Concrete5 vs Joomla

Posted by Paul on March 8, 2012

Concrete5 or Jooma. Which is better? Both have different properties...

Joomla
Joomla has been around for years and according to www.opensourcecms.com is the most highly rated CMS there is (Concrete5 comes a close second) based on user feedback.

It's true that Joomla has a very large community, most PHP developers will have worked with it at some point and there are already plenty of extensions for it. It's also a flexible system that makes it easy for developers to build advanced applications on top of it.

However, several things make Joomla so complex to use that I've had three separate requests to move away from it. More surprisingly, two of these were from experienced IT professionals who were struggling to make even simple changes to their own websites.

There are a few reasons why Joomla is hard for most people to use. In common with many CMSs, if you want to change a page on your website, you need to login to the backend of the system and find the page and the correct part of that page that you want to edit. The backend of Joomla to me as a web developer looks pretty logical, but I can see how the relationships between the tables of data would appear more like a confusing array of random content to most users.

Concrete5
Concrete5 on the other hand really focusses on usability. While it's not as well-known as Joomla yet, out of nowhere it's already rated 2nd out of literally hundreds of CMSs and has a fast-growing community.

One of the main reasons that Concrete5 is so usable is that once logged in, you can browse your website as normal until you see something you want to change. At that point you can just click "Edit" and make the change right there on the page. No hunting around a complex backend, guessing at database relationships to find the right place to make your change. This "on-page-editing" isn't without some minor drawbacks but the pros usually outweigh the cons.

In stark contrast to Joomla, usually once I've provided login details, even clients with little interest in IT are able to complete their website with a minimum of effort.

Conclusion
The answer would seem to me that if you're a web developer or web agency who will be updating the website for your clients, and you're looking to develop some quite advanced functionality, Joomla may have some advantages.

If on the other hand, you're a company, an individual, in fact anyone other than an experienced web developer, Concrete5 is going to be your best option.

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Testimonials

Antropy not only gave freely of their time to talk with me, they had the patience to teach me as we went along. They came up with various ideas that allowed me to choose what I liked best and with their guidance we got exactly the website we dreamed about.

David, RC Geeks

Merged two previously HUGE separate sites (website and webstore) into one streamlined website with integrated store, with improved social media and mailing list results. Joe helped communicate complicated jargon into simpler terms, solved issues/queries quickly, and the follow up support has been invaluable.

Jo, Cold Spring Records

Good to work with, very straight forward

Grant Berry, Home World

Thank you all for the hard work, it has paid off, it looks good. The logo is great to promote the practice and the website we can be proud of. Thank you again.

Biddy Arnott, Group Analytic Practice Ltd

The deliveries are now incredibly clear and there is no more admin work on this side which is excellent. It’s amazing really and I think our customers enjoy knowing exactly when they are getting it unlike nearly every other furniture company out there! Thanks for this.

Jonathan Haskins, Get Laid Beds

Firstly, thanks ever so much to you and your team for getting these two sites up and running. It’s a pleasure to work with people who are so helpful and responsive to our requirements. We’re very happy with both sites and all seems to be working fine.

Aidan, Nauticalia

We are really delighted with the finished product, it has far exceeded our expectations... Many thanks again for your support and setting up what I feel is the best Alzheimer's website in the country.

Lynne, MK Alzheimer's

We recently started using Antropy for our OpenCart website as internal IT is swamped and we needed back up and they have been great. Work is quick and efficient, we never need to ask for something twice and communication is good. Gives us confidence that when we need something to be done, it will be and to a high standard.

Dominic Old, The Wasabi Company

Very impressed with the quick service! There is nothing more we need help with right now but we would certainly use you in the future for other issues or alterations we may have. Thank you very much!

Jemma, Aquafayre

Thanks for your hard work, it's very much appreciated.

Colin Farndale, CJF Motorcycles

Always helpful and extremely responsive to any request and once the project has been rolled out they continue to assist you with great help and advice to make the most of your website

Jamie Chandler, Newvotek

Excellent work, delivered in a friendly and consultative way throughout the whole process. For a small company such as my own it was great to be guided through the process, and all my requests were responded to and I felt involved from start to finish.

Phil Saville, Rook Systems

Thanks again for all your hard work on the 3D renders … the results have been fantastic and I look forward to working together again in the future.

Kim, Kimberley-Jane: Design

We worked with Antropy on our new webshop at kikgoes.nl in the past months. We have enjoyed working with them because of their extensive knowledge of Opencart and the rapid pace of development. We regularly added requirements to the projects and we've never had anything that couldn't be done. We look forward to working with Antropy again for new projects or adjustments to our webshop!

Joël van Daalen, Kik Cycleparts

Wow, I am speechless. Thank you so much, this is perfect !!!! Thank you, thank you !!!

Marios Pantelli, Sewing Machine Company

After many years of trying to update my website, dealing with problematic code, delays, etc, I found Antropy about 10 years ago. I can not say enough great things about the quality of their coding and stability of my website along with the professionalism of their staff. I now have a well functioning website that has stood the test of time. Our site is an e-commerce site so that having it up and running is crucial to our business. On the rare occasion that there is a problem with the site, Antropy's team is quick and responsive to finding the problem and fixing it quickly.

Lynn Reznick, Off The Mark

Taken on both smaller and large projects to a very high standard. Delivered on time, with a professional level of service. Always better than we envisioned. Staff are always ready to help with any issues we have. Really pleased with the results of Antropy, and hopefully we can do more business together in the future!

Josh, Toyland Toyshop

We found Antropy to be very responsive and approachable to work with. They gladly took our own designs and transformed them into an easy-to-manage website. Communication was easy and any requests for change were promptly done. Many thanks for the work!

John Caiger, Matraxis

Excellent company with outstanding knowledge of opencart and how to get the best from it. If you are looking for a reliable and professional company to work with I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these guys.

Ashley Morrison, Lockertek

Just wanted to say a big thank you for all your help and support thus far. You've been absolutely brilliant. You've given me absolute confidence that when there is a problem it is sorted which really gives me peace of mind.

Tracy, FLUX

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