Joomla is a free, open-source content management system written in PHP, used to build websites, portals and intranets. It sits between WordPress and Drupal in flexibility and complexity. In 2026 it still powers about 1% of websites, and Joomla 6 is the current major version. Here is what Joomla is good at, where it falls short, and when it makes sense to hire a Joomla developer or move on.
The short answer
Joomla is a mature, free CMS with strong built-in features for multilingual sites, user access control and structured content. It is used by 1.1% of all websites, far behind WordPress at 39.6%, according to W3Techs. That smaller ecosystem means fewer extensions, fewer developers and slower answers. If your Joomla site works and is kept up to date, keep it. If it is outdated, hard to change or depends on one developer, plan a move.
I have worked with Joomla, Drupal and WordPress since my early web development days, and my team at WP Creative now works almost entirely in WordPress and regularly migrates sites off older platforms. That is not a verdict on Joomla’s code. It is a verdict on how hard it is to find people and tools when a small ecosystem shrinks.
What is Joomla?
Joomla is an open-source content management system, first released in 2005, that lets you create and manage websites without coding every page. It is written in PHP, stores content in a MySQL or MariaDB database, and is extended with components, modules, plugins and templates. It is free to download and maintained by a volunteer community.
Joomla is commonly used for:
- Company and organisation websites with many sections
- Membership sites and community portals
- Multilingual websites
- Intranets and extranets
- Government and education sites with layered user permissions
How does Joomla compare with WordPress and Drupal?
Joomla sits between WordPress and Drupal. WordPress is easier to use and has by far the largest ecosystem of plugins, themes and developers. Drupal is the most flexible for complex, structured content but needs the most technical skill. Joomla offers strong built-in multilingual and access control features with a moderate learning curve, but a much smaller community.
| WordPress | Joomla | Drupal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of all websites | 39.6% | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| Share of sites with a known CMS | 58.4% | 1.6% | 0.9% |
| Ease of use for editors | Easiest | Moderate | Hardest |
| Built-in multilingual | Needs a plugin | Built in | Built in |
| User access control | Basic roles, plugins for more | Detailed, built in | Detailed, built in |
| Extensions and developers available | Largest by far | Small | Small, enterprise-focused |
Caption: WordPress, Joomla and Drupal compared. Usage figures from W3Techs, 19 October 2026 (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal). Other rows are my assessment.
For a fuller comparison, see my guide to choosing a CMS.
What is new in Joomla 6?
Joomla 6.0 was released on 14 October 2025. Its headline change is automatic core updates, secured with signed update packages to reduce supply chain risk. It also raised the minimum technical requirements to PHP 8.3 and newer database versions. The Joomla roadmap lists security support for Joomla 6 until 16 October 2029 and for Joomla 5 only until 12 October 2027, so Joomla 5 sites should plan their upgrade.
If your site still runs Joomla 3, it is well past end of life and no longer receives security fixes. That is the first thing to fix, whether you stay on Joomla or not.
What are the benefits of using Joomla?
The main benefits of Joomla are that it is free, it includes multilingual support and detailed user permissions without add-ons, and its menu and category system handles large, layered sites well. It also has search-friendly URLs and metadata built in. For organisations that need many user groups and languages, Joomla can do more out of the box than WordPress.
- Free and open source, with no licence fees.
- Multilingual built in, without a paid plugin.
- Access control lists for detailed permissions across user groups.
- Strong menu and category system for sites with many sections.
- Built-in SEO basics such as friendly URLs and meta descriptions.
What are the downsides of Joomla in 2026?
The biggest downside of Joomla in 2026 is its shrinking ecosystem. With about 1% of websites, there are fewer extensions, fewer templates, fewer agencies and fewer answers online than for WordPress. Many older Joomla sites rely on extensions that are no longer maintained, which makes upgrades risky. Editors also find it less intuitive than WordPress.
The risk I see most often is not Joomla itself. It is an old Joomla site, a major version or two behind, that only one developer knew how to change. The same trap catches other niche platforms. A professional services firm came to my team on a small CMS that limited what its team could change, and then its hosting was hacked in the middle of the project. My team moved it to WordPress on managed hosting, timed the switch for a low-traffic window, then kept improving the site in monthly sprints rather than calling launch the finish line. Every month a site stays stranded, the move gets harder.
When should you hire a Joomla developer?
Hire a Joomla developer when your site runs well on Joomla, your team knows how to use it, and you need upgrades, security fixes or new features. Look for someone with recent Joomla 5 and 6 experience, not just older versions. If the main job is rescuing an outdated site, get a migration quote at the same time.
Questions to ask a Joomla developer:
- Which Joomla versions have you upgraded sites to in the last year?
- Which of our extensions are no longer maintained, and what replaces them?
- How will you test the upgrade before it goes live?
- What would it take to move this site to WordPress instead, and when would that make sense?
Should you migrate from Joomla to WordPress?
Migrate from Joomla to WordPress when your site is several versions behind, depends on abandoned extensions, is hard for your team to edit, or when you struggle to find developers. Stay on Joomla when it works, is current, and its built-in multilingual or permission features are central to how you operate. A migration should keep every URL or redirect it. My page on website migration explains how my team plans one to protect rankings.
For most marketing teams, the deciding factor is not features. It is how quickly you can get changes made and how many people can help when something breaks. That is why I still build most business sites on WordPress, and why I explain the reasons in why I build websites in WordPress. For larger organisations, my post on enterprise WordPress covers when WordPress scales and when it does not.
What to do next
- Check which Joomla version your site runs and whether it still receives security updates.
- List your extensions and check when each was last updated.
- Back up files and the database, then prove the backup restores on a staging copy before any upgrade. For Joomla 5 to 6, follow the official upgrade checklist: update the 5.4 site first, check the server requirements and confirm that its extensions and template support Joomla 6.
- Decide whether to upgrade or migrate, based on effort, risk and who will maintain it.
- If you want a second opinion on upgrade versus migration, book a free call with my team.
Frequently asked questions
Is Joomla still used in 2026?
Yes. W3Techs reports Joomla on 1.1% of all websites in October 2026, and Joomla 6 was released in October 2025. It is still actively developed, but its share has fallen for years as WordPress has grown. It remains common on older organisation, government and community sites.
Is Joomla free?
Yes. Joomla is free and open-source software. You still pay for hosting, a domain, any premium extensions or templates, and the time of a developer to build, update and maintain the site.
Is Joomla better than WordPress?
Joomla is better than WordPress for some sites that need detailed user permissions and built-in multilingual support. WordPress is better for most business websites because it is easier to edit and has a far larger ecosystem of plugins, themes and developers. The right choice depends on your content, team and support.
Is Joomla secure?
Joomla core is actively maintained and Joomla 6 added automatic, signed core updates. Like any CMS, most security problems come from outdated versions and unmaintained extensions. A Joomla site kept up to date, with few well-maintained extensions and good hosting, can be secure.
Can I move my Joomla site to WordPress without losing SEO?
You can reduce the risk a lot, but no plan can guarantee rankings. Keep the same URLs where possible, set up 301 redirects for any that change, move titles and meta descriptions across, and check for broken links after launch. Test the new site on a staging copy before switching, then watch Search Console in the weeks after, so you can spot and fix real losses quickly.
