Picture this: mid-20teens, I’m contracted to build an iOS app and a website for a Cable TV hardware company. The app’s a custom RF calculator—Joomla’s in my blood, so I know it’ll anchor the website too. I deliver the app, spot-on, and start asking about the site. Then the rug gets yanked. Investor politics kick in—some bigwig’s buddy gets the gig because the site needs to “pop” for their IPO. My Joomla pitch? Too boring, too “technical.” They go WordPress. Weeks after launch, it’s hacked—tens of thousands of spam emails blast out, their domain’s blacklisted, and ahead of the IPO, they can’t email a soul. The IPO flops. Company’s dead in a year. I’m left shaking my head—Joomla could’ve saved them, but nah, they wanted “pop.”
Fast forward to March 2025. I’ve been out of the Joomla loop, drowned in personal chaos, and I come back expecting to see what I remembered. In some ways I was not disappointed, Joomla’s just snagged the 2025 CMS Critic Award for Best Open Source CMS (CMS Critic 2025). The core’s thriving—Joomla 5.x is slick, secure, a developer’s dream. But the forums? Silent. The community? A ghost town. If Joomla’s this good—kicking WordPress’s ass in functionality, security, and API—why’s it deserted? Meanwhile, WordPress, the malware magnet (#1 most infected CMS in 2022), still rules. What the hell happened?
Joomla’s Quiet Triumph: The CMS That Should’ve Won
Let’s get one thing straight: Joomla’s a beast. User management that doesn’t need a dozen plugins? Check. Multilingual support baked in, not bolted on? Check. An API that doesn’t make devs weep? Check. WordPress can’t touch it—its “flexibility” is a Frankenstein of hacks, and it topped the malware charts in 2022 because it’s a sieve. Joomla’s security holds up; its framework’s built for people who actually care about code.
The proof? That 2025 CMS Critic Award says Joomla’s still king among open-source CMSes. As of March 2025, Joomla 5.x is rolling out features that make WordPress look like a toy. But WordPress thrives—why? Because it’s idiot-proof, catering to folks “who don’t know any better” and won’t invest time in real solutions. My client picked that flashy mediocrity—and paid with their company. Joomla’s the winner nobody bets on.
The Golden Age: When Joomla’s Community Was Unstoppable
Rewind to the late 2000s–early 2010s. Joomla’s forums were a warren of brilliance—700,000+ users (Web Tribunal) swapping fixes, ideas, dreams. The Joomla Extensions Directory (JED) was a free-for-all of innovation—hobbyists and pros dropping extensions like candy at a parade. JoomlaDays lit up cities worldwide, a tribe of coders and users united. It wasn’t just open-source code; it was an open-source soul. Back then, Joomla was my hammer—reliable, powerful, backed by a community that gave a damn. That RF app gig? Joomla would’ve made the website bulletproof.
Cracks in the Foundation: Drift, Not Drama
So where’d it go wrong? Not in some big blowout—there were no debates or coups I saw. It was a slow bleed. Around 2010, WordPress started its takeover, hitting 50%+ market share by 2025 (W3Techs). It wasn’t better—just easier, luring the non-technical crowd Joomla didn’t bother chasing. Joomla stayed complex, true to its roots, and paid the price. Perception didn’t help—security scares like the 2015 SQL injection stuck, even though WordPress was a bigger mess (2022 malware stat). Hype beat reality.
The community didn’t implode; it drifted. Long-time contributors burned out—Joomla Magazine’s “Where Did My Life Go?” nails that vibe. No fights, just life pulling people away. The JED shifted too—free extensions turned paid (ThemeXpert has seen it), quietly killing the “share everything” spark. My client’s story fits here: they ditched Joomla’s steel for WordPress’s glitter, and it crumbled. No drama, just dumb choices.
The Real Problem: Joomla Didn’t Play the Game
Here’s the rub: Joomla’s brilliance got buried because it didn’t sell itself. WordPress pandered to the lazy—plug-and-play garbage that “pops” until it explodes, like my client’s site. Joomla demanded effort, so the casuals bailed. Forums went quiet as talk moved to Stack Overflow or X—Joomla didn’t pivot. Devs chased WordPress’s bigger audience and paychecks, leaving Joomla’s quiet genius behind. It’s built for those who “invest actual time in good solutions,” but the world picked convenience over quality. Sound familiar? It’s why that IPO tanked—hype over substance.
Where Joomla Stands Today (March 2025)
Joomla’s CMS is still kicking ass. Joomla 5.x delivers—over 300 sites built daily (Meetanshi), that 2025 award in its pocket. But the community’s a shell. Forums list 794,000+ members, yet only ~9,000 are active (Joomla Forum stats). The JED’s a paid-extension bazaar—transactional, not communal. WordPress? Still dominant, still a malware-ridden mess, because numbers trump merit. Joomla’s winning fights it can’t brag about.
Why It Matters: A Cautionary Tale
This isn’t just Joomla’s story—it’s a warning. Tech excellence (Joomla) loses to marketing fluff (WordPress) without a loud community. Accessibility beats quality for the masses—my client learned that when their hacked site killed their IPO. Open-source needs evangelists, not just coders, or it fades. That company’s collapse wasn’t bad luck—it’s what happens when you bet on flash over steel. Joomla could’ve saved them; WordPress torched them. Devs, are we building for the lazy or the committed? You need to pick a side.
Wake Up or Walk Away
Joomla’s a diamond in the rough—award-winning, robust, ignored. The community didn’t fail it; it failed to scream its worth. I’ve seen the cost of betting against it—my client’s WordPress fiasco torched their IPO and their company. Me? I’m still Team Joomla, burned once, not twice. And I’m putting skin in it: I’ve yanked all my paid extensions, ditched the freemium hustle, and gone full free. Why? Because Joomla’s soul is open-source, not a cash grab—unlike the JED’s paid-extension bazaar. It’s my line in the sand.
Devs, it’s time to wake this beast up. Ditch WordPress’s overhyped, malware-riddled mess. Rebuild the forums. Champion real solutions—Joomla’s worth it. I’m doing my part—free extensions, no paywalls, back to the roots. Join me, or let it fade, a martyr to mediocrity. I refuse to lose to the WordPress popularity checkmate. What’s your move?
