I’ve been building websites with Joomla (and its predecessor, Mambo) since 2003. I wrote a book about Joomla in 2008 (published in 2009) and have made a living specializing in Joomla development since 2008. So, why on earth am I blogging at WordPress.com? I think it’s a good question worth exploring.

Before I start explaining my reasons, let me just say that this isn’t going to be a typical link-bait Joomla vs. WordPress article. I think both projects are doing great things, and both systems have their strengths and their weaknesses, but I also think it’s time to move beyond the comparison game and realize that both Joomla and WordPress (and even Drupal) serve great purposes. Let’s just leave it at that.

Now, on to my reasoning…

This is just a blog.

WordPress is the king of blogs. The undisputed champion of the blogging world. I have always said, if you just want a blog, WordPress is the way to go. All I wanted to do is create a blog, and the easiest way to get up and running with a blog quickly is to use WordPress. Yes, you can blog with Joomla, but WordPress is a better blogging platform. If I wanted more than a blog, I would use Joomla, because I still believe that Joomla is better for anything more than a blog.

I don’t have time

I recently re-entered the world of freelance web development. I voluntarily left the comfort of a steady paycheck and jumped back into the deep end. As an independent, self-employed developer, the phrase “Time is money” hits really close to home. Time is money. If I’m spending time designing, building, and maintaining a personal blog, that’s time that I’m not spending providing billable service to my clients. I don’t get paid for the time I spend on my blog, so I want to spend as little time as possible doing that.

It’s cheap

As I mentioned earlier, this blog is hosted at WordPress.com, which only costs me $13/year to use my custom domain name. I could host it myself, but why would I do that? With WordPress.com, I get great hosting and a lot of really useful tools without having to put forth any effort or spend a lot of money. It’s a no-brainer. If I needed something beyond what WordPress.com can do for me, I would host it myself. But I don’t.

Use the right tool for the job

So, yes, I’m a Joomla guy. I love Joomla. I’ve been with Joomla since the beginning, and I will continue to be an active part of that community for as long as it exists. But I’m also a pragmatist, and I believe in using the right tool for this job. For this job, WordPress was the right tool.