Joomla explained!

I would liket to start using Joomla. How does it work? Any good experiences with it? And are their any downloadable introductory books about Joomla?

 

The best question to answer first is, "What do you want to do with Joomla?"

Joomla 1.5 is essentially a CMS that is backed by an application framework (MVC). It has a strong plugin architecture and is extensible, making it a rather powerful solution.

That said...

Joomla DOES NOT come out-of-the-box with a lot of built-in functionality. At its core essentially, you have User Authentication/Multi-user capabilities and Content Management (i.e., articles, news, etc.). No, there isn't much else at its core besides that.

The truth is, pretty much all of Joomla's advanced features come via the use of third party extensions, which is the general term covering components, modules and plugins (which were formerly called "mambots"). Extensions are also often used to overcome Joomla's core deficiencies, such as a very limited content system (such as lack of subcategory support and limited ACL). I'm told this is a holdover from old Mambo days and this will (someday) be addressed in a future version, perhaps starting with version 1.6 but don't quote me on it.

Then, there is the issue of Joomla's own home-grown MVC framework, which has its own language and terms. Why the team didn't just use a proven widely used framework "standard" like Cake PHP or Codeigniter is beyond me. :-\

To fully understand Joomla terminology will require a lot of reading across many websites, as good, strong centralized documentation is really lacking (at least IMHO). Since Joomla 1.5 is effectively a new platform (just the name is the same), there isn't as much material available as there is for Joomla 1.0. No, there aren't many FREE downloadable books. If you want, you can always go to Packt Publishing (which hosts the annual CMS competitions) and order official publications - and these aren't cheap. I'd recommend doing a search for what you specifically need, such as "Joomla beginner" or "how to use Joomla", and so forth. There are literally tons of links. Siteground has the following extensive discussion: http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/joomla15/

More specific recommendations can be provided once you give more detail as to how you are planning to use Joomla and whether you plan on writing your own extensions.

 

If you're inexperienced with content management systems, or web technology in general, I would highly recommend starting your site with WordPress rather than Joomla. Both are great but WordPress is much easier to install and use.

 

Having used Joomla since Mambo days, I would have to agree that, at least at this point, I cannot in good faith recommend it to anyone but a techie. I will also STRONGLY recommend that you use WordPress. It is generally easier to install, learn, and there are even more free extensions than Joomla (over 5,000 and climbing).

Just do a search for "WordPress as CMS" and you will find a lot of links to clear explanations on how to make WP do whatever you want it to do. I personally am using Joomla 1.0 for a couple of "pet projects", but am planning on switching future projects to WordPress to ramp up far more quickly and easily.

 

As someone who recently learned Joomla myself. It has a somewhat steep learning curve. Personally I think it's best to buy one of the books that cover all the basics (the Barrie North one is good). Also get ahold of every video tutorials your search can come across.

It's not hard by any means just a time investment more than anything. But I have to agree with previous comments, if you're looking for something simpler out the box wordpress is a better start

 

There are many resources for Joomla, search from Google and you will find good tutorials.

 

one way of learning joomla and especially convenient if you have fantasico delux for easy installs is to just do an install with sample data and play with it. don't preasure your self, just go through:

global config
sections and catagories
articles and modules

get a notepad(real not virtual), and make notes(I can remember better that way).

**one word of caution: because joomla is so popular, there are a lot of 3rd party components/modules/plugins. check joomla.org, and if they are listed their as popular, USUALLY they have good security updates, but some 3rd party addons provide security risk that allows hackers to mess up your site or worse. just always do some research on your addons before you use them(especially ones that allow input strings or file uploads).

 

Thanks for the responses so far.

I have experience with html and have established some web sites as well. Furthermore I have experience with DotNetNuke and my hosting provider let me know that he can assist me with Joomla.

