Joomla is free, open-source Content Management System software. Some people assume that, since it is free, Joomla must be a "lite" version of traditional web design software that costs hundreds of dollars, such as Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft FrontPage, now Microsoft Expression Web.

Content Management Software

     However, in many ways, Joomla is more powerful than Dreamweaver and FrontPage/Expression. Even more important, it is easier to learn for web design, and it is much easier for someone to insert new content or change content. Click here for a link to a YouTube video on changing content from the "front end," without even getting into the more technical "back end."
    The most difficult part of paying someone to set up a website is to make sure that the content is current. That is much easier using Joomla than with traditional web design software, which means that content is not going to get stale, and people are going to be more impressed with the content of the site.
    Why Joomla?

• Of all the CMS programs, Joomla has more innovation; 2007 will have been the greatest year of change since Joomla began.
• Joomla won the award for Best Open Source Software in the UK Linix Open Source Conference for the last two years in a row.
  
• Joomla has a devoted base of developers who are submitting extensions to Joomla, mostly free. Every week sees dozens of new and updated extensions -- much more than any other CMS platform.
• Joomla 1.5 is much easier for developers to develop extensions for than earlier versions, and the amount of developer innovation can be expected to increase.
  
• With the current level of support, Joomla is more likely to continue  its strong growth and development than other CMS platforms.