Joomla.org has long served a global and diverse community of users, from those encountering content management systems for the first time to experienced developers and contributors deeply involved in open-source projects. Ensuring that this broad audience can find clarity, purpose, and direction on the site continues to be a central challenge for the Joomla project.

As part of the Master of Business Science program at Rutgers University, a group of students specializing in User Experience Design undertook a comprehensive UX research and redesign initiative focused on Joomla.org. Drawing on a curriculum that blends business strategy with human-centered design, and informed by their varied professional backgrounds, the team approached the project with analytical rigor and empathy.

Supported by regular mentorship from Joomla experts, the students conducted interviews, surveys, and accessibility audits, seeking to understand real user needs and pain points. Their work emphasizes clearer information architecture, more intuitive pathways, and structured onboarding—aimed at improving the experience for both new adopters and seasoned users of Joomla.

In the following interview, the team shares insights from their process, reflections on collaborating with an open-source community, and their vision for the future of Joomla.org.

Welcome to you four. Domenica, Manya, Vibha and Yoonju,

Could you introduce yourself and tell us why you chose the Master of Science in Business programme with a specialisation in UXD?  (mbs.rutgers.edu)

Yoonju - Hi, I'm Yoonju. I chose the MBS program with a concentration in UXD to pivot my career. Coming from a business background, I had opportunities to be involved in UX design related projects, and those experiences sparked my interest in pursuing UX/UI design more deeply. The program’s balance of user-centered design and real-world projects was a perfect fit for my goals. And I’m graduating this semester, having built a strong foundation in UX.

Manya - Hi, I’m Manya. I chose the MBS program with a UXD concentration because I wanted to pivot my career as well. I come from a social work background, but wanted to do something more creative while trying to keep the users or audience as the primary focus. I also felt that my social work background would help me in the business aspect as well because of the skills I had gained through my social work degree, such as communication and leadership. 

Domenica - I’m Domenica, and I chose the MBS program with a concentration in UX Design because I wanted to transition from architecture into digital design while still using the same human-centered approach. I’ve always been interested in understanding people and designing with empathy, and UX gives me the opportunity to apply that mindset in a more scalable way. The business focus of the MBS program was also important to me, since it has helped me build leadership and project management skills and better understand how UX fits into real-world business decisions.

Vibha - Hi I’m Vibha, and I chose the MBS program with a UXD concentration to be able to better understand the science and business behind designing successful digital tools. Coming from a background in technology, I wanted to find a creative space within technology. I have always been interested in user psychology and what makes certain apps stand out to users amongst the competition, and I found that UX design was exactly what ties all these components together. Pursuing the MBS degree has given me a lot of real-world exposure to learning what it takes to make technology actually useful to the people who need it to solve their problems.

Before this project, what did you know about Joomla—if anything?

Manya - Before this project, I did not know anything about Joomla, and the same can be said for my team members. Although we had never heard of Joomla before, we were all very keen to learn more about the CMS. After the first mentorship meeting, I understood that many people felt very passionately about the service and believed it to be better than many of the other CMS’s that are out there. So I researched Joomla and did my best to understand as much as I could about it. I wanted to know and fully understand why Joomla is the best choice for a CMS, because I believed that if I understood that, I could do a better job of conveying as much through the designs and the report. 

Your program blends business strategy with UX design. How did that shape your approach to redesigning Joomla.org?

Yoonju - As the program allows us to learn both business and UX together, we considered both perspectives at the same time during the redesign. We approached design decisions by focusing on user impact and engagement, not just interface improvements. Instead of redesigning everything, we prioritized changes that could reduce friction and encourage deeper engagement, such as clearer navigation paths and more intuitive labels. We applied business concepts to evaluate which UX improvements would most affect how users explore content and stay engaged with the site. This helped ensure that the design decisions focused on real user impact, rather than just visual improvements.

From interviews and surveys, which insight made you step back and rethink your assumptions about Joomla’s users?

Yoonju - It was pretty much close to my assumption. When I first visited Joomla.org, I felt unsure about what the site offered and easily got lost while navigating its complex structure. Interviews and surveys confirmed that many users shared this same experience, realizing that Joomla users struggle less with advanced features and more with knowing where to start and where to go next. Interviews and surveys showed that both new and experienced users needed clearer entry points and guidance. And this reinforced our focus on clarifying the site’s purpose and structuring information more clearly.

