Joomla is popular open source content management system. In other words, you can create a website, a blog or a portal with Joomla. I've known about Joomla existence several years ago. In fact, I've been using Joomla cms as a platform for my employer's website. I just want to share my thought about Joomla, my experience as a user. Perhaps it can help someone make a decision whether to use it or not.

My first impression several years ago when I tried Joomla was, Joomla is not as easy as people say it is. Yes, without proper Joomla training, I just can't figure out where to start. There were also not many tutorials about Joomla at that time. I had to create proper 'Standard Operating Procedure' about everything so that I won't forget how to do things in Joomla. I managed to create Joomla menu and link it to an article. I've managed to survive managing Joomla website for 2 years without fully understand how it works(as end user).

There are several reasons that contribute to the above situation. I have no proper training about Joomla and I don't have enough time to explore. Also, it's hard to find a basic guide on how to use Joomla for a first time user in the Internet. There are several tutorials that supposed to explain everything about Joomla but reading it just make you more confused.

Those reasons seems like an excuse, isn't it? I know. Perhaps the real reason that make me hesitate to learn Joomla is because of security threats. There are so many exploits about Joomla and they were released every week. I feel like wasting my time learning something that I am not interested in. Other real factor maybe because Joomla failed w3c validation (Joomla 1.0.x at that time).

Now, after a year I work for a different employer, I start learning Joomla again. This time, with Joomla 1.5.x, it really feels different. Joomla is much easier to use, the administrator menu is much simpler, and everything seems organised. I really enjoy using Joomla. I decided to try the old Joomla 1.0.x version again, and it's not that bad like I used to feel. Time does changed people's thought!

Now the conclusion, if you ask me, do I recommend Joomla for a beginner? I would say, definitely, yes. If you ask me again, what about the security threats? My answer would be, as long as you consistently update the security patches, you will be fine.

My advice, if you have no experience of using content management system before, get a proper training if you can. If not, take your time reading books or articles from the Internet. There are many excellent tutorials nowadays. Learning Joomla won't be hard any more.