Hi all, Why is there different version of Joomla eg 1.x 2.x 3.x...? If I am going to start an online magazine/news site, which is the best version to use?
As the software is improved it gets given a different version number - that way you know what features are available and if there is a problem the person helping you out knows what the software should be able to do. No different from any other software or script, really. Always use the latest stable release (not beta) as it will have the optimum mix of security and features and stability.
There are important differences between those 3, the most important is that 1.5 is not supported anymore, so stay away from that version. You can use 2.5 or 3.x, my suggestion is to use Joomla 3.x, it's built using bootstrap so your website will be mobile ready without too much headaches. I don't agree with the affirmation that Joomla is an unintuitive mess, you just need to read more Joomla's documentation and pay more attention on details. Go with Joomla.
Go for 3.0 simply because it is more secure that's why there are different versions if you do something 1.5 you could find that your site gets hacked often... if you worried about the amount of extensions available use 2.5 and slowly do an upgrade when your ready.
When choosing between 2.5.x and 3.x make sure the extensions (components, plugins, modules) you require for your project are compatible with that version. Major Joomla releases are usually not backward compatible with older extensions. We develop such extensions and have to release special updates on each major Joomla update. Joomla did not have automated update support in early versions and many webmasters that find it hard to upgrade or use older plugins, keep old versions with minor security patches. With WordPress things are easier as most websites use latest version because of its automated update feature from early versions.