Manya - From the interviews and surveys, I found that my assumptions about Joomla’s users were pretty close to the insights I found. I assumed that the users would be very diverse and come from very different backgrounds. This assumption was proved correct after we conducted the surveys and received responses from people with all different levels of experience, both with Joomla and with CMS’s in general.

Domenica - Since at the beginning of this project, I was a new Joomla user, most of my assumptions were similar to those of new users as well. However, through interviews and surveys, I learned that more experienced users rely heavily on Joomla’s flexibility and customization, and they are willing to accept complexity in exchange for control. This helped me understand that Joomla’s user base is not one-size-fits-all, and that the needs and expectations of experienced users can differ significantly from those of new users.

Vibha - My insights from the interviews and surveys were very similar to the ones I had when I visited the Joomla website for the first time. It felt overwhelming and I did not know what to click first or how to get started. This feeling was shared by a lot of the interviewees as well, and I found out that a lot of them had quit learning or using Joomla just from the fact that the onboarding process made them anxious. But from the interview with experienced Joomla users, I understood that they were more focused on the perks Joomla had to offer compared to its competitors and they persisted through the complexity of navigating through the website.

Many new users described the homepage as overwhelming. How did you approach simplifying it?

Manya - In order to simplify the homepage, we first decided that the homepage should be more focused towards the newer or less experienced users. We then created a list of the priorities of everything the homepage includes or should include. From there, I took the most important aspects of the homepage—the download Joomla button, launch Joomla button, explanations of each, and comparisons between the two—and then I designed the wireframe of the homepage around these critical points of the page. I then incorporated elements such as the showcase of example sites using the Joomla CMS and the 20-year celebration banner.  

Experienced users mentioned confusion with labels and navigation across subdomains. How did these findings guide your IA redesign?

Yoonju - Those findings showed that the issue wasn’t a lack of content, but inconsistent mental models across subdomains. To address this, I analyzed existing labels and navigation patterns across Joomla.org, identified overlaps and redundancies, and reorganized content based on user intent rather than site ownership. The redesign emphasized clearer, action-based labels and a more consistent hierarchy, allowing users to better predict where content lives, even when navigating between subdomains. 

Joomla.org has more than 250 navigation items. How did you begin simplifying something so large?

Yoonju - We started by understanding the existing navigation system before redesigning. We reviewed all navigation items and categorized them by purpose, audience, and frequency of use. Rather than flattening everything, we created clear top-level buckets and pushed complexity into well-structured sub-levels while preserving important content.

How important is structured onboarding for a CMS like Joomla, and what improvements did you propose?

Domenica - Having structured onboarding is extremely important for a CMS like Joomla because many new users are not familiar with what a CMS is or how open-source platforms work. From our interviews, it became clear that confusion at the very beginning often leads to frustration. We proposed adding clear CTA buttons on the homepage to guide users toward the right next step, as well as dedicated pages that clearly explain what Joomla is, how to get started, and the difference between launching Joomla versus downloading it.

Users often confuse “Download Joomla” and “Launch Joomla.” How did you address this in your redesign?

Domenica - During our research through interviews and surveys, we found that many new users were confused by the difference between “Download Joomla” and “Launch Joomla.” While some users had a general idea, they were often unsure what would actually happen after clicking “Download Joomla,” which led to hesitation and a lack of trust.

Vibha - From the term “Download”, users were pretty clear on what the Download page led to. But they could only differentiate between the two pages by navigating back and forth to understand what each term meant. To solve this, we made a clear distinction on the homepage and added the points that would help them understand the difference between the ‘Download’ and the ‘Launch’ pages without the frustration of having to navigate back and forth. We also added resources and instructions to guide the users on how to carry out the installation and what to do next.

Yoonju - About the “Launch Joomla” page, users often misunderstood what “Launch Joomla” meant, so we clarified it as a guided starting point rather than an immediate technical action. Through more intentional placement and a clear, step-by-step “Launch Joomla” guide, we positioned it as a path that helps users understand their next steps, reducing hesitation and making the onboarding experience more approachable.

What role does emotional design play in making Joomla feel more welcoming to new users?

Vibha - We wanted to make users comfortable with the Joomla platform, so we conducted the emotional design analysis with the users by asking them questions about their reaction to the website and how they felt navigating through it. Most users felt overwhelmed and frustrated from the very beginning, and it was hampering their experience. Some of the things we did to help with this were understand the specific pain points of the users during the testing, and find out how we could make it better in terms of reorganizing the information to make it less overwhelming. Once we implemented this, we tested it with users again and asked them for their feedback for further iterations and recommendations.

