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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    ExpressionEngine

    Score7.8 out of 10
    N/AExpressionEngine is a content management system from EllisLab in 2002, a successor to pMachine Pro, a blogging system, which is written in object-oriented PHP and uses MySQL for data storage. ExpressionEngine is their flagship Content Delivery Platform.

    $249

    per year

    Joomla

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AJoomla! is a free and open source content management system used to publish web content. Included features are page caching, RSS feeds, printable versions of pages, news flashes, blogs, polls, a search function, and support for language internationalization.N/A
    Pricing
    ExpressionEngineJoomla
    Editions & Modules
    License
    $299.00
    One Time Fee
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ExpressionEngineJoomla
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ExpressionEngineJoomla
    Considered Both Products
    Open Source
    Chose ExpressionEngine
    ExpressionEngine outweighs most all of its competitors by being so flexible. If you can imagine it, then you can build it with EE (ExpressionEngine). Most competitors lock you in with certain ways to build your website or use only their tools; ExpresionEngine gives you the …
    Incentivized
    Chose ExpressionEngine
    WordPress has millions of users. Millions! It also has thousands of plugins and add-ons, both free and premium, an easy, automatic updating system, and a user-friendly control panel. It also has numerous installable themes that can fit a wide variety of website needs, from the …
    Incentivized
    Chose ExpressionEngine
    WordPress: When I bought Expression Engine, WordPress didn't have the member management features of EE. They've now caught up on that score. EE still beats WP on templating and design options. WordPress has a much strong community. WordPress is more likely to be a hacking …
    Chose ExpressionEngine
    While other options can be cheap or free, EE costs a bit. However, it isn't as expensive as a product like Sitefinity. It's secure. Reliable. Stable. Has a very supportive and talented community of developers and designers. And it's very scalable. I call it the Honda of content …
    Chose ExpressionEngine
    I would recommend it over let's say:

