Compared to Joomla 3, the interface of Joomla 4 was significantly altered and new features were added when it was released two years ago. Although these enhancements were advantageous, they also presented challenges for users migrating from Joomla 3 to Joomla 4. Furthermore, because Joomla 4 and Joomla 3 differed greatly, many website owners were forced to start over while building their websites.
It is anticipated that developers will release Joomla 5 in 2023, around two years following the release of Joomla 4, based on the standard release cycle. As anticipated, Joomla! 5 was just made available on October 17, 2023. But since there were significant changes from Joomla 3 to Joomla 4, it makes sense that users would be worried about possible differences and difficulties with this new Joomla! 5.
Are there as many differences in Joomla 5 as many users are concerned about? We’ll go over the list of new features in Joomla 5 and how they can impact your website in today’s blog. Right now. In the parts that follow, we will examine Joomla 5’s improvements and enhancements.
What are the outstanding Joomla 5 new features?
Backward Compatibility – Behavioral Plugin
When you convert from Joomla 4 to Joomla 5, this Behavioral plugin will help you kick if your extensions don’t adhere to the most recent Joomla coding standard. That allows you to guarantee backward compatibility. Furthermore, you can experiment with it and turn off the plugin to see if your website still works perfectly.
In conclusion, this helpful function has been expertly implemented within Joomla 5 to ensure a seamless experience for you. Furthermore, this application will ensure that your extensions and configurations are preserved throughout the transfer, allowing you to fully immerse yourself without any problems.
Dark Mode in Administrator
This new feature in Joomla 5 is an excellent fit if you’re interested in working in dark mode. The dark mode is still supported by Joomla 5 developers for both administrators and users. Still, there’s a small distinction from Joomla 4. An aesthetically pleasing system that may be easier on the eyes is offered by Joomla 5, particularly in dimly lit areas.
Furthermore, by lowering eye strain, providing a contemporary and pleasant working environment, and boosting the administrator interface’s visual attractiveness, Joomla’s enhanced dark mode feature contributes to an overall better user experience.
Expanded Font Selection in Cassiopeia
Once you update to Joomla 5, you can see the increased typographic options when you use Cassiopeia, the default Joomla template. A multitude of system typefaces are available to users, all of which are neatly integrated into the framework. You can rely less on outside resources like Google Fonts because of it. You have complete control over this independent method, allowing you to experiment with a variety of typefaces without being dependent on anyone else.
Installation Progress Bar
Once you update to Joomla 5, you can see the increased typographic options when you use Cassiopeia, the default Joomla template. A multitude of system typefaces are available to users, all of which are neatly integrated into the framework. You can rely less on outside resources like Google Fonts because of it. You have complete control over this independent method, allowing you to experiment with a variety of typefaces without being dependent on anyone else.
Rich Snippets Improvements
Joomla 5 has completely changed the way you can increase the visibility of your website in search results. Search engines like Google can now produce visually appealing rich snippets that enhance the way your content appears in search results thanks to the power of structured data.
Joomla used to have an amazing ability to produce rich snippets. But since a large portion of this functionality relied on hard-coded inline microdata, backend customization proved to be extremely difficult.
On the other hand, you can add and modify structured data using the Joomla backend because of the new features in Joomla 5, which streamlines search engine optimization and improves website visibility. Depending on the options you select, a variety of schema.org fields will become available, enabling you to provide additional information like cooking time, ingredients, and much more.
300 Characters for Meta Description
If in Joomla 4 the meta description is only limited to 160 characters, in Joomla 5 you can add a maximum of 300 characters for the meta description. This Joomla 5 new feature will help you boost your website’s SEO with longer meta descriptions. Moreover, it provides more detailed information for your blog so that you will have a chance to attract more potential visitors to visit your website.
AVIF Support in Media Manager
With the help of Joomla 5 new features, you can totally make use of the AVIF image format in your media manager. This state-of-the-art format not only compresses images better but also amps up the quality. This means your website will load faster than before version and give your users the ultimate browsing experience.
Fontawesome 6 Integration
Joomla 5 offers a useful integration with Fontawesome 6.4, which provides you with a huge collection of eye-catching icons. Hence, in Joomla 5, you will be surprised by the ability to enhance the visual appeal of your website with modern and visually striking symbols.
Code Mirror 6 and TinyMCE Editor 6.7
Another great Joomla 5 new feature is that the default TinyMCE text editor was updated to version 6.7, so its interface looks a bit cutting-edge and has some latest options. Content creators make use of a wealth of features to make their work shine like never before.