Your accessibility audit revealed multiple WCAG issues. Which ones felt most urgent to address?

Manya - Of the WCAG issues that the accessibility audit revealed, the ones that felt the most urgent to address were those that failed to provide users with crucial accessibility features, such as alternative text for images or logos, and all controls being keyboard-operable. These features are crucial for basic navigation through any site for disabled persons, and so not having these accessibility flaws greatly hinders the number of people that the Joomla site can reach and reduces how many people are actually able to use the site. 

What feature or page in the prototype best represents the future you imagine for Joomla.org?

Yoonju - I’d say it’s the website’s redesigned structure. It clearly communicates what Joomla is, who it’s for, and where users should go next through role-based entry points and a more intentional information hierarchy. Rather than overwhelming users with everything at once, it guides them with clarity and confidence, which I see as essential for supporting both new adopters and long-term contributors.

Manya - I agree with Yoonju, I think the redesigned information architecture of the site is the most important aspect of our project because it represents what we were trying to do so well. I also think the simplicity of the homepage represents this future well because it is such a drastic change from the homepage as it is now, but it also draws the user’s attention to the most important aspects of the site. Designing that page felt like a full circle moment, after all the research we had conducted, it came back to the same questions: what is the main reason we were asked to redesign this site? What do we want the users to feel and understand when landing on the homepage?

Domenica - In addition to what my teammates mentioned, the feature that best represents the future I imagine for Joomla is the redesigned navigation bar. Reducing the number of navigation bars helps users focus on one task at a time instead of feeling overwhelmed by too many options. I also think using more of Joomla’s color palette is important, since it gives the site a more modern feel and helps attract a younger audience while still staying true to the Joomla brand.

Vibha - I agree with everyone, especially on the color scheme and the redesigned layout. The navigation has been made much more simple and it take fewer clicks for the user to get to the feature they’re looking for. And even a new user who doesn’t know what to look for now has specific guidance without the entire website being text-heavy. This is going to attract a lot more users to explore and discover all of the wonderful features Joomla has to offer.

How did the bi-weekly mentorship sessions influence your direction and decisions?

Domenica - The mentorship sessions were very important because they felt like true teamwork with Joomla experts. While we worked closely as our own group, Laura, Emmanuelle, and Carlos were always available to support us, answer questions, and guide our thinking. They also helped us reach a wider audience by connecting us with participants for interviews and surveys, which strengthened the quality of our research and decisions.

Vibha - We really benefited from the mentorship as feedback on our work was important to us. Laura, Emmanuelle and Carlos helped us understand the client’s point-of-view and provided much needed insight. They were always available for our questions, helped us get connected to several Joomla users to conduct our interviews and helped steer us towards progress. We were encouraged to openly share our design decisions and their reasoning, and every session with them would lead us to a clear path on what we wanted to iterate on next. We thank Laura, Emmanuel, Carlos and everyone at Joomla who helped us every step of the way.

What did this project teach you about working with an open-source community?

Manya - This project taught me that open-source communities are really tight-knit communities and are really committed to what their community is surrounding, in this case, the Joomla CMS. I also learned how open source communities work, and how the community members build the CMS themselves in order to be able to provide it for free. 

Domenica - This project also showed me how important collaboration and trust are when working with an open-source community. Because contributors are often volunteers, it’s essential to communicate clearly, listen carefully to feedback, and be respectful of their time and perspectives. Engaging directly with the community helped us gain more honest insights and reinforced the idea that successful decisions in open-source projects come from working with the community.

Finally, would you like to continue contributing to Joomla or open-source UX projects in the future?

Everyone - Yes, absolutely. We really enjoyed the project. It showed us how UX decisions can help organizations achieve their goals while also improving users’ overall experience on the platform. We’d love to continue contributing.

Is there anything you’d like to share with the Joomla community or your mentors before we wrap up?

Everyone - We want to thank the Joomla board for the opportunity, and we loved the opportunity to be able to redesign a website with almost free creative control. 

And the final word goes to the people who supported these students throughout their project: 
Carlos CAMARA, Laura GORDON et Emmanuel LEMOR :  

We want to say thank each member of the Rutgers UX project that worked on our joomla.org homepage UX project.

We appreciated your collective approach, curiosity and ability to translate our need into something concrete from which the Joomla Teams will be able to do something with...

While the study was only 6 weekly meetings with us, the results progressed each week through different aspects which allowed us to feel and see real progress and something we can really move forward with.

Thank you for your perseverance, and for giving actionable insights from which Joomla can act upon.