The Internet wasn’t always this way. In the last ten years, we’ve seen the emergence of Facebook and Twitter as two of the most-visited Websites in history. Facebook in particular garners so much Internet traffic — no surprise considering it has at least 750 million members — that some are worried that it could swallow the Internet whole, making individual Websites obsolete. While most people build their sites with WordPress, Shopify, or Wix, we are going to focus on a great alternative to those called Joomla.

A single Website now has enormous influence on the entire Internet — but there are 250 million Websites out there, and there is one system that powers 2.8 percent of them — Joomla! represents 6.8 percent of Websites with known content management systems. This article will take a look at four ways that Joomla! benefits Website owners and the Internet in general.

Joomla! Websites have the latest in Web security.

The Joomla! system is updated every 20 to 60 days to address security vulnerabilities, in addition to cosmetic and maintenance issues. While this may seem like a lot for a system that should be supposedly “ready” to use, it’s important to keep in mind that Joomla! is a free download and the updates are free as well. It’s also important to understand that, behind the scenes of most professional-looking Websites you visit everyday, there is a constant struggle between those who are running Websites and those who want to attack, deface, and hijack Websites. This has become a cops-and-robbers chase between the good guys and bad guys. Luckily for those who own a Website powered by Joomla!, there are hundreds of developers around the world who are dedicated to its improvement, and who work tirelessly to patch any vulnerabilities that are discovered. 

(Note: If you have a Website powered by Joomla!, it’s not quite guaranteed that you have the latest security patches installed; to ensure you’re safe, you’ll want to obtain a service agreement with a reputable Web developer, like us!)

Joomla! Websites are optimized for search engines.

Web security isn’t the only facet of the Internet where there is a cat-and-mouse chase happening. While not quite as nefarious, there are plenty of Website owners who would want to trick search engines such as Google and Bing into thinking their site is better than their competitors’. As the Internet has evolved, so have these so-called “black-hat” developers improved their techniques to fool search engines. 

For us honest developers, that means search engines have continually refined their standards as to what constitutes a properly designed Website. Thankfully, Joomla! has always been designed to allow Website owners to control the look and feel of their Websites — and of course the code underlying its presentation. This control comes in the form of Website templates — and the standard templates that Joomla! ships with are fully compatible with all known standards for Web design, nationally and internationally. For you, this means you can expect that your site will be properly analyzed by search engines and displayed to the public in its proper ranking on their results pages. This helps the Internet as a whole because search engines can be sure that their standards are being widely adopted, and continue to expand upon them unimpeded.

Joomla! Websites are mobile-ready.

This is one of the most-requested features of new Websites, and Joomla! is completely with you on this one. Starting with the latest series, Joomla! 3, all Joomla Websites ship with mobile-ready templates that adapt to the size of the screen of users. Using a mobile-focused software package called Bootstrap, Joomla! sites are user-friendly to visitors who are using a desktop, laptop, smartphone, or any other Internet-connected device that you’d use to browse their sites. Mobile-ready sites don’t need as much Internet traffic to deliver pages, meaning that the Internet isn’t being clogged with thousands of people downloading images and files that can’t be seen or viewed on certain devices.

Joomla! Websites are adaptable to any business.

It happens all the time: An entrepreneur sense a new opportunity and jumps at the chance to make a profit, only to find that his or her initial assumptions were not quite correct and some adjustments need to be made. Maybe the product stays the same, but the business model changes; or maybe a product’s performance reveals previously untapped service. Joomla! Websites, fortunately, can be adjusted in just about any way to fit the needs of a business or organization. For instance, a Website can start out as an informational, static one, and as the business grows, a shopping cart could be installed and launched to the public without having to re-work the entire site. And for businesses that “pivot” into a new direction, a Joomla! site could be reconfigured to accommodate the businesses’ new needs. 

Flexibility in business makes for a more successful business — and successful businesses make for a better Internet.

If you are a Website owner and you want to have the latest security on a search-engine optimized Website that can be accessed from mobile devices and are adaptable to your business, contact Anchored Web Solutions today.