How We Review
Every extension and template we review is installed on a real Joomla site, used until something breaks, and scored against the same published criteria. This page documents that process so you can judge whether our verdict is worth anything.
What gets reviewed
We review extensions and templates that a working Joomla site owner might realistically install: things with an active release history, a support channel, and compatibility with a currently supported Joomla version. We do not review abandoned projects except to warn people off them, and we do not review products that exist only as a marketing page.
Developers can submit a product for consideration, but submission does not buy coverage and does not buy a good score. We also pick products ourselves, and often the ones nobody submitted are the more interesting reviews.
The test environment
Reviews are run on a clean Joomla installation on standard shared-tier hosting — not on a tuned developer machine — because that is what most Joomla sites actually run on. We state the Joomla version, PHP version and hosting profile in every review. Where a product claims compatibility across several Joomla versions, we test the claim rather than repeat it.
Scoring criteria
We score out of 10 in five weighted areas:
| Criterion | Weight | What we are measuring |
|---|---|---|
| Does it work | 30% | Does it do what it advertises, on a supported Joomla version, without breaking the rest of the site? Conflicts with common extensions are tested and reported. |
| Maintenance & support | 25% | Release cadence, how fast security issues have historically been patched, whether support tickets get answered, and whether the project looks like it will exist next year. |
| Usability | 20% | How long it takes a competent site owner to get from install to working configuration, and how much of that time is spent guessing. |
| Performance impact | 15% | Measured page-weight and query-count delta on a controlled page, before and after installation. |
| Value | 10% | Price against what the alternatives cost and what the free options do. A free extension that solves the problem sets the bar. |
How we buy
We pay for commercial licences ourselves wherever possible. Where a developer provides a licence for testing we say so in the review; a provided licence buys access to the software and nothing else. We do not accept payment for a review, and we do not send drafts to developers before publication.
Re-testing and expiry
Reviews carry the date they were verified. A review older than twelve months, or one covering a product that has since had a major release, is re-tested or marked as out of date. Scores can move in both directions on re-test, and we note when they do.
Comparisons
In head-to-head comparisons every product is tested in the same environment, in the same week, against the same task. We publish the task. Where a product wins on one axis and loses on another we say that rather than forcing a single winner.
Disputes
Developers who believe a review contains a factual error should write to reviews@joomlaxtc.com with the specifics. We correct demonstrated errors under our Editorial Policy and publish a fair summary of a developer’s response where they disagree with our conclusions. We do not amend verdicts because a developer dislikes them.