Digital Marketing December, 2025
Joomla Websites: A Complete Guide to Updating, Improving or Migrating to WordPress
Written by Luís Horta
Joomla websites are part of the history of the modern internet. For many years, Joomla was seen as one of the most complete platforms to build robust, structured websites with advanced content management. At Webfarus, we have followed that journey from the very first versions, so we know exactly what the platform can offer, where it shines and where it can start to create challenges for your business.
If you already have a Joomla website, you have probably asked yourself one of these questions:
- should I update the site to a newer version?
- should I improve the design, speed or SEO?
- should I migrate to a more modern platform such as WordPress?
This guide was written to help you make an informed decision. We will explain, in simple language, what you can expect from Joomla today, when it still makes sense to improve the website you already have and when it may be wiser to look at other options.
1. What is a Joomla website and why was it so popular?
Joomla is a CMS (Content Management System) launched in 2005. It quickly became popular with organisations that needed a flexible tool to organise large amounts of information. Its system of menus, categories and user permissions has long been one of the most complete on the market.
Over the years, many institutional websites, associations, information portals and multilingual projects have been built on Joomla – and many of them are still online.
Webfarus has been working with Joomla from the very beginning, which has allowed us to build solid experience with both older and more recent versions.
What Joomla does well
From experience, Joomla still offers several advantages:
- an excellent structure for categories and menus
- a high degree of flexibility to create different areas within the site
- advanced user and permission management
- strong ability to organise large volumes of content
Where the difficulties begin
Over time, many Joomla websites start to face problems such as:
- difficulties in updating to newer versions
- extensions that stop working or are no longer supported
- old templates with no active support
- admin areas that are not intuitive for non-technical users
- performance below what is now expected for SEO, mobile and speed
If your website is several years old, it is perfectly normal to recognise some of these issues. That is usually the point where the big question appears: should you improve or should you migrate?
2. Why do so many Joomla websites become outdated?
If your site feels very old, do not worry – you are not alone. Joomla went through deep changes between major versions, and those transitions were not always easy.
The most common reasons for a Joomla site to be left behind include:
- fear of updating and breaking something
- extensions that are no longer compatible
- lack of support for the original template
- no regular technical maintenance
- upgrade costs that kept being postponed
Over the years, these factors add up and make the site more vulnerable, slower and less adapted to current demands such as mobile devices, SEO and modern integrations.
3. Updating your Joomla website: when it makes sense
Updating a Joomla website is still a valid and safe option in many situations. If you like the platform, have specific features built into it or want to keep your current structure, an upgrade may be the right decision.
Technical update
A technical update usually involves:
- updating the Joomla core
- replacing old extensions with compatible versions
- fixing errors caused by conflicts or incompatibilities
- strengthening security
- improving performance with caching, compression and image optimisation
Visual update
Even without migrating, you can modernise your Joomla website by:
- redesigning the layout (fully or partially)
- improving mobile responsiveness
- reworking the navigation and menu structure
- refining the technical SEO
- adding new tools and integrations
When updating is usually the right choice
Updating Joomla is often a good option when:
- the site is functional, but clearly outdated
- the main extensions are still supported
- you want to keep the current structure
- you are not planning a major change to the project in the short term
4. Migrating your Joomla website to WordPress: when to consider it
Although Joomla remains a capable platform, many businesses now choose to migrate to WordPress because of its easier management, wider flexibility and rich plugin ecosystem.
At Webfarus, we work with both platforms on a daily basis, which means we can help you assess, in a neutral way, when migration might be genuinely beneficial.
When migration can be an advantage for you
You may want to consider migration if:
- your site design looks very outdated
- upgrading Joomla has become technically complex or risky
- you need modern features that are hard to add to your current setup
- you would like to edit the site more easily
- the site is not properly prepared for today’s SEO requirements
- you want to integrate a blog, CRM, automations or digital marketing tools
WordPress is an extremely versatile platform and, for many businesses, it brings immediate gains in autonomy and performance.
How the migration process works
A typical migration process includes:
- a full audit of your existing Joomla website
- mapping all content, menus and categories
- building a new WordPress site with a modern design
- migrating text and images
- recreating equivalent features and modules
- implementing SEO, security and performance improvements
- setting up redirects to keep your Google rankings
- final testing before launch
For you, this means a smooth transition with no loss of important content.
5. Joomla vs WordPress: which is better for your situation?
There is no single answer that works for everyone. Both platforms can work well, but they serve different profiles and priorities.
Ease of use
WordPress is simpler and more intuitive for most people.
Joomla is more technical and generally takes longer to learn.
SEO
WordPress has a more modern ecosystem when it comes to SEO.
Joomla can perform well, but usually requires more manual tuning.
Design
WordPress offers thousands of up-to-date themes.
Joomla has fewer modern options available.
Security
Both platforms can be secure when properly configured.
Problems usually appear when a Joomla site has been left without updates for many years.
Flexibility
Joomla remains strong for websites with complex structures.
WordPress adapts easily to almost any type of project.
6. Joomla versus custom HTML development
Some businesses think about abandoning CMS platforms altogether and moving to a fully custom HTML site. While this can make sense in very specific cases, it is not the ideal solution for everyone.
When HTML can be a good choice
- very minimal, simple projects
- single-purpose landing pages
- sites where extreme speed is the top priority
Disadvantages of pure HTML
- you cannot edit content easily without technical help
- adding new features requires manual development
- modern integrations become more complex
- there is no user-friendly admin panel like in WordPress
For most companies, a CMS is still the most efficient and cost-effective option.
7. Improving your Joomla website without migrating
If you are not ready to change platform right now, there are still many improvements you can make within Joomla.
These can include:
- image optimisation
- enabling and tuning cache
- improving the structure of your navigation
- updating extensions
- enhancing security
- reorganising content
- adding a CDN
- modern, responsive redesign
With these improvements, your site becomes faster, safer and more pleasant for users to browse.
8. Update or migrate? How to decide
To understand which solution makes more sense for you, consider these three key criteria:
1. Current state of your website: if it is stable and recoverable, updating may be enough.
2. Your goals for the next few years: if you want to grow digitally, publish more content, integrate modern tools and invest seriously in SEO, WordPress may offer more possibilities.
3. Overall cost over time: updating may be cheaper right now, but migrating can reduce maintenance costs and limitations in the long run.
The right decision is the one that gives you stability and room to grow, not just a temporary patch.
FAQ
It depends on your needs. Joomla is still functional, but very old sites can limit speed, SEO results and how easily you can manage the content.
Yes. We have worked with Joomla since the very first versions and we still maintain several Joomla projects actively and safely.
In most cases, yes. We need to review the current version, installed extensions and compatibility issues before moving forward.
Frequent errors, slow loading, extensions that have stopped working, difficulty editing content and compatibility problems with recent PHP versions.
Yes, as long as it is done with proper backups, preliminary testing and replacement of incompatible extensions. A technical audit up front greatly reduces risk.
It depends on the template you are using. Many older templates no longer have support, but it is often possible to recreate a similar layout or move to a more modern design.
In many cases, yes. Newer versions allow better technical performance, cleaner structure and improved compatibility with current SEO best practices.
When you need modern features, more autonomy to edit content, better performance or when your current Joomla setup has simply become too limited for your business.
No. Text, images, categories and menus can be migrated safely and reorganised within the new site.
When the migration is done with correct redirects and performance improvements, SEO usually remains stable and can even improve.
For most people, yes. The WordPress dashboard is more intuitive and visual, allowing you to edit pages and content with much greater autonomy.
The best approach is to request a technical audit. That way, you know the real state of your site and which option is safer and more advantageous in your situation.
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