Joomla! the content management system is a very well known
and well spread system used by various developers for their websites as well as
intranet. With Joomla! developing and updating itself in frequent intervals the
number of Joomla! developers developing sites has gone rocketing.
Joomla! is used in creating versatile website and manage
content like static pages, blogs, polls, news feeds, and search features. The
features that attract developers to adopt Joomla! are the rich looks that it gives
the websites and the level of ease in developing sites for the developers.
Installing Joomla!
Once, while installing, it is made sure that the requirements
are met by the webhosts then the task of installing is very simple and
straightforward. These include an Apache Web Server, a MySQL database, and PHP.
The webhost company can be contacted to gain information on the availability of
PHP, MySQL and Apache in the server. If these are not available in the server
then they have to be installed individually and if that is not possible a new
host has to obtained. Joomla is designed for and tested on many LAMP (Linux,
Apache, MySQL, PHP) configurations, but it might work on some Windows or MacOS
systems, too. The installation process consists of two stages and they are:
- FTP the files to server
- Run the obtained installer file which will setup the necessary files on the platform
Joomla! will automatically manage the permissions for every
file and directory on the site via FTP, so separately doing this task will not
be necessary.
Plugins – Joomla!
Extensions
Like every other Content Management System, Joomla! too
needs extensions in the form of plugins to work as a complete unit. There are
latest plugins which are developed in massive quantities by Joomla developers
every day. The Joomla! SEO Patch is a very vital plugin which is provided as a
free commercial version by its developer. For backup and site maintenance there
is another plugin called the Joomla! Pack which is a suite of enhanced tools
which optimizes the usage of Joomla! by Joomla! developers to enhance the site.
VirtueMart is another plugin which enables the conversion of a Joomla! site
into a complete e-store.
The Joomla extension directory offers a lot of additional
functionality for Joomla sites. To find if a specific extension is active and
being updated the reviews on that extension could be referred.
Templates
Numerous Joomla! templates are available on the internet as
per requirements Joomla Programmers can opt for the ones provided for free or
the ones that are tagged premium which could be bought. Apart from the major
entities of a template which are the images, HTML and CSS code, Joomla developer can also use new functionalities called “Modules”. Different
components and entities could be added by Joomla! developers to their sites
using these Modules in a very simple and effortless way. By adding a unique
code the Joomla! developers can add Modules to their website and pages easily.
Components, Forms and
other website "stuff"
The latest components that are being developed by developers
from all over the world are acting as the backbone for all Joomla! sites and pages.
The latest components that are being built will not be installed with the
Joomla! pack, so users have to install these components separately to be
updates with state of the art developments. Forms can be instantaneously
created in Joomla! and can be added to the page or site immediately. One of the
simplest form creators is the component performs.
