Joomla demo is absolutely awful. Need help please.

Discussion in 'Joomla' started by Cataclysmic, Jun 14, 2008.

  1. #1
    If all of Joomla is as frustrating as the demo on their website, I might as well shoot myself right now.

    I can't even get the demo to start! I did get it to work once, but I'll be darned if I can do it again. I'll write what I've been trying to do... and hope someone can point out what I'm doing wrong.

    First I start at this page: http://demo.joomla.org/

    I've already created an account, so I click the "Front Page Login Form" link on the upper left. That takes me here: http://demo.joomla.org/1.5/ Now does that page look ANYTHING like a login form? Not to me. So I get confused, until I scroll down and see the login fields which are hidden very well at the bottom left of the page. I think to myself "How stupid."

    Anyway, I log in. After I'm logged in, I'm left on the same page, which looks identical except the login fields are replaced with a "logout" button. Alright. So I'm logged in to the demo, apparently.

    Now how the heck do I actually USE it? How do I do anything at all? What should I click on? Can anyone help?

    Like I mentioned, if all of Joomla is like this, I might as well shoot myself now.
     
    Cataclysmic, Jun 14, 2008 IP
  2. Cataclysmic

    Cataclysmic Peon

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    #2
    Alright, I figured out how to make it work (it was rather un-intuitive).

    Now I've been pulling my hair out trying to make the demo do very basic things.

    It's beyond me how anyone has the time to figure out all the stupidities of Joomla. I guess I can't complain because it's free, right? On to Drupal it is! Hope that works better.
     
    Cataclysmic, Jun 14, 2008 IP
  3. cmstester

    cmstester Well-Known Member

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    #3
    I hear you. Joomla can definitely be a frustration. I'd recommend reviewing some of the other options that are available. Joomla is only one of many.

    I've got a list of CMS platforms on my site as well as an article on how to choose the right CMS.

    May help you http://cmstester.com

    Cheers,
    Mike
     
    cmstester, Jun 14, 2008 IP
  4. mok123

    mok123 Peon

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    #4
    mok123, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  5. Solid_Nuts

    Solid_Nuts Active Member

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    #5
    joomla is overkill, but if you like big heavy eye candy sites without much specific needs then it works well.
     
    Solid_Nuts, Jun 17, 2008 IP
  6. touchAshley

    touchAshley Active Member

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    #6
    front page login is where you can login from the homepage of the site (looks like you figured that one out)

    Joomla confused me at first but then i got it all down and mastered it. But if I could go back, I wouldn't have done it. Loads kinda slow as it has a lot of code.
     
    touchAshley, Jun 17, 2008 IP
    bogart likes this.
  7. dasinfomedia

    dasinfomedia Peon

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    #7
    I am big time fan of joomla. I don;t know what;s the problem with you site. But I can say sometimes the hosting company doesn't have all the functionalities needed to run joomla.
     
    dasinfomedia, Jun 17, 2008 IP
  8. Lever

    Lever Deep Thought

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    #8
    Sure, Joomla!'s got an absolute ton of stuff going on at first glance but in the admin panel go to CONTENT > ARTICLE MANAGER and hit NEW in the top toolbar and write yourself a demo piece. It's pretty easy once you get to know it. In Joomla it's "not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." so first switch off what you don't need and when you're finally sure remove all the unnecessary features.

    If you do your own Joomla install you'll have more control. You can even install Joomla with no data so you can start with an empty site so that you can skip the process of binning all the demo content.
     
    Lever, Jun 17, 2008 IP
  9. emagin

    emagin Peon

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    #9
    I suggest you start with a bare bones template like
    netshinesoftware com /joomla/joomla-development.html

    This reduces the noise and lets you focus on your content and structure.
     
    emagin, Jun 20, 2008 IP