Umbraco vs Joomla: why Umbraco stands out for modern web development

Selecting the right content management system (CMS) for your website can be overwhelming, with several options available.

Among the leaders, Umbraco and Joomla both have solid reputations and large user bases, with this comparison looking at the capabilities of each.

Overview: what is Umbraco?

Umbraco is an open-source CMS built on Microsoft’s .NET platform, popular with digital agencies, enterprise teams and organisations looking for custom solutions.

Designed to be developer-first, it allows full control over the structure, design, and functionality of your site or app, whilst providing a clean, modular architecture and modern back-office user interface (UI).

Key features:

• Built on .NET (C#)

• Fully customisable content models

• Razor/MVC templating

• User-friendly back office

• Strong security and scalability

• Versatile hosting options

Umbraco’s motto: “The Friendly CMS,” reflects its commitment to both developer experience and editor usability.

Overview: what is Joomla?

Established in 2005, Joomla is an open-source CMS built in PHP which powers millions of websites globally. Known for its wide range of extensions, it strikes a balance between ease of use and flexibility, offering a middle ground between simple blogging platforms like WordPress and more developer-centric CMSs.

Key features:

• PHP-based

• Integrated multilingual capabilities without third-party plugins

• Modular content architecture

• Wide range of extensions

• Multilingual support out of the box

• Active global community

Joomla has a loyal following and is especially appealing for users comfortable with PHP who want more control than WordPress, without diving into fully custom development. It also has integrated multilingual capabilities enabling users to create and manage content in multiple languages from the start.

Umbraco vs. Joomla

Technology stack and development flexibility

Built on the Microsoft .NET platform, Umbraco is a natural fit for organisations already using Microsoft technologies. It offers a clean, object-oriented codebase that appeals to developers looking for a robust and flexible system, whilst its API-first design and support for Razor templating and MVC architecture give developers full control over how websites function and render.

Joomla, on the other hand, is built with PHP and uses a more rigid templating system which, while customisable, can be more limiting compared to Umbraco’s developer freedom.

User experience and interface

One of Umbraco’s strongest features is its modern, intuitive back office - providing content editors and marketers with a clean and easy way to manage content, alongside the ability to create custom workflows, and preview content before publishing.

In comparison, Joomla’s admin interface, while powerful, can feel cluttered and dated with new users often facing a steep learning curve due to simple content updates being unnecessarily complex.

Multilingual support

One of the key strengths of Umbraco is its flexible and developer-friendly approach to multilingual content, which ensures developers and editors have full control over how the site(s) and subsequent content is structured and managed. For those using Umbraco, setting up multilingual sites is further streamlined with built-in tools that simplify language configuration and deployment workflows, making Umbraco an excellent choice for custom multilingual solutions tailored to specific project needs.

Joomla, by contrast, offers built-in multilingual capabilities out of the box, including language packs, content associations, and translation workflows that don’t require third-party tools. That said, and whilst advantageous for smaller or rapidly-deployed projects this does offer fewer customisation options for complex or unique requirements, especially when compared to Umbraco’s extensible architecture.

Customisation and extensibility

Often referred to as the “CMS that doesn’t get in your way”, Umbraco provides a solid core for developers to build exactly what they need—without being forced into pre-made structures or templates; whilst the flexibility to create tailored content models, custom editors, and integrate with external systems is a major advantage.

In comparison, and whilst Joomla does provide a wide range of extensions and plugins, its ecosystem is less focused on developers, the plugins often conflict with one another, and long-term maintenance can be difficult.

Performance and scalability

Built on .NET, Umbraco benefits from enterprise-grade performance and security, and scales effortlessly—from small marketing sites to global, multi-language platforms with millions of users; whilst Azure and other cloud hosting options provide easy deployment, load balancing, and CI/CD pipelines.

Joomla on the other hand can perform well with proper configuration but scaling large or complex sites often involves third-party solutions or heavy customisation.

Security and maintenance

Security is a top priority for any CMS, and Umbraco’s use of .NET and regular updates make it a secure choice, with its active community and transparent release cycle ensuring vulnerabilities are patched quickly.

Joomla has certainly made strides in security, but its plugin ecosystem and PHP base can increase exposure to risks if not carefully maintained.

Community and support

Umbraco’s community, often dubbed the “Umbraco family,” is known for being welcoming, supportive, and highly professional. Enterprise-grade support plans are also offered by Umbraco, alongside official documentation, and a partner ecosystem for development help.

Joomla has a large global community as well; however, its support experience can vary widely depending on the issue or plugin in question.

Conclusion

Both Umbraco and Joomla offer powerful tools for building and managing websites and each has its strengths depending on the needs and technical preferences of the organisation.

Joomla provides a well-rounded, open-source solution with a long-standing user base, particularly for those familiar with PHP and looking for a modular CMS with out-of-the-box multilingual capabilities. However, when considering long-term scalability, development flexibility, editor usability, and enterprise readiness, Umbraco is a clear winner. Its foundation on .NET, modern content editing interface, clean architecture, and strong community support make it particularly well-suited for organisations seeking a customisable and future-proof CMS.

Interested in hearing more?

Need help deciding between Umbraco and Joomla for your business? Get in touch with the 16i team.