Joomla World Conference 2026

Joomla is free.

So why aren't you paying?

Brian Teeman · Joomla World Conference 2026

Joomla is not free.

Someone Pays

Someone always pays.
Sometimes with money.
More often, with time.

The Invisible Workforce

The Invisible Workforce

  • Developers

  • Testers

  • Documentation

  • Translators

  • Support

  • Events

  • Infrastructure

  • Mentorship

What does Joomla cost?

What does Joomla cost?
Hours.

Thousands of them.

Twenty years ago...

The people who created the project didn't know who would eventually benefit from it. They couldn't know. They did it anyway.

And then you came along.

They never met you.

They don't know your name.

They don't know what you will build.

They don't know where you live.

Or what problem you will be trying to solve.

They do it anyway.

Twenty years ago, people contributed to a future they couldn't see.

Today, we are the future they couldn't see.

Now we have to decide whether we will do the same for people we will never meet.

Imagine that every volunteer stopped today.

No updates.

No documentation.

No events.

No community.

Joomla would still be free.

The code doesn't suddenly disappear. You can still download it. You can still install it. But a collection of files isn't the same thing as a project. The project is the people.

Joomla has created businesses.

Jobs. Careers. Friendships. Opportunities. Communities.

Joomla gave me...

What has Joomla given you?

You don't owe Joomla a debt.

You don't pay Joomla back.

You pay Joomla forward.

Someone did something for you. You do something for someone who comes after you. And they do something for someone after them. That's how open source survives.

What does paying it forward look like?

There isn't one correct contribution.

Maybe you write code.
Maybe you don't.

There isn't a hierarchy of contributions.

Code.

Documentation.

Translation.

Support.

Events.

Mentoring.

And yes. Money matters.

Companies make money using Joomla. Agencies make money using Joomla. People build careers using Joomla. There is nothing wrong with asking the people who make money from Joomla to put some money back into Joomla. But money is only one form of payment.

Sustainability is not a technology problem.

It's a people problem.

A family notices when someone is missing.

A family notices when someone doesn't turn up. They notice. They help. They participate.

A crowd assumes someone else will.

That's the danger. Not selfish people. Just lots of perfectly reasonable people all assuming that somebody else will do it.

Which are we?

Family? Or crowd?

Every generation shapes Joomla.

We are not simply users of Joomla. We are temporary custodians of it. What Joomla becomes next is determined by what we choose to do now.

Twenty years from now...

Will you pay it forward for someone else?

It was paid for by people you'll never meet.

It was paid for in different ways. Time. Effort. Care. Knowledge. Money. Community.

What will you pay forward?

Who will benefit from your contribution?

Someone paid it forward for you.

What can you make possible for somebody else?

Joomla World Conference 2026 · Brian Teeman

PAY IT
FORWARD

Joomla World Conference 2026 · Brian Teeman

PAY IT
FORWARD

Credits
No photographers were harmed
in the making of these slides.

No developers were forced
to pose for cheesy stock photos.

AI does have a use after all.

“Twenty years ago, they said Joomla wouldn’t last. The faces change, the technology changes, and Joomla evolves.

But one thing remains: Joomla is free, built by the people who use it, for the people who use it.

We’re here because people keep choosing to pay it forward.”

Brian Teeman, co-founder of Joomla.