About the CMS Joomla
Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build
Web sites and powerful online applications without technical knowledge. Many aspects,
including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular FREE CMS
system. Best of all it is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone. Its true
power is in its extensibility….meaning you can download features that will upgrade your
system at no cost. Premium features are also available for a nominal fee.
Samples of Joomla templates (paid & free)
One benefit of
Joomla is that even
free templates can
be refined to have
a premium theme
appearance
Joomla – Hosting & Installation
Hosting Joomla
As with WordPress or any CMS, before considering this software you would have to determine if your host
supports the installation. This includes determining if there is sufficient storage capacity within your hosting
account. Does your hosting account offer MySQL (database) and MyPHPAdmin levels that meet Joomla’s
minimum requirements?
• Your host’s knowledgebase or support team can supply that information
• About 30 MB of storage is required just for the installation. Meaning your hosting
account should have a minimum of 50 MB, preferably greater.
If your site is hosted by the Diocese special restrictions apply,
please contact the web master.
Installing Joomla to your host’s web server
There are several ways to install Joomla!
Option One
Many hosting companies offer instant, one-click or software driven installation of Joomla!
If you are unsure of the following, please contact your host’s support.
There are different versions
• Your host offers a built-in one-click installation
• Or offers a C Panel installation using Fantastico (or similar software).
• Your host must support either of the above. Even if it is not loaded onto your
account, possibly it is available…..it’s worth asking about.
Joomla – installation and login
Option Two: Conventional Install or Manual Install
This method requires that you download the Joomla zip file and upload to your hosting account, unzip,
create a database, and then run the installation through a set of step-by-step instructions.
• Complete instructions can be found within the installation package or available on the Joomla
site.
• The Diocesan Communications Subcommittee will also be offering online assistance in the near future.
Joomla hosts that offer a one-click install
• Hostgator (www.hostgator.com starting at $3.95 US per month – includes domain name)
• Siteground (www.siteground.com starting at $3.95 per month – many extras)
• Check online for others
Administration Panel:
Once installed, assigned
users (or authors) can
login to the admin panel
and update.
Joomla – adminisration panel
Opt
Once you or your approved and assigned authors log into the administration panel you’ll see
that Joomla arranges your site’s management options into convenient boxes (or components
or modules). For example, clicking the Templates manager allows you to manage that
feature. Media manager allows you to manage those files and so on throughout every option.
Joomla is so much more than just a powerful content management system. Following are a
list of features that come pre-installed on the system. Others features can be downloaded and
installed to increase your site’s functionality.
Joomla – adminisration panel
Content Management - A three-tiered system of articles makes organizing your content a snap.
You can organize your content any way you want and not necessarily how it appears on your website.
For example the first-tier is a section, the second a category, the third a content item as seen below.
•
News (Section)
•
Sports (Category)
•
Sens beat NY (Content Item)
User Management and Permissions - Joomla has a registration system that allows users to
configure personal options. There are nine user groups with various types of permissions. Or in simpler
terms, the administrator can decide the specific access (edit, publish and manage) each user is allowed.
Media Manager - One of the most useful built-in components and is used to manage a huge array of
media formats including images, video, and sound.
Language Manager - There is international support for many world languages
Polls and surveys Easily create these online features within your website
Search - Add a whole-site search feature
Joomla makes updating content easy
Changing data in the content
panel to the left, auto-updates
the website
Here is a sample of how easy it is to update content.
Login in, choose the content module - the content box
opens which connects you with your posts or text. You
then simply type your changes, press update and the
revisions are auto-populated online.
Each module has a different function, all easily updated
in a similar manner as described above.
Joomla – adminisration panel continued
Syndication and Newsfeed Management – Easily add an RSS feed
Menu Manager - The Menu Manager allows you to create as many menus and menu items as you need.
You can structure your menu hierarchy (and nested menu items) completely independent of your content
structure. Put one menu in multiple places and in any style you want; use rollovers, dropdown, flyouts
and more. You can also set your system to automatically generate page breadcrumbs to assist your site
users in navigating your site.
Template Management - Templates in Joomla are a powerful way to make your site look exactly the
way you want. One click and you change your entire site’s look. There is the ability to use a single
template for the entire site or a separate template for each site section.
Integrated Help System - Joomla has a built-in help section to assist users find what they
need. A glossary explains the terms in plain English, a version checker makes sure you're using the
latest version, a system information tool helps you troubleshoot, and, if all else fails, links to a wealth
of online resources for additional help and support are available.
Security - Password protecting content and directories is easily
done using downloadable extensions
Joomla – extensions
One of the features that makes Joomla so useful is its extensibility
Joomla can be extended through components, modules, and plug-ins. This allows you to add
functionalities to your site without changing any code or structural feature.
•
It is important to understand that you must download and install extensions that are compatible with
your version of Joomla.
Components are the main functional uniits of Joomla and can be a sophisticated application in their own right.
Examples can be an e-commerce store or a social networking system. They will have their own database tables
and be added as a menu item.
Modules are generally a mini-application which displays data within the main structure of a page but
outside the main body or component area. You can run multiple modules on every page. Examples would be
page columns, headers, footers, etc.
A plugin is a set of software components that adds specific abilities to a larger software application. Plugins will
help you customize the way your application functions. For example, plug-ins are commonly used in web
management programs to integrate email forms and calendars, smart searches, refined weblinks and security.
Compared to extensions, plug-ins usually have a narrow set of abilities.
Joomla – extensions (in plainer language)
That is a long technical explanation to say that these features are there for you to
download, install and run. Installation doesn’t take any technical knowledge. You
simply find that software in the list of Joomla extensions (an umbrella term to
mean components, modules and plugins), download, click the install button and
choose the option that runs the feature.
Some components will include plugins, and some modules, etc. However you
don’t have to concern yourself with any of that….Joomla’s sophisticated system
does most of the work. The hardest part is choosing which of the many extensions
you want to use to enhance your site.
Most are free, but some are not and are clearly listed as commercial options.
However it has been my experience that one can run a feature-rich Joomla site
without ever having to pay for any feature.
Joomla makes updating so easy with extensions…..
Clicking a single extension option changed
this template design
To this template design
There are many free and
premium designs available
Joomla – extensions by section
To give you an idea of the number of extensions available to download and install to enhance your site,
see the list of categories below. Each then has many sub-categories with options. Visit www.joomla.org
to see a full list.
• Access & Security (example: overall security)
• Administration (example: overall management)
• Ads & Affiliates
• Authoring & Content (example: blogging)
• Calendars & Events
• Communications (example: add a chat forum)
• Contacts & Feedback (example: add a contact
form)
• Content Sharing (example: newsletters, RSS,
mail lists)
• Core Enhancements (example: add content date
stamp)
• Directory & Documentation (example: an
address book or directory)
• e-Commerce
• Editing (example: editor buttons)
• Extension Specific (various)
• Financial (example: cost calculators)
• Hosting & Servers (database)
• Languages (examples: auto-translate)
• Living (example: horoscopes)
• Maps & Weather
• Mobile (example: mobile applications)
• Multimedia (example: add streaming video)
• News Display (example: add a news feed)
• Photos & image (example: add ecards, image slideshows)
• Search & Indexing (example: allow users to search any part
of your site)
• Site Management (example: analytics, browser issues,
number of visitors)
• Social Web
• Sports & Games (example: add games)
• Structure & Navigation (example: add content links or new
section categories)
• Style & Design
• Tools (example: design or editing tools)
• Vertical Markets (example: add a booking or reservation
feature)