Joomla! - Fully Functional Content Management System
Joomla! is a free, open source content management system which is a fork, or off-shoot, of another CMS called Mambo. It's cross-platform, written in PHP, and contains all of the features you would expect from a modern CMS including: RSS feeds, page caching, blogs, searching, and language localization. It was officially separated from Mambo in 2005 when some of the developers stated that Mambo went against traditional open source values, so Joomla! is supposed to follow the “totally free, totally open” mentality. So far, it's doing well.
In the Joomla! Extensions Directory, there are over 3,500 extensions and plug-ins available. Out on the rest of the web, there are even more. Even as an out-of-the-box system, Joomla! stands tall and looks pretty. It's easy to install, the control panel isn't too complicated, and it comes pre-packaged with a wide variety of extensions and templates to get your site up and running in no time. There's even a thriving community of template designers who will sell you packs of 10 or 20 for a couple dollars or even give them away for free.
One problem you might encounter with this CMS is that the plug-ins created for earlier versions are not necessarily compatible with later versions. Also, the content hierarchy structure can't be changed without a major overhaul, but they're working on fixing that with the next release, 1.6. A few other odds and ends of technical bugs have also been reported, but it hasn't been enough to put off the community that develops it and uses it every day.
The control panel isn't too complicated—meaning there is a certain learning curve (as with any content management system), but it may be a little more steep with this one. Joomla! appears to be suffering from a bit of a rebellious nature that started with its roots as a fork project. That attitude of defiant individuality comes out in the control panel, but it's not necessarily a bad thing when the back-end is clearly well-polished. For some, the Joomla! control panel is more intuitive, and they find it easier to navigate. It's mainly up to a matter of personal taste.
Some of the most troublesome problems with Joomla! are its security issues. They're not crippling issues, but they certainly need to be addressed. One of those is that the admin folder is not protected unless you do so manually. You will need to place a password on that folder to make sure that less-than-reputable characters will not be able to scan over the back-end and find exploits. Another potential issue comes from the option to display PHP errors on pages. While it's a necessary feature while in the development phase, you certainly don't want to expose any dents in your armor when the website goes live. As with any CMS, you should look up what other people have said about the security issues, find patches and fixes, and apply them before you install anything else.
Finally, let's look at the community. Although its popularity isn't as high as some other CMSs, it certainly enjoys a decent amount of market share. That means that there are plenty of people to provide information and help, but the underdog mentality makes them stick together a little closer. There's an official forum where developers and more experienced users are happy to help you, and some of them even enjoy tackling the hard problems! Overall, this is an excellent content management system by any measure, but like a strange fruit — it's an acquired taste.
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