    • Simple
    Chose ExpressionEngine
    ExpressionEngine was easiest to develop in. Wordpress is easier to train a lay person on how to add an article/content to. Word press is slightly better at delivering blog type content, but ExpressionEngine is quite good. ExpressionEngine is easier to train a lay person for …
    Chose ExpressionEngine
    I've used WordPress for much smaller sites with a very limited budget and fast turn-around time. WordPress does well at installing, adding a theme, minor customizations and launch in a very fast timeframe. This can all be realistically done in a single sitting. ExpressionEngine …
    Chose ExpressionEngine
    For functionality and flexibility, ExpressionEngine content management system software is a versatile option for operations large and small. It has obviously extended its reach to many professional websites, which is evidenced on the front page of their product site. It may …
    Incentivized
    The Joomla Project
    Chose Joomla
    We do currently use ExpressionEngine (EE) as well as it gives us some more flexibility when trying to display documents/ reports in an automated manner and better file management and integration with FTP. We weren't very happy with Squarespace as it has a challenging user …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Would buy again
    14 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    13 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    87%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    14 Answers
    Features
    ExpressionEngineJoomla
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of ExpressionEngine and Joomla!
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    10.0
    36 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Joomla!
    8.3
    51 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Role-based user permissions10.036 Ratings8.351 Ratings
    Platform & Infrastructure
    Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of ExpressionEngine and Joomla!
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    9.0
    29 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Joomla!
    6.6
    48 Ratings
    17% below category average
    API9.025 Ratings7.246 Ratings
    Internationalization / multi-language9.023 Ratings6.047 Ratings
    Web Content Creation
    Comparison of Web Content Creation features of ExpressionEngine and Joomla!
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    8.9
    36 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Joomla!
    7.7
    54 Ratings
    2% below category average
    WYSIWYG editor10.033 Ratings8.353 Ratings
    Code quality / cleanliness9.135 Ratings8.551 Ratings
    Admin section7.135 Ratings8.249 Ratings
    Page templates10.030 Ratings7.052 Ratings
    Library of website themes7.011 Ratings6.350 Ratings
    Mobile optimization / responsive design10.018 Ratings7.550 Ratings
    Publishing workflow9.028 Ratings8.450 Ratings
    Form generator9.021 Ratings7.446 Ratings
    Web Content Management
    Comparison of Web Content Management features of ExpressionEngine and Joomla!
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    8.1
    36 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Joomla!
    7.6
    52 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Content taxonomy8.128 Ratings7.951 Ratings
    SEO support10.028 Ratings7.650 Ratings
    Bulk management6.230 Ratings8.049 Ratings
    Availability / breadth of extensions8.035 Ratings7.052 Ratings
    Community / comment management8.132 Ratings7.150 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ExpressionEngineJoomla
    Small Businesses
    Umbraco CMS
    Score7 out of 10
    Umbraco CMS
    Score7 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Square Online
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Square Online
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    RWS Tridion Sites
    Score9 out of 10
    RWS Tridion Sites
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ExpressionEngineJoomla
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.1
    (64 ratings)
    8.2
    (75 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.2
    (36 ratings)
    10.0
    (28 ratings)
    Usability
    7.0
    (7 ratings)
    8.0
    (14 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.9
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    2.8
    (2 ratings)
    7.8
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.2
    (4 ratings)
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    6.9
    (3 ratings)
    8.7
    (3 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.9
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ExpressionEngineJoomla
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Open Source
    ExpressionEngine is a very powerful and flexible content management system. It can handle a simple small business website all the way to a large corporation's website. If you are a business with multiple websites ExpresionEngine can handle that as well with it's Multiple Site Manager. I think ExpressionEngine would be less appropriate for a global large scale business with a magnitude of sites with different regions and languages.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    If your developers want to have some fun, Joomla offers the stability and friendliness to do custom coding. Certain marketing initiatives require us to get "cute" with the interface, and Joomla allows for that a bit easier than WordPress (and definitely easier than sites like Squarespace). The security of Joomla is also always a plus.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Open Source
    • Content structuring. You can set up channels and fields to hold just about any kind of information imaginable; text, images, videos, numbers, code, etc. You can structure this information any way you want and in any order. You literally create your own information database just the way you want it using a clear, easy online interface.
    • Template system. Utter freedom. Need I say more?
    • Exensible. There are a lot of add-ons, extensions, and other external modules that extend the core functionality of ExpressionEngine. Need a user management system? Check out the User module at http://solspace.com.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    • Security. Its got many new features in the new Joomla! 4 which make the already good security even better. I like the ability to use my Yubi keys to log in with the new webauth standard, I don't think any other CMS has that built in
    • W3C Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (with AA compliance)
    • Really good SEO that gets our sites to the top of the search engines again without the need for any extra things
    • Speed, it gets a really good score (100%) in the google lighthouse on our server, can't beat that
    Read full review
    Cons
    Open Source
    • For me, one of the greatest strengths of ExpressionEngine is also one of their weaknesses. There are so many add-ons available (some free, some not) for ExpressionEngine to allow you to do just about anything you want. However, the more add-ons that you use the more you have to deal with when performing updates. For instance, is the add-on compatible with the new version of ExpressionEngine - or even another add-on? What if that add-on gets abandoned by the developer - is there another that can perform the same functionality?
    • I think that ExpressionEngine needs to offer more out of the box than it does. Yes, you can get add-ons for just about anything but this adds to the cost. I have a list of add-ons that I use on almost every site which can raise the cost of getting started with a new site by $100-300. So add that to the cost of a license and you're at $400-600 and you haven't even started working on it yet. For instance, I shouldn't have to buy an add-on to allow me to customize the menu for my end-users.
