HWD MediaShare

What HWD MediaShare does

HWD MediaShare, operated by Highwood Design Limited, is a UK-based software vendor that builds a community-led, open source media sharing extension for the Joomla! content management system. The core product enables website administrators and community operators to upload, process, and publish audio, images, video, and documents directly within Joomla, with features for access control tied to Joomla user groups and remote content import from networks such as YouTube. The product is distributed under the GPL license, with a published API (v1.0) for third-party integrations, and is built on PHP7 with reported performance improvements on Joomla 3.5.

The product portfolio has been segmented across several focused offerings: HWD MediaShare Gallery as the core component, hwdVideoShare and hwdPhotoShare as dedicated sub-brands for video and photo use cases, HWD Media Apps for mobile (Android) access, and HWD Joomla Templates for presentation layer customization. Premium Addons, Developer Addons, and Media Plugins/Modules round out the commercial surface for power users.

HWD MediaShare pursues a freemium open source business model: the core software is free under GPL, with monetization from paid premium addons, developer addons, and Joomla templates distributed through the company's own storefront. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on the Joomla! Extensions Directory for discovery, direct website downloads for self-service adoption, and a support forum, documentation, and video tutorials for user onboarding and retention. The firm is bootstrapped, privately held, and operates without external venture or private equity investment per available source data.

Name

HWD MediaShare

Legal name

Highwood Design Limited

Website

https://hwdmediashare.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HWD MediaShare is a UK-based, bootstrapped software vendor that builds a community-led open source media sharing extension for the Joomla! CMS, serving website administrators and community operators who need integrated audio, video, photo, and document publishing, monetizing via premium addons and templates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Media Sharing Software

NAICS

Publishing Industries (513)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Blogging & CMS Content Platforms (BPAMAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Newsroom/CMS Platforms for Publishers (MPACAIAH), Media Asset Management (MAM) Platforms (MPAHAGAA)

Keywords

• Media sharing software
• Joomla CMS extension
• Video gallery component
• Photo sharing add-on
• Open source media

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Open Source Software Distribution: Core HWD MediaShare software is distributed as open source under GPL license, providing a free community edition that builds user base and brand awareness.
2. Premium Addons and Extensions: Paid premium addons, media plugins, and modules extend core functionality for power users and enterprises requiring advanced features.
3. Joomla Templates: Sale of premium Joomla templates designed for media sharing websites, bundled with HWD MediaShare integration.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HWD MediaShare is a community-led, open-source media sharing extension (component) for the Joomla! CMS that enables website administrators and developers to upload, process, and publish audio, images, video, and documents. The core product supports large file uploads, Joomla access-level permissions, and remote content import from networks such as YouTube, with paid premium addons, templates, and developer modules available for extended functionality.

Product overview

HWD MediaShare is a comprehensive media sharing framework for Joomla! CMS consisting of a core component (HWD MediaShare Gallery) that provides video, photo, audio, and document sharing capabilities. The product portfolio includes companion products (hwdVideoShare, hwdPhotoShare), mobile apps (HWD Media Apps), design templates (HWD Joomla Templates), and additional plugins and modules that extend functionality. All products are built specifically for the Joomla! platform and are distributed as open-source software under the GPL license.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• hwdVideoShare: Video sharing component for Joomla CMS
• hwdPhotoShare
• HWD Media Apps
• HWD Joomla Templates

Products and services

• HWD MediaShare Gallery Core Joomla! media component that enables uploading, processing, and managing videos, photos, audio, and documents on a Joomla website. Designed for Joomla administrators and developers building media-rich sites.
• hwdVideoShare Video sharing component focused on video content management and sharing within Joomla! websites, packaged as a dedicated sub-brand of HWD MediaShare.
• hwdPhotoShare Photo sharing component focused on image and photo gallery management within Joomla! websites, packaged as a dedicated sub-brand of HWD MediaShare.
• HWD Media Apps Mobile applications companion to the main HWD MediaShare component for Android devices, extending media sharing capabilities to mobile platforms.
• HWD Joomla Templates Pre-designed Joomla! templates that provide styling and layout for media galleries built with HWD MediaShare, sold as premium templates.
• Media Plugins Premium and developer addons/plugins that extend HWD MediaShare functionality, providing additional features and integration options for Joomla sites.
• Media Modules Joomla! modules that display HWD MediaShare content on the website frontend, such as featured media, recent uploads, or category listings.
• HWD MediaShare API v1.0 Developer API (v1.0) with dedicated documentation that enables third-party developers to integrate with HWD MediaShare from external applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 46% drop in load time with PHP7 support on Joomla 3.5

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Regular Labs: Established commercial developer of premium Joomla! extensions across SEO, content, and media workflows. Closely comparable business model — Joomla-only extension vendor monetizing a portfolio of addons via subscriptions.
• NextGEN Gallery: WordPress's leading media gallery plugin, offering photo, video, and album management with freemium and pro tiers. Directly comparable as a CMS-extension media gallery product aimed at non-technical site owners, differing only in underlying CMS platform (WordPress vs Joomla).
• Tassos.gr: Independent developer of premium Joomla! extensions, including forms, redirects, and content tools. Comparable as a small bootstrapped Joomla extension vendor with subscription-based premium addons and a similar niche positioning.
• YOOtheme: Premium Joomla! and WordPress template and theme vendor with a strong design-focused brand. Comparable in operating in the Joomla template/extension commercial ecosystem with a similar small-team, design-led approach.
• JoomlaShine: Commercial Joomla! template and extension vendor with a portfolio of premium templates and components. Comparable as a Joomla-only commercial extension vendor monetizing templates and addons within the same ecosystem.
• Envira Gallery: Performance-focused WordPress gallery plugin with drag-and-drop builder and ecommerce addons. Closely aligned on CMS-extension media gallery functionality and a similar premium-addon monetization model.
• Modula Gallery: WordPress image and video gallery plugin focused on visual galleries with lightbox effects and grid layouts. Comparable as a freemium CMS media gallery product targeting the same SMB/website-administrator use cases as HWD MediaShare.

Broad incumbents

• Kaltura: Established enterprise video platform offering media management, OTT, and CMS integrations. Broader incumbent with overlapping media-management functionality but targeted at enterprise customers rather than Joomla SMBs.

Emerging players

• ClipBucket: Open-source video sharing community script supporting uploads, channels, and monetization. Comparable as an open-source media-sharing platform aimed at building community media sites, though positioned as a standalone product rather than a CMS extension.
• MediaCMS: Open-source modern media platform (Django/Python-based) for video, audio, and photo publishing with channels and playlists. Comparable as an open-source media-sharing publishing platform targeting independent creators and communities, though not CMS-extensions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hwdmediashare
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/hwdmediashare
• Facebookfacebook.com/hwdMediaShare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HWD MediaShare