I recently switched from Joomla over to WordPress. One major step which was preventing me from making the move for so long was the export process. Then I found a post on rangit.com which had a script which would allow you to move the content over. But there was a problem. WordPress had changed its database schema in its latest version (2.3.2) thus breaking the script (linked above). So I decided to take this on as a side project and fix it. I also made some changes which will make it even easier to use this script; such as allowing the user to set table prefixes in the config file.

UPDATE: This version of the script has been tested and works on all versions of Joomla between  1.0.12 – 1.5 and WordPress 2.3.2 -2.7 and works pretty smoothly. So it should work with the latest versions of both CMS platforms! Make sure to post your success or failure and which version you were using in the comments.

Step by Step Instruction (with Screenshots):

1. Unzip Joomla2WordPress.zip
2. Edit config.php and enter all missing values

3. Upload files to /export on your server

4. Add Categories in wordpress which you want to import into
5. Open www.yoursite.com/export/index.php on a browser

6. Select either a Joomla Section, Category or Links Category

7. Select a WordPress Category to import into

8. Repeat Steps 5-7 till all of your articles have been imported

9. Enjoy and Spread the word!

Download: Joomla2WordPress Import Wizard

JoomlaShack.com surveyed over 3,600 individuals who use the Joomla CMS. The survey yielded some very interesting results. The findings state:

“Perhaps one of the more surprising results, this seems to imply that Joomla finds more users in the business community than the non-profit world. One possibility however, is that these are web designers using Joomla for their clients of all types.”

Questions on what other CMS’s are used by these individuals bought up the usual suspects; WordPress followed by drupal.

Read the entire report here.

There’s a really good Comparison Chart here. Ayaz and I had this discussion a while ago, when we first created our respective blogs using Joomla. We quickly realized the shortcomings the Joomla CMS had when it came to blogging. For starters it didn’t have a built in commenting or tagging (taxonomy) system. When I complained about this on the joomla forums I was told that Joomla wasn’t going to cater to any specific crowd (i.e. bloggers). The point was made that Joomla is used for all types of sites, and 3rd party plugins were available to customize your site. As a developer in the back of my mind I also knew that if I wanted something really well integrated I would either have to wait a really long time or just develop something myself.

This site is my first attempt at working Drupal and I have to say that having blogging and commenting modules built in really makes a difference when deciding between Drupal or Joomla, well at least when picking between the two for a blogging platform.

I have also worked with WordPress and I think thats the best platform for people who just want to blog. Drupal might be a step above that if you want your site to be more feature rich. I think as of now Joomla is the most extensive (Look at the camparison chart to see what Joomla has that Drupal doesn’t). Joomla also has a ton of extensions to play with developed by third party developers.

I’m going to continue to work with all of them to understand their ins and outs. I will develop my next group project in Drupal. Will keep you updated…..