaction.) Third-party extensions add
these features, but most are difficult to integrate
and not free.
All Joomla's pages are organized through a two-
level structure that allows for little flexibility in
organizing the site. Pages must be placed under a
Section and a Category – that’s it.
WordPress, by its nature a blogging tool, has tags
and comments, and allows you to organize pages
and posts in as many or few levels as you like.
With the blog set to play a central role in the
ICCNS web site, and flexibility an important
factor, WordPress is once again a winner.

9. Extensions One can download many extensions for both Joomla
and WordPress. Extensions are small software
applications that extend a CMS's capabilities.
In Joomla, these extensions are called components,
modules, and plug-ins; in WordPress, they are simply
plug-ins. Thousands of extensions are available for
both Joomla and WordPress, offering limitless options.
However, with Joomla, your options might be limited
by your wallet, as many of the best developed and
most useful extensions are commercial. Those that are
non-commercial might be poorly constructed and
contain security risks (a known problem).
In WordPress, all plug-ins must comply with free
software guidelines, and submissions to the directory
are checked for suitability and security.

10. Wider Use On its "What Is Joomla?" page, Joomla claims its
product is used by the United Nations, Harvard,
and MTV. That is, it's used by --
The UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard
MTV Networks Quizilla
These are all subsidiaries of larger organizations
or companies (ones that don't use Joomla for
their homepages.) A few publications, services,
and restaurants are also listed.
The WordPress homepage displays the logos of
CNN, eBay, Ford, Martha Stewart, The New York Times,
PlayStation, Wired, Yahoo!, and others, all of whom
use WordPress on their homepages or primary
blogs. More "everyday user" pages are seen
in the Showcase section.

11. Examples
Joomla WordPress --