TYPO3 vs. Joomla!

Like TYPO3, Joomla! is one of the most popular Web Content Management Systems on the market and is the further development of the OpenSource project Mambo.

Since the Joomla! programming code has been entirely object oriented since version 1.5 and component follow the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design principle, anyone can write any number of their own extensions simply by using the Joomla! framework and appropriate API. This means that, in principle, Enterprise functionality such as SAP connections or similar extensions can be implemented at a later date.

System requirements

As with TYPO3, Joomla! is based on PHP and MySQL. The basic requirements for successful running on a web server are PHP 4.1 or PHP 4.3.0 for Joomla! from Version 1.5 or MySQL from 3.23.0. Joomla! 1.5.14 is currently the latest version. However, this no longer supports PHP 4, but only PHP 5.2+.

Easy installation

Installing the system is very easy and can be done within minutes without any particular effort, meaning that small to medium-sized firms without their own IT department can create an up-and-running Web CMS for themselves. In addition, there are many specialized forums and websites covering all possible aspects of Joomla!, so that users can quickly access the information they need to get them started. Further to this, a number of clearly-written and well-presented manuals and tutorials are available that cover all the important bases.

Security issues

In the past, hacker attacks on Joomla! sites were quite frequent, due to the popularity of this CMS. On account of a security loophole in the Joomla! core, owing to an insufficient program writing entry check, many of the older websites were exposed to attack. It is only since the version 1.5.6 that this loophole is now closed. In the past, Joomla! frequently had to endure a rather negative press on account of such sub-standard security.

Many extensions

Just like TYPO3, Joomla! can boast a vast array of possible extension functions thanks to its big support community. On numbers alone, the two are almost neck and neck. However, Joomla! differentiates between plug-ins, components and modules and, which is similar to TYPO3, where they can be used: whether in the backend or frontend or when implementing certain specific additional functions, such as when integrating an RSS feed. Some of these components, modules and plug-ins are so interconnected that they cannot function alone, but must be installed as a packet in order to achieve the desired functional range.

Not Multi-Domain capable

Generally speaking, Joomla! is not really Multi-Domain capable. This means that it is not possible to install several different websites and domains under one roof. As a result, every site requires its own separate Joomla! installation. Although there is an extension which allows the common running and maintenance of several sites as editable sub-sites to a main one, yet the related problem of multiple installations and domain handling remains unresolved. In this point TYPO3, with its cleverly designed Multi-Domain capacities, has a clear advantage.

Rudimentary access rights management

A further weakness of Joomla! is its rather rudimentary authentication and access rights management. Fortunately an external extension designed by an Australian developer provides a suitable solution here, so that the CMS can attain the degree of functional access security one takes for granted as standard in TYPO3. Currently the Joomla! developers are working on the new 1.6 version, which features integrated access rights management based on an Access Control List. Announced for the last quarter of 2008, the release is long overdue at the time of writing this (in the third quarter of 2009), although since 1^st July 2009 an Alpha version of the new issue has been available for testing.

Conclusion: TYPO3 vs. Joomla

If your aim is to quickly and easily set up a website for a small to medium-sized company, an association or a private individual, Joomla! is certainly a good choice. If, however, you are implementing an Enterprise Web Content Management system and your brief includes unlimited scalability with Multi-Language fallbacks, taking place on several different domains, but managed under a common roof; or if you need complex translation workflows with external agencies, all dealt with through the CMS, then TYPO3 should be your first choice, because many of these business-critical features are already in the standard Basis Pack and only have to be activated, while Joomla! has to be fired up with a cumbersome set of extensions to get the same functionality and even then requires additional adaptation.

The clear recommendation at this point would thus be: