The Official Joomla! Book

by Jennifer Marriott, Elin Waring

Overview

The Official Joomla! Book is the authoritative and comprehensive Joomla! reference for every administrator, developer, designer, and content manager. Distilling the unsurpassed experience of two long-time Joomla! contributors, it teaches exactly what you need to know, through practical example sites and crystal-clear explanations.

 

If you’re new to Joomla!, you’ll learn how to quickly create usable, effective sites. If you’re an experienced Joomla! user, you’ll learn how to make your sites more flexible, feature-rich, visually attractive, and useful. And whether new or experienced, you’ll learn how Joomla! really works, so you can fully leverage its power whenever you’re ready. You’ll also get to know the Joomla! community by hearing from twelve community members through in-depth interviews, and you’ll learn how to participate in the Joomla! project in ways that make sense for you.

 

The Official Joomla! Book covers everything from installation to usability, templates to extensions. The authors explain each key concept conversationally, helping you learn to help yourself and confidently gain control over Joomla! and the sites you build with it. They also present chapter-length application case studies for business, non-profits, and education. You will learn how to

 

• Plan sites effectively before you start building them
• Create production sites quickly while avoiding common mistakes
• Install and configure Joomla! for maximum efficiency
• Create and edit content for your Joomla! site
• Customize and work with Joomla! templates
• Work with extensions: components, modules, plugins, and languages
• Efficiently administer Joomla! sites
• Participate in the Joomla! community as a user and contributor

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780132978958
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	12/29/2012
Series:	Joomla! Press
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	512
File size:	46 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jennifer Marriott is the director of global support for CloudAccess.net, the official hosting provider for demo.joomla.org , as well as being the host and support system for some of the largest Joomla!-based sites in the world. Jennifer joined the Joomla! community during the beginning days in 2005 and began volunteering as a forum moderator  shortly after.  Over the years she has taken on various other roles in the community. In addition to her work in all things  technology related, she is a professional musician who has released three CDs.

 

Elin Waring, a longtime Joomla! user, served as president of Open Source Matters, the nonprofit organization that supports the Joomla! Project. An active member of the Joomla! Bug Squad, she is also professor of sociology at Lehman College.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Second Edition         xvii

Foreword to the First Edition         xxi

Preface         xxiii

Acknowledgments         xxvii

About the Authors        xxix

 

Chapter 1: All about Joomla!         1

A Brief History of Joomla!  1

Joomla! the Content Management System  4

Joomla! the Platform  5

The Joomlasphere  7

Conclusion  20

 

Chapter 2: What Now and Where Do I Begin?: Before You Install Joomla!         23

Identifying Your Purpose  23

Domain Names: Registering Your Domain Name  24

Trademarks, Licensing, Copyright, and Legalities  26

The Basics of Branding  30

Identifying Your Target Audience: The Who, What, Where, and Why  36

Wireframes, Storyboarding, and Visualization  41

Creating Great Content  43

Mission Critical: Why Choosing a Good Host Matters  44

Conclusion  47

 

Chapter 3: Installing Joomla!         49

Choosing a Joomla! Version and Installation Options  49

Downloading Joomla!  51

Creating a Database  52

Using the File Manager to Upload Joomla!  56

Joomla! Web Installation  59

Setting Up a Test Site on demo.joomla.org  71

Conclusion  72

 

Chapter 4: Configuring Joomla!         75

Basic Configuration Steps for Your New Site  75

Basic Global Configuration Options  79

Configuration Settings in Specific Components  92

Other Site Defaults  98

Conclusion  100

 

Chapter 5: Working with and Creating Content for Your Joomla! Site         101

Defining Content  101

Managing Content  106

Working with the Media Manager and Inserting Images  110

Managing Categories  112

Menus and Menu Items  114

Working with Parameters and Options  121

Conclusion  128

 

Chapter 6: The Basics of Joomla! Extensions: Components, Modules, Plugins, and Languages         129

Core Joomla! Extensions  129

Adding Extensions  162

Conclusion  168

 

Chapter 7: Working with Joomla! Templates: The Basics         169

The Basics of Joomla! Templates  169

Conclusion  190

 

Chapter 8: Creating Your Own Simple Joomla! Template         191

Basic Template Structure  191

Conclusion  211

 

Chapter 9: Marketing and Caring for Your Joomla! Web Site         213

First Impressions Count: What Your Home Page Says about You  213

Search Engines, SEO, Getting Listed, and Staying There  216

Using Navigation  220

Engaging Your Visitors and Keeping Your Content Fresh  227

Marketing Basics and Social Networking  228

Conclusion  229

 

Chapter 10: Keeping Your Site Up-to-Date         231

Updating Your Site  231

Updating Extensions  235

Migrating to a New Major Version  237

Conclusion  245

 

Chapter 11: Practical Application: Joomla! for Business         247

Basic Planning of Business Sites  247

Brochure Sites  248

Extending Joomla!: Some Extensions to Consider for Business  248

E-commerce Web Sites  250

Other Business Site Extensions  252

Joomla! Business Tools  253

Business Web Site Demo  253

Conclusion  281

 

Chapter 12: Practical Application: Joomla! for NGOs/NPOs, Groups, Clubs, and Organizations         283

Basic Planning of Group Sites  283

Leveraging Your Site to Raise Awareness and Gain

Momentum  284

Nonprofit Web Site Demo  292

Conclusion  318

 

Chapter 13: Practical Application: Joomla! for Education         319

Basic Planning of Educational Sites  319

School Web Site Demo  328

Conclusion  355

 

Chapter 14: Interviews with Experts         357

Andrew Eddie, Software Engineer at eBay Australia and Platform Maintainer–The Joomla! Story  357

Mark Dexter, Production Leadership Team–The Joomla! Bug Squad and Joomla! Development  361

Sam Moffatt, Joomla! Platform Maintainer, Production Leadership Team–Participating in Joomla! Development  365

Marijke Stuivenberg, Translation Coordinator, Open Source Matters Board–Internationalization  369

Ian MacLennan, Platform Maintainer–Securing Your Site  373

Ron Severdia, Production Leadership Team and Creative Director at Kontent Design–Building a Great Site  377

Elin Waring, Joomla! Contributor–Trademark and Licensing  380

Wendy Robinson, Rochen Ltd.–Creating Your Brand  385

Brad Baker, Rochen Ltd.– Joomla! Hosting  388

Chris Davenport, Joomla! Production Leadership Team–Finding and Editing Templates  389

Angie Radke, Principal, Der Auftritt; Accessibility Expert; and Designer of the Beez Templates  393

Andrea Tarr, Production Leadership Team  396

Vic Drover, Owner of Anything Digital–Extending Joomla!  399

Gary Brooks, CEO of CloudAccess.net–Benefits of Joomla! for Business  402

Ryan Ozimek, Former President of Open Source Matters, and CEO and Founder of PICnet, Inc.–Joomla! in the NPO/NGO Sector  407

Jennifer Marriott, Joomla! Contributor–Sites for Education  411

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos, Developer, Akeeba Backup and Other Extensions  415

Louis Landry, Lead Architect of the Joomla! Platform  418

 

Appendix A: Common Problems and Solutions          423

Lost Administrator Password  423

File Permissions and Ownership Problems  427

Editor Background Has a Color or Looks Strange  429

Template Disappears When Turning SEF URLs On   430

Site Displays Differently or Incorrectly in a Certain Browser  430

Problem Assets Table  430

Problems Updating  431

 

Appendix B: Resources          433

Basic Joomla! Resources  433

Tools for Web Site Creators and Site Developers  435

Search Engines  436

Learn HTML and CSS Skills  436

Improve the Design of Your Site  437

Web Standards, Usability, and Accessibility  439

Underlying Software of Joomla!  440

Other Resources for Business  441

Other Resources for Nonprofits and Organizations  442

Other Resources for Schools and Education  443

 

Glossary        445

Index        455

 

Editorial Reviews

Joomla! is about allowing ordinary people to do extraordinary things, and that is exactly what the authors of this book do for its readers. … I present this book for your pleasure. It begins with how we began and takes you on a journey through which you can be empowered to reach the world.”

—From the Foreword by Andrew Eddie, Member of the Joomla! Production Leadership Team

From the Publisher