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CMS comparison

WordPress vs Joomla: which CMS fits your organisation?

Short answer

Choose WordPress for marketing and content sites and when ease of editing, flexibility, ecommerce matter most. Choose Joomla for existing community and association sites and when few areas matter most. WordPress is a open-source php cms; Joomla is a open-source php cms, so the real decision is how much control you want versus how much you want managed for you.

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  • Enterprise CMS specialists
  • Surrey, BC · Canada
  • Senior engineers only

At a glance

Ratings reflect DoodleWeb's experience building and migrating both platforms for Canadian clients.

WordPress JoomlaDoodleWeb rating out of 5
Ease of editing
WordPress 4/5Joomla 2/5
Flexibility
WordPress 5/5Joomla 4/5
eCommerce
WordPress 3/5Joomla 2/5
Governance and roles
WordPress 3/5Joomla 3/5
Performance
WordPress 3/5Joomla 3/5
SEO control
WordPress 5/5Joomla 2/5
Low maintenance
WordPress 2/5Joomla 2/5

Side-by-side comparison

WordPress vs Joomla feature comparison
CriteriaWordPressJoomla
TypeOpen-source PHP CMSOpen-source PHP CMS
HostingSelf-hosted or managed (WP Engine, Kinsta, WordPress.com)Self-hosted
LicenceGPL, free coreGPL, free core
Typical running costCA$30–$600/month hosting plus plugin licencesCA$20–$300/month hosting
Content modelPosts, pages, custom post types, taxonomies and custom fields (ACF or native meta)Articles, categories, menus, modules and custom fields; extensions such as K2 add their own tables
URL structure/%postname%/ or /blog/%postname%/ permalinks, category and tag archivesMenu-based SEF URLs, sometimes with /index.php/ or ID prefixes
Extensions60,000+ plugins in the WordPress.org directory~6,000 extensions in the Joomla Extensions Directory
Getting content outWXR XML export, REST API (/wp-json), direct MySQL access and WP-CLIDirect MySQL access, Joomla Web Services API (4+), extension-specific exports

Which one should you choose?

Choose WordPress if you need

  • Marketing and content sites
  • Blogs and publishers
  • WooCommerce stores under ~5,000 SKUs
  • Teams that want a huge plugin and talent pool
  • Largest ecosystem of themes, plugins and developers
  • Gutenberg block editor that non-technical staff learn quickly

Watch out for

  • Plugin sprawl creates security and update overhead
  • Roles and workflows need plugins to reach enterprise level
  • Performance depends heavily on hosting and theme quality

Choose Joomla if you need

  • Existing community and association sites
  • Sites with established Joomla extensions
  • Built-in multilingual and user access levels
  • Flexible menu-driven structure

Watch out for

  • Shrinking extension and developer ecosystem
  • Joomla 3 is end of life; 3-to-4/5 upgrades break many extensions
  • Fewer modern SEO tools

Frequently asked questions

Migration plans for these platforms

Not sure which platform is right?

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Q&A

Frequently asked questions about DoodleWeb

What is DoodleWeb?
DoodleWeb Canada is the Canadian company of Seattle-founded DoodleWeb, based in Surrey, BC. We design, build, and grow websites and digital platforms on Drupal, WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, BigCommerce, and React for higher education, government, aerospace, healthcare, nonprofit, and growing brands across Canada and the United States.
Where is DoodleWeb based?
DoodleWeb Canada is based at 13655 Fraser Highway, 11th Floor, Surrey, BC V3T 2V6, Canada. We serve clients across Canada and the United States.
What services does DoodleWeb offer?
Custom web design and development, CMS builds and migrations (Drupal, WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, BigCommerce), eCommerce, headless commerce, React/Next.js engineering, React Native mobile apps, rebranding, accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA, AODA, Section 508), Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and SLA-backed managed hosting and maintenance.
How much does a DoodleWeb website cost?
Marketing sites start around CAD $16K, CMS rebuilds run CAD $34K–$108K, and enterprise Drupal, headless commerce, and government platforms start at CAD $108K and scale to $340K+. Every project quote is fixed-fee by milestone and returned within 48 hours of the discovery call, with no retainer hidden inside the project fee. Care plans and marketing retainers are separate, publicly priced monthly subscriptions. All figures are starting points, not flat rates — final pricing varies with site size, page count, content volume, integrations, custom functionality, and migration complexity.
How long does a website project take?
Marketing sites launch in 6–10 weeks, mid-market CMS platforms in 10–16 weeks, and enterprise Drupal, government, or commerce rebuilds in 4–6 months. Exact timeline, milestone dates, and acceptance criteria are written into the SOW before kickoff.
Can DoodleWeb get my brand cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude?
Yes. Our AEO/GEO program restructures content into Q&A patterns, ships FAQ / Organization / Article / BreadcrumbList JSON-LD schema, publishes /llms.txt and /llms-full.txt, and runs weekly citation tests across all four major answer engines so engines extract and cite your brand. Initial citations typically appear within 30–60 days.
How do I contact DoodleWeb?
Email info@doodleweb.ca or book a free 30-minute consultation at https://doodleweb.ca/book. You will speak directly with a senior strategist, not a sales rep.