Oct 23 2007
Complete SEF URL Extension Comparison Print
Tuesday, 23 October 2007

SEF URL Extension ComparisonWe've long talked about how important it is to use a Search Engine Friendly URL component with Joomla. The best ones don't just create human-readable addresses but also help your site in many other areas of SEO.


Trouble is, the wealth of different components means that its easy to get confused. Which one should I use? Should I pay? Should I use a free component?


Hopefully, these two charts will provide a complete comparison guide for the main five SEF URL components.


  • Chart 1: What features does the component have?
  • Chart 2: What other extensions does the component work with?


Please note:

  • all five are being actively developed and there may be some mistakes / omissions. Please post any that you find in the comments below
  • Open SEF and RemoSEF are not included because they are not actively supported
  • More features does not always equal better. For some people, simpler may well be better
  • Performance can be an issue. Some components run more quickly than others, especially on large sites. However, because of the difficulty of providing a fair comparison, it is not included as a factor here.

SEF URL Component Comparison

 sh404SEF [-]ArtioSEF [-]SEFAdvance [-]JPromoter [-]SerrBizSEF [-]
Choice of extensions (.html / .php / .shtml)
Automapping
Joomfish Support
Redirect non-www to www
Metadata
H1 / H2 tags
Remove Sections / Categories
Works without .htaccess
Works with IIS
404 Error Page
Ability to use Title Alias for Shorter URLs
URL Caching
Index / NoIndex
No Core Hacks Needed
CostFree29.75 Euros. Free version is unusable because of text link ads40 Euros$25Free
Websiteextensions.siliana.netartio.netsakic.netjoomlaequipment.comserr.biz
Works with extra components?Yes, dozensYes, dozensYes, dozensYes, dozensYes, but currently only 4/5
Cost of plugins for extra components?FreeMostly free although five are sold (10 to 25 Euros)Free with purchaseFree with purchaseNeeds to be custom-coded

SEF URL Components and Comptabile Extensions

 sh404SEF [-]ArtioSEF [-]SEF Advance [-]JPromoter [-]SerrBizSEF [-]
Community Builder
Deep Pockets
DocMan
Fireboard
HotProperty
iJoomla Magazine
Jomres
jReviews
MosTree
Remository
SMF Bridge
Sobi2
VirtueMart

Comments (5)Add Comment
And the winner is......
written by julien, November 08, 2007
I think it's pretty obvious to see who the winner is.

I have tried all the free ones and used to use Open SEF, and SH404SEF is by far one of the best. It offers lots of option but yet simple to set. The options are very simple to understand.

Also the support in the forum of SH404SEF is excellent. The developer deserve huge donation for doing such a great job.

***** one more thing ******

there is one more thing not showing in the comparison table above is the number of queries done by the component is almost the same as without the component (see http://extensions.siliana.net/...ccess.html)

Which is a major asset when talking about speed. As we al know the more SQL queries the slower joomla! will be. Especially when you, most users and myself included are hosting our site on a shared server where don't have lots of RAM and CPU resources.

This components coupled with PageCache and QueryCache; and you have a nice cocktail to put your joomla site on speed with nice SEF URLs.

Unless you want to spend money, SH404SEF is "THE" component to use to get SEF URLs. But it does not stop you from giving a small donation

ps: i am not part of the dev. team, just a user who had a great experience with SH404SEF smilies/wink.gif
Wow, how possible this article got only 1 comment?
written by Jacky Supit, December 28, 2007
This article is so great.
thanks for your effort to create this comparison. I have spent weeks to find what is the best cms for me since I am going to create a forum and i need a good cms with a good seo performance.

thank you so much for this article.

and Yes Julien,
you're right, the SH404SEF craetor deserve to get some donations for his/her work.

thank you guys.

and thank you Puthzel (if you read this),
your recomendation on adsense-sby forum brought me here. thanks
oh btw
written by Jacky Supit, December 28, 2007
alledia,
what seo extention you use on this site?
thanks
...
written by trichnosis, January 02, 2008
@jacky: i think alledi is using SEFAdvance for the sef urls smilies/wink.gif
...
written by Steve Burge, January 03, 2008
Hi Jacky

Trichnosis is right. We chose SEF Advanced back when it was the only real option. Fortunately for people launching a site today there a quite a few good choices.

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