Additionally, the Code Mirror text editor was also updated from version 5.65.12 to 6.0.0.
Align Images in TinyMCE
Notably, you have the ability to align images to the Left, Right and Center by using the Image button in the TinyMCE editor. As a result, you don’t need to adjust your image manually as before.
Password Requirements Checklist
In Joomla 5, developers optimized the process of changing your passwords via the profile page on your website. In addition, it provides you with clear information about the minimum password requirements. This helps ensure that your password is strong and meets the necessary security standards.
By showcasing this information, Joomla will help you create strong passwords that are both secure and compliant with best practices. Further, this Joomla 5 new feature also enhances the safety of your account and gives you peace of mind.
Menu Order Adjustment In The Sidebar
Now you have the power to customize your menu items that you never did before. Users can even change the position of the whole menu. This feature is really necessary when your website has a wide range of menus.
User Action Logs Enhancements
User Action Logs had a lot of improvement in Joomla 5. First of all, it gives you an ultra-detailed look into what your users are up to. Moreover, there are several helpful functionalities added to the User Action Logs such as Edit of Custom Field by a User, User Blocking, User Unblocking, Creation of New Custom Field by a User, and User Not Found.
Smart Search
The next great Joomla 5 new feature is smart search. Joomla 5 offers a lot of enhancements in search.
- Search in Custom Fields
Now, you are able to filter and search content by custom fields. This new change helps you quickly find exceptional information on your website.
- Photos of Contacts in Search Results
There is a significant change in search results of photos of contacts. You can not only check out the intro images of the article, but also you can feast your eyes on the photos of your contact right there in the search result. Additionally, you can add a personal touch to your website.
- Hide/Show Archived Articles in Search Results
Besides that, the Smart Search – Content extension offers a new option to display or hide archives blogs in the search results.
What are the technical requirements for Joomla 5?
Before implementing the upgrade for your Joomla website, let’s ensure the following technical requirements:
PHP version: Joomla 5 requires PHP 8.1 or higher. It is recommended to use the latest stable version of PHP for better performance and security.
Database: Joomla 5 supports different database types, including MySQL (8.0.13 or higher), MariaDB (10.4.x or higher) and PostgreSQL (12.0 or higher).
Web server: This new version of Joomla can run on several web servers, such as Apache (2.4 or higher), Nginx ( 1.21 or higher) or Microsoft IIS (10 or higher).
What are the notable strengths of Joomla 5 over Joomla 4?
- Ease of Use
Joomla is famous for its super easy usability, so it has become a perfect choice for countless web owners. And now, Joomla still continues to keep this strength. With the latest Joomla 5 upgrade, you can manage your website’s content without effort, especially with the dark mode feature in the administrator.
- Advanced Features and Functionalities
As we listed above, Joomla 5 provided users with a massive amount of advanced Joomla 5 new features in this official release. As a result, you can simplify the process of managing your content effectively. If you are going to build a professional e-commerce site, or a personal blog, then Joomla will not let you be disappointed with the unlimited possibilities that were introduced in their new major version a few days ago.
- Enhanced Security
Joomla 5 takes security super seriously. They’re all about keeping your website safe and sound. With their regular updates and speedy response to any security problems, you can rest easy knowing your site is in good hands. Besides that, Joomla 5 has had a major makeover, tapping into all the cool new PHP features and best practices out there. It’s like giving your website a fresh coat of paint, but with a whole lot more smart. Plus, they’ve got your back with valid HTML and CSS, making sure your site stays secure and intact.
- Flexibility with Extensions
One of the most Joomla 5 new features is that Joomla 5 supports more useful extensions and plugins that provide you with more functionalities for your website. Therefore, you can make the most of these tools to customize and expand your website according to your specific needs and requirements.
- Enhanced Extension Management
It is obvious that Joomla 5 gave users a lot of remarkable improvements in managing third-party extensions. Although upgrading the core Joomla is a piece of cake, many users still deal with managing these third-party tools. Luckily, Joomla 5 was born and handled all these difficulties. The new version of Joomla has streamlined this process, making sure those extensions are super compatible and a breeze to manage.
- Fast performance
If you want to improve your website’s performance, then you can upgrade your site to Joomla 5. Thanks to Joomla 5 new features, you have the capability to edit from the front end and back end quickly and easily with keyboard shortcuts. Further, you can also speed up your website effectively by enabling site and page caching. Last but not least, all default templates in Joomla 5 score 100% one core web vitals out of the box. Thanks to these enhancements, you can have fast and stable website performance from the start and ensure a seamless user experience.