R.O.I. MEDIA

When you are looking to create a website there are many options available in terms of the type of CMS you use. Gone are the days when your only option was a static HTML website that was difficult to update. CMS stands for content management system. As the name suggests, a content management system is an easy way to manage, update and sort all the content on your website. This ranges from copy, images, videos etc.

Choosing the right CMS system is vital not only for the success of your website but also to ensure you do not end up forking out lots on money on web development. Luckily nowadays there are different types of CMS systems to suit both your budget and the type of website you would like to build.

When it comes to SEO compatibility my two favourite CMS’s are Joomla and WordPress. Joomla is probably the most well known CMS system for people who are looking to build a low maintenance website that is easy to run. WordPress was originally known as only a blogging platform. Nowadays more and more people are using WordPress to build professional and easy to maintain websites. In fact you would be surprised what can now be done in WordPress.

In terms of SEO, both CMS systems have their pros and cons. So how do you decide which CMS system is best for your website?

1. Budget

Your budget is probably one of the most important factors when it comes to deciding how to build your website. For those with a smaller budget who still want a solid CMS system I would suggest WordPress. There are so many amazing premium wordpress themes these days which make building your website quick, easy and less labour intensive. WordPress is also an ideal CMS solution for small businesses that want a clean design and small site to showcase their services and products. If you are a bigger company with a bigger budget then I would recommend Joomla. The Joomla CMS system is designed to work with larger sites and is also popular for e-commerce sites, due to the wide range of shopping cart modules available. WordPress has also started to offer plugins to enable sites to start running e-commerce. Joomla, however, generally provides more customization options.

2. Size

If you are a small business which just wants a nice, easy to use website I would suggest WordPress. I like to see WordPress as a quick and easy publishing tool. Not only can you setup all your company pages like the About Us, Services, Products etc but you already have a built in blog at your disposal. With the rise of social media it is vital that all companies make use of these social channels to interact with their customers. A company blog is a great way to do that. Choosing to build your site in WordPress means you already have blog functionality in place. With Joomla you will need to purchase a separate blog component in order to have the same kind of functionality as a WordPress blog.

Companies that have a lot of products, or want to offer e-commerce, are probably better off using Joomla. Joomla is a full-on CMS, with the ability to do a lot of customizations. It works very well as an e-commerce system and many sites make use of it to run their online stores. With components like Virtuemart, setting up your shopping cart is easy and you can also update your product in a quick and straightforward manner. Joomla is also the best choice for websites with multiple menus and subcategories. The menu manager in Joomla is easy to use and lets you add multiple menus across your template. WordPress works better for small sites with a simpler navigation structure.

3. SEO

In terms of SEO both CMS systems do a good job. WordPress has a few SEO plugin options available. My favourites are the All in One SEO Pack and Wordpress SEO by Yoast. The WordPress SEO plugin is relatively new but, for me, it is the most complete SEO plugin around. This plugin enables you to add unique meta data per page, configure your robots.txt, sort out URL structure and setup your sitemaps. All of these elements are important when optimising your site for the search engine. The plugin is easy to install and very easy to configure.

Joomla’s best SEO plugin is the SH404SEF. This module allows you to run all of your SEO updates in one place and this includes meta data as well as URL rewrites. Before you can switch on this plugin you will need to configure your .htaccess which can be a little tricky if you are not sure how it works. SH404SEF can also have conflicts with custom components on your website which will cause it to break the site. It’s also possible to have issues with e-commerce shopping carts and SH404SEF. Once you configure it correctly, however, this module is a great way to ensure that you have unique meta data on all of your pages and that your URL structure is clean.

In conclusion, there are pros and cons for both WordPress and Joomla. My viewpoint, however, is that, if it can be done in WordPress, then go with WordPress. Not only will you save time and money but you will have a clean, easy to manage site that can also include a blog and other social media plugins.

If your site is too complex to be built in WordPress then Joomla is definitely the way forward. If you have a specific design you are after, and don’t want to be too bound by a template, then Joomla is a good solution for you. Many people start off with a Photoshop PSD file and then start translating it into a Joomla template in order to have a unique design.

For SEO onsite optimisation for either your WordPress or Joomla site contact us today and let us help you take your business to the next level!