I will need the following functionalities:
- Basic running of web sites
- 2 tier Navigation board on each page (like on DNN)
- User Registration and LogIn
- Upload (and placement) of text
- Upload (and placement) of pictures
- User groups
- Assigning reading Rights to authorized users
- important words to be set in the URL i.e.:
www.domain.co.za/important/words/forsale/product.htm (DNN did do this quite nice)

It should support visitor counter + other SEO utilities as well.

Additionally I can imagine that I would like to run
- News Blog
- User Forum
- Requests page
- Product Catalogue
- Classifieds

I use wordpress blogs but that's all I know about it.

 

I do Wordpress and it's easy. In fact, most of my recent sites are in WP because it's more search engine friendly. I never read any WP manual or quick start guide since it's so intuitive. I know you can turn it into a CMS but based on the above needs for your site, I think you need Joomla with the Community Builder plugin.

I also use Joomla 1.5. I tried to just play with it and not read the manual but I didn't get far. It's a tough cookie to crack without reading the manual. Install Joomla with sample data via Fantastico and read the quick start guide which helped me A LOT in overcoming the steep learning curve. Most of my major sites have been done using Joomla and they have gotten front page on Google for the keywords so it's not an SEO hinderer.

 

Concerning CMS, Joomla or any other CMS, I will have to speak to my service provider.

Functionality is important to me especially:
- Basic running of web sites
- 2 tier Navigation board on each page (like on DNN)
- User Registration and LogIn
- Upload (and placement) of text
- Upload (and placement) of pictures
- User groups
- Assigning reading Rights to authorized users
- important words to be set in the URL i.e.:
http://www.domain.co.za/important/wo...le/product.htm (DNN did do this quite nice)

 

i prefer you used JOOMLA 1.5.... and to learn it quickly, maybe this link helps.. this is a video tutorials about joomla 1.5 ... perfect for beginners to advanced...

http://katz.cd/download/3572750/eBook/Joomla-1-5-Tutorials-VTC-With-Melanie-Hedgespeth/"

Code (markup):

enjoy watching....

 

i just started using Joomla about a month ago.....was able to setup my first site and add all the required extensions that I required.

check out freearticleforyou.com to see what you can do within a matter of days.

 

Thanks looks quite interesting. Not tops, but aestethically pleasant and I am sure it's going to improve with time.


Doesn one know whether JOOMLA would be compatible with forum software etc.

 

Are you starting your site from scratch, or do you already have an active forum?

Assuming you are beginning from the ground floor, Joomla has native forum software extensions as well as bridges to standalone forums such as PHPBB3 and VBulletin. The SMF one was an issue at one point due to licensing, but I do believe there is even a bridge for that one as well. Here are some links for you to visit:

http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/communication/forum (Joomla's famous extensions directory, where you can review all native and bridged forum options)
http://jfusion.org (JFusion is a MAJOR bridging extension that allows Joomla to bridge to several applications all at once. A plugin for SMF and other forums and scripts are there as well).

 

... The site that I have in mind would start its forum(s) from scratch.

That sounds good. Thanks for the advice. I hope to be able to get started from next week onward.

 

Are there any directory functions that Joomla supports?

 

If by "directory functions" you mean directory capabilities, Joomla has several extensions to provide that functionality. Please see the current ones listed here: http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/directory-&-documentation/directory

I have personally used SOBI2. It is FREE, and better than most paid extensions I've used. It is a monster, but damned powerful. Plus, the forums are very active, and there are even additional plugins for it (some commercial, others free): http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/extension-specific/sobi2-extensions

Hope this helps.

 

Joomla is good with the variety of extension provided .I think seo part should be improved.

 

OK, I finally got Joomla installed on one of my sites.
http://www.refrigerationequipment.co.za/

I managed to create sections, categories, articles and placed items on the menue. I even switched to SEO-friendly mode. But the pages are still the same .
So how do I create menues with *distinctive* pages

 

That depends. Menu items are typically either 1) direct links to components and/or 2) links to actual content.

You can, say, create an article (or section, or category) and then add the link to one of your menus.

It just depends upon what specifically you want to do.