Your content management system (CMS) is the engine that runs your website. It’s what turns the web pages you create into a user-friendly experience that allows customers to browse, search and make purchases.
But this is not an engine you can build once and forget. Choosing the wrong CMS, or failing to keep your CMS up-to-date, can leave you with a site that’s slow, difficult to manage and vulnerable to security threats.
One of the most common reasons to switch content management systems is the development of a new ecommerce site. If your business has grown beyond its original scope, or if you’re just not happy with how your current site works, it may be time for an upgrade.
But migrating from one CMS to another is no small task. It requires strong technical expertise and a lot of consideration for how users will interact with the new site. Your goal should be to create a smooth transition that causes as little disruption as possible for shoppers and administrators alike.
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Benefits of Converting From Joomla to WordPress
The decision to convert from Joomla to WordPress shouldn’t be made lightly. You have invested time and money into setting up your website, so it makes sense that you would want to preserve as much of that investment as possible.
However, there are some clear benefits to making the move including:
More Control Over Your Website
The WordPress platform provides a simple way to maintain your website. There are many plugins available that make it easy to update your content without having to learn new software or hire programmers. You can quickly add graphics and other features without having to hire a designer or spend hours trying to figure out how they work.
Essentially, if you want to be able to easily upload images and videos without going through a complicated process, then WordPress is the answer.
The platform also offers users a variety of themes that allow them to customize their websites with ease. This makes it possible for anyone – even those who have never built a website before – to create a professional-looking site in less than an hour.
Customization Without Advanced Technical Skills
WordPress is much easier to use and customize than Joomla. Without advanced coding skills and with the help of this migration team, you can “drag and drop” your elements and customize your website with ease.
One of the most common complaints about using Joomla as a CMS was that it required users to have advanced technical skills in order to make simple changes. With WordPress, users with minimal coding knowledge can create beautiful websites with all the features they need to operate smoothly.
User-Friendly Administration
Since Joomla is a PHP-based open source content management system, its complexity can be downright confusing to many website administrators.
Everything from the core to the extensions and plugins are written in PHP. For those who are complete novices with the software, this can make for a frustrating and intimidating experience. The administration features of Joomla are not user-friendly, and the PHP programming language is notoriously difficult to learn.
WordPress, on the other hand, is an easy-to-use CMS that requires little to no expertise to manage. The backend is intuitive and user-friendly, with all the features you need for basic website maintenance displayed on the left sidebar of the dashboard. There are no complicated menus or nested dropdown options that can confuse novice users.
The WordPress CMS also has a visual editor that resembles Microsoft Word in layout and functionality — another major advantage over Joomla. Rather than writing out HTML code or CSS styles, you can simply select fonts, bold or italicize text, enter links or add images by clicking buttons at the top of the editor screen.
This makes it easier for web administrators to edit pages and posts without learning any code whatsoever.
Easy Front-End Options
One of the biggest benefits of converting from Joomla to WordPress is how easy it is to change the look or theme of your website on the front end (the part that visitors see). In WordPress, there are thousands of themes available that allow you to give your site whatever look you want with just a few clicks — no coding skills required.
In Joomla, on the other hand, changing the look and feel of your site requires extensive knowledge of CSS, HTML and other coding languages — or the help of a professional web developer.
Website Hosting With Few Resources
Joomla has been criticized for its lack of good website hosting options. Websites built on Joomla generally require a lot of resources in terms of memory, bandwidth and processing power.
WordPress on the other hand, has gained popularity among web developers because it can be installed on many different platforms and is compatible with various types of server configurations.
How a Migration Team Can Help
Migrating from Joomla to WordPress opens up more features and options to help you achieve your website goals. While migrating from Joomla to WordPress may seem like a difficult task, it’s really quite easy with the help of an experienced migration team.
A migration team will save you time and money by working on migration while you focus on building your business. They can help you migrate:
- CMS pages
- Images
- Menu items
- 301 redirects
- Meta Descriptions & Page Title
- Blog posts
The Final Word
Joomla and WordPress are both excellent CMSs. They offer a wide range of features, themes and extensions that can help you create the website of your dreams. However, they differ in terms of their back-ends, user interface and more.
If you’re considering moving from Joomla to WordPress, you’re not alone. Many people have made the switch for one reason or another over the years. Nevertheless, migrating is not easy, but with the right migration team, you can make the entire process smooth and simple.
Just make sure to choose an experienced and reliable team that understands what they are doing to provide a seamless transition.
