I have used WordPress in the past but settled on Joomla in 2009.

WordPress is a very popular free and open-source content management system and is used by 40% of the world's websites. There are many other website development options including Wix, Squarespace, Drupal etc.

Joomla is also a free and open-source content management system which was developed in 2005. It has won many awards. It is used my large companines with complex website requirements but is also great for small websites. 

Joomla and WordPress do make use of 3rd party extensions to enhance functionality of websites.  However, Joomla has worked very hard to create the core product with enough functionality to reduce the need for third party extensions. The structure of Joomla core has been simplified and it is much easier to use than it used to be. 

When 3rd party extensions are introduced to a website there is the risk of the code being vulnerable to hackers and also conflicting with other extensions. 

Joomla has strong community support and excellent documentation, videos and tutorials.

I have never had a Joomla website hacked.

WordPress would not be so popular if it was bad. However, it is marketed as very easy to use which is not strictly true. There is a learning curve and the more complex the site, the more knowledge and experience you need. 

Although Joomla and WordPress are free to use, in order to gain the most from either of these you need to:

• Be prepared to study basic coding like CSS and Java Script and php or employ someone to assist you to get the site looking as you want it to.
• You will probably need to add extensions if you want extra features such as templates, custom forms, e-commerce, firewalls, backups etc and there is usually a cost for these features. 

It comes down to personal preference and I have chosen Joomla.