{"id":1944,"date":"2020-07-27T15:09:49","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T22:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ultimatewb.com\/blog\/?p=1944"},"modified":"2026-05-12T22:21:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:21:58","slug":"how-come-joomla-is-so-complicated-is-it-worth-it-to-learn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultimatewb.com\/blog\/1944\/how-come-joomla-is-so-complicated-is-it-worth-it-to-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"How come Joomla is so complicated? Is it worth it to learn?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n \n \"joomla-website-admin-panel-complicated\"\n <\/picture>\n <\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many people choose Joomla<\/a> because it\u2019s a well-known name, but fame doesn\u2019t always equal a good user experience. In reality, Joomla often comes with a \u201ccomplexity tax\u201d – it forces you to work much harder than necessary to get basic results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand why it feels so \u201cclunky,\u201d and if it\u2019s worth the effort, we have to look at why it was built this way in the first place and how that \u201clegacy logic\u201d affects you today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The History: Born from a 2005 Revolution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Joomla didn\u2019t start from scratch. It was born from a 2005 \u201ccivil war\u201d within a project called Mambo<\/strong>. At the time, Mambo was a top-tier CMS, but it was owned by a commercial company (Miro International). The developers felt the company was taking too much control, so the entire core team quit and \u201cforked\u201d the code to create Joomla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the move was a victory for open-source<\/a> independence, the software inherited the \u201cPortal Logic\u201d of 2005. Back then, websites were viewed as complex \u201cportals\u201d with different people managing different parts. That structure is still baked into Joomla today, even though web development has moved on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Technical Wall: The Menu-Content Paradox<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is the biggest reason Joomla feels so complicated. In most modern systems, when you create a page, it\u2019s live. In Joomla, you are forced into a fragmented three-step process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The Article (The Content):<\/strong> You write your text, but it is unattached and hidden. It has no URL and won\u2019t show up on your site yet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The Menu Item (The Address):<\/strong> You always<\/strong> have to go to a separate Menu Manager to create a link and \u201chook\u201d your Article to it. This is the only way a page gets a web address.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The Module (The Furniture):<\/strong> If you want a sidebar or a search bar on that page, you have to go to a third<\/em> area and manually assign those \u201cModules\u201d to that specific Menu Item.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    It is a paradox because a system designed for \u201corganization\u201d actually creates disorganization<\/strong>. If you delete a menu item but forget the article, you get \u201cghost content\u201d taking up space in your database. You spend more time managing the relationship<\/em> between pieces than actually building your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The \u201cPatchwork\u201d Website Headache<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Beyond the menu system, Joomla core is very bare-bones, much like other open-source website builders like WordPress<\/a>. This means you always<\/strong> have to rely on third-party extensions<\/a> for basic needs like SEO<\/a> tools, contact forms, or image galleries. Unlike an all-in-one website builder like UltimateWB<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This creates a \u201cpatchwork\u201d website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n