    • The membership management feature is seriously lacking. Fortunately, there are add-ons (for an additional cost) to allow you to manage things better.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    • Because Joomla's user community is smaller than WP, it lacks as many choices from 3rd party developers, meaning it can be a little more difficult to find the right extension for what you need to accomplish
    • Along the same vein, most of the best 3rd-party software for Joomla! is paid
    • Simple features such as Add to Menu and Cache cleaners should be adopted as part of the Joomla! core, though they are available as extensions
    • Joomla! could use a simpler and easier URL rewriting process
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Open Source
    I'm satisfied with the way that my site runs on EE. My primary concern is that support is now a profit center for EE's publisher and so they've consequently gutted their community support boards. However, a good EE community is developing at StackExchange. At this stage, I don't think that EE is a good choice for an individual site owner. WordPress or SquareSpace would be a better choice unless you have a budget for support.
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    I gave it a rating of 10 because I just love how Joomla! works, how it is set up and how it handles many users. Also it is very fast, and there is no overload on the MySQL database or servers ever.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Open Source
    ExpressionEngine is very powerful and flexible. With this flexibility comes a bit of a learning curve. There are some great online resources for getting up to speed with EE, but the control panel can be a bit daunting. A lot of EE's installation process involves settings, configurations and flipping of switches. It is tedious, but well worth it as you ultimately have a very robust, secure and scalable CMS. Also, as of version 2.9.2, the control panel isn't responsive natively. You'll want to have a big enough screen to see the full control panel UI. Personally, I think the control panel would benefit from a major overhaul. It would be nice to see the colors and UI controls "modernized" and be able to more effectively customize the layout. Yes, some of this is built-in, and there are third-party add-ons to help, but maybe we'll see more refinement in future versions.
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    Joomla! 3.x is easily installed either manually or via a script provided by your host. It contains most of the tools needed to begin creating websites right from the start. Those features that it doesn't have are easily installed via links and buttons from the thousands of extensions available in the community
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Open Source
    Never experienced an issue like this with it
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Open Source
    The admin section would slow to a crawl the larger the tag section grew. There were many areas where better pagination would've helped improve performance. Nothing complicated, which made the lag so frustrating
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    Today's Modern Joomla performs very well and is robust and durable. The pages load faster than they ever did in the past and Modern Joomla's integration into other software or systems has become seamless. Modern Joomla sites will last long and will stay running forever.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Open Source
    I have personally never found any complications when trying to receive support from EllisLab in regards to ExpressionEngine when using the support plans they offer. I have always been responded to promptly and received satisfactory help with whatever my needs were in an extremely timely manner. This makes rating the support offered an easy job for me
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    Between the core Joomla developers who are excellent at answering questions and providing support, you have a whole community of developers who work with Joomla and are happy to help fellow developers out answering questions and supporting the Joomla project. Out of the many communities I am involved in for open-source software, Joomla's community is by far the best.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Open Source
    No answers on this topic
    The Joomla Project
    It is good if you know Joomla! if not it can get a bit confusing
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Open Source
    After installing the system a few times, you can see a pattern of things that have to be done to work the way you want them (settings, paths, etc.). By knowing what you want, you can put together some scripts that prepare the file system for installation, adjust post installation configuration settings, and install initial templates.
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    Joomla has gone through tremendous growing pains. It is now better than ever. But before, when it was going from 1.5-2.5, the templates and plugins would break over and over again. If you don't understand what Joomla was trying to do back then, you might have a bad attitude toward it. Today, those pains are over and things don't break like they used to during that time period.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Open Source
    ExpressionEngine is vastly more flexible than any other content management system I have used to date and the quality of the add-ons are significantly higher than what you find in other directories. The ExpressionEngine community is also very willing and helpful with if you have any questions or run into any issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    We tested other platforms like WordPress, Magento and some local CMS. 
    But Joomla offered us better resources for generating content.
    Joomla is a CMS suitable for many types of projects, especially if you have several people editing content at the same time.
    It allows you to maintain visual standardization and offers many options for working with images.
    With its ability to control access to different articles, categories or even different components, it is a great tool, even if they are managed by different people.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Open Source
    Maybe it's scale-able from the content user perspective, but it was very limited from the programmers perspective. So many custom hacks were necessary that it reached a point it would be impossible to upgrade to a newer version
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Open Source
    • Being able to be recognized as a leader within the ExpressionEngine development community has led to us being sought out by those customers seeking expert guidance.
    • We tend to specialize in using ExpressionEngine for our customers, so it has been easier to ramp new resources up on our development process, as well as be able to seek out independent experts to use as sub contractors or freelancers.
    • As we have been using ExpressionEngine almost exclusively for a number of years, we have built a reusable repository of proprietary code that makes our development process much more efficient and decreases the effort required for our projects.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    The Joomla Project
    • Joomla has reduced our costs of rolling out a new website because it uses less developer time and can be rolled out by individual users as needed.
    • Joomla has a lot of extensions and add-ons that make it easy to create and implement advanced solutions quickly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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