Choosing a CMS is one of the most important decisions that a webmaster can make.  The CMS that is chosen will play a large role in determining how the website is created as well as what tools will be available.  There are a variety of popular options, most notably Drupal and Joomla, however WordPress has done an excellent job of standing out from the crowd.  Here is a quick look at some of the reasons that WordPress has become the best CMS option available.

1. Fast Development

WordPress seems to come out with both minor and major updates much faster than either Drupal or Joomla.  The most recent major update was earlier in June when WordPress 3.0 came out.  It was long anticipated because it integrates WordPress-MU as well as added several options to make creating a website easier.  Additionally, WordPress reacts to discovered security threats extremely quickly when compared to their counterparts.  Additionally, WordPress makes it extremely easy to update both the core and complimentary plugins simple.  With the strong development community surrounding WordPress, it should be no surprise that updates are released on a regular basis.

2. Flexibility

WordPress was designed to be able to utilize plugins to create any type of website that a webmaster might need.  It is no longer a simple blogging platform, but can be turned into full-fledged websites, sales pages, squeeze pages, and even membership sites.  With so many plugins that can be used to mold a website into anything a webmaster can imagine, it is no surprise that WordPress continues to grow in popularity.

3. Designed to Be Search Engine Friendly

WordPress is one of the few content management systems that has been designed specifically to be search engine friendly.  It allows for incredibly fast load times, which is becoming increasingly important, but has a lightweight core that makes adjusting the settings to meet the needs of search engines easy.  Additionally, there are a growing number of plugins that can further enhance search engine optimization.

4. Short Learning Curve

Compared to Joomla and Drupal, WordPress seems to have a much smaller learning curve.  The back-end is designed to be very intuitive and user friendly.  Webmasters can even download and install plugins from inside the dashboard.  You can update the core and plugins with a single click and if any updates are available you are notified on your dashboard.  The back end is designed so that it is easy to understand as well as manipulate to fit your needs.

It seems like WordPress will continue to gain more and more followers, which means a continually stronger and active community.  This will ensure that WordPress is consistently changing to meet the needs of the average webmaster.  This coupled with its fast development, overall flexibility, built in SEO, and small learning curve makes WordPress the best choice for many webmasters.

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What is Joomla?

Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.

What are some real world examples of what Joomla! can do?

Joomla is used all over the world to power Web sites of all shapes and sizes. For example:

* Corporate Web sites or portals
* Corporate intranets and extranets
* Online magazines, newspapers, and publications
* E-commerce and online reservations
* Government applications
* Small business Web sites
* Non-profit and organizational Web sites
* Community-based portals
* School and church Web sites
* Personal or family homepages

Who uses Joomla?

Here are just a few examples of Web sites that use Joomla:

* MTV Networks Quizilla (Social networking) – http://www.quizilla.com
* IHOP (Restaurant chain) – http://www.ihop.com
* Harvard University (Educational) – http://gsas.harvard.edu
* Citibank (Financial institution intranet) – Not publicly accessible
* The Green Maven (Eco-resources) – http://www.greenmaven.com
* Outdoor Photographer (Magazine) – http://www.outdoorphotographer.com
* PlayShakespeare.com (Cultural) – http://www.playshakespeare.com
* Senso Interiors (Furniture design) – http://www.sensointeriors.co.za

Joomla Demo: http://demo.joomla.org/

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