Since Content Management Systems became popular there have always been two camps those who prefer Joomla! which is more far more powerful system, rich in features and has a mass following of developers for extentions as well as some serious users including companies like MTV and those who prefer a WordPress a simpler, less complex system that has power but is less techie to use.

Joomla! is not really designed for blogging although it does have a basic blog functionality built in. WordPress on the other hand is designed for blogging but falls down when it comes to simple systems for membership and carts. Before everyone gets upset, we’re not saying WordPress cannot do these things , it can just not as well as Joomla!

Joomla! V WordPress

Joomla! V WordPress or is it!

So thus begins the debate begins for the pros and cons of both systems and while both systems have merit, this post is about neither. However this post looks to see if these two excellent systems can work alongside each other.

For those acustom to both systems you will know that the two systems can co-exist alongside each other one in the main portion of your site with the other as an extension of this i.e. www.theinternetbusinesscoach.co.uk being Joomla! and www.theinternetbusinesscoach.co.uk/blog being WordPress.

Both systems in the example are in use (actually both are like this in real life for us )but what if you could use the power of Joomla! alongside the flexiblity and ease of use of WordPress – I mean instead of installing both systems seperately and running them seperately you could actually use them as one system, one set of updates, one menu etc.

Interesting prospect right – well a company has made this a reality. CorePHP released an extension for Joomla called WordPress+Joomla that will allow both systems to work together. THe basics of this new system is it is a build on extension for Joomla! 1.5 native that uses a fully loaded version of WordPress that they have managed to integrate so that if you were looking at the backend you might mistake it for a standard WordPress admin page.

Every function with the exception of permalinks, which are coded in, are the same as in a stand alone installation works as it would normally do in WordPress. They have even added a few other new bits of functionality like adding or remove blog title on a per-blog basis, ability to add or remove the sidebar – this is a site-wide option, different options for CSS style sheets – also a site-wide option, enable or disable automatic role syncing with Joomla! – a site-wide option, show or hide the author’s name in posts on a per-blog basis and they have even ported over many of the most popular plugins.

The new system will allow you to define your site design in such a way that it can be either Joomla! or WordPress or a mixture of both i.e. a WordPress home page but with module placement for arranging the page whilst still allowing you to have your blog rolls, tags etc.

You then get Joomla! options which allow you to start an online community, membership subscriptions or publish an online magazine or offer registered users an area to publish their own blogs. All in all this new extension is quite a big development in the debate for and against, infact to an extent it makes the debate moot as the two clearly can function as one allowing the power and flexiblilty, ease of use and simplicity of either to be incorporated into one.

On the downside categories still need to be synced individually, not a major issue if static content is handled by Joomla! and constant changing posts is handled by WordPress. Personally the biggest drawback would be the lack of extensions for WordPress at this time, which may put a lot of people off using it, this will change as with all things, if you are a developer or dabbler then this will not be an issue for you. Currently the main plugins avaiable are the all important SEO-All-In-One, Akismet, Lightbox and Sociable.

WordPress+Joomla MU is developed by corePHP and costs $79.95 a year which is via a subscription. You can find more information at CorePhp.

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