Using Joomla!: Efficiently Build and Manage Custom Websites

by Ron Severdia, Jennifer Gress

Overview

If you’re new to content management systems—or even new to building websites—this practical guide will get you up and running in no time. You don’t have to know much code, if any, to get started.

Need to build a website quickly? Have a client that requires a powerful website with lots of compelling features? Ideal for web designers and developers alike, this updated edition takes you step-by-step through site creation with Joomla, with plenty of hands-on exercises along the way.

• Build a sample site throughout the book to see how Joomla! works
• Plan and structure your site’s categories, articles, menus, and modules
• Learn the ins and outs of creating, organizing, and displaying content
• Add images, audio, and video—and create complete image galleries
• Build a blog, set up an events calendar, and create custom user forms
• Sell merchandise by putting together your own online store
• Engage visitors by creating user profiles and hangouts
• Secure your site and keep it optimized
• Migrate to Joomla! 3 and update your third-party extensions

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781449356460
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/11/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	362
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Ron Severdia is Chief Technology Officer of the award-winning eBook company Metrodigi in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been a Creative Director on interactive branding projects — from web sites and brand identities to interactive campaigns — for clients such as HP, Verizon, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Visa, Walmart.com, and Apple. His prior experience includes stints as a Senior Designer and then Creative Director at Young & Rubicam, DDB, Glow, and Landor Associates. Fluent in several languages, he worked for seven years in Europe, where he's won several awards for successful creative work. Ron has been using Joomla since 2006 to build sites for companies, large and small, including a worldwide branding site for Citibank and a Big Data portal for eBay.

Jennifer Gress (snapdragonservices.com) has been working with Joomla! since 2006 with its beginnings in corporate america for employers. Clients began approaching her to build websites for them in January of 2010. Jennifer's skills from corporate life; project management, training and more, combined with her knowledge and experience with Joomla! make her a well rounded web designer and co-leader for the Joomla! Users Group in the Bay Area. Jenn enjoys singing, bird watching, geology and real estate.

Table of Contents

Foreword;
Preface;
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Read This Book;
How This Book is Organized;
Conventions Used in This Book;
Using Code Examples;
Safari® Books Online;
How to Contact Us;
About the Technical Reviewers;
Chapter 1: An Overview;
1.1 Using a CMS: Static Versus Dynamic;
1.2 A Brief History of Joomla;
1.3 Why Open Source and the GPL?;
1.4 The Future;
1.5 Summary;
Chapter 2: Quick Start;
2.1 Quick Install;
2.2 System Requirements;
2.3 Add Sample Content or Not;
2.4 Some Basic Terminology;
2.5 Summary;
Chapter 3: A Tour of the Administrator Panel;
3.1 Control Panel;
3.2 Administrator Menus;
3.3 Administrator Modules;
3.4 Main Toolbar;
3.5 Article Filtering and Display;
3.6 Summary;
Chapter 4: Global Configuration;
4.1 Site;
4.2 System;
4.3 Server;
4.4 Summary;
Chapter 5: Preparing Your Content;
5.1 Planning, Creating, and Organizing Your Content;
5.2 Sections, Categories, and Articles;
5.3 Section Manager Overview;
5.4 Category Manager Overview;
5.5 Summary;
Chapter 6: Creating Content;
6.1 Articles As Building Blocks;
6.2 Creating Articles;
6.3 Article Publishing and Unpublishing;
6.4 Article Parameters;
6.5 Article Manager Filtering and Ordering;
6.6 Permissions;
6.7 Archiving Articles;
6.8 Trashing Articles;
6.9 The Front Page Manager;
6.10 Frontend Versus Backend Editing;
6.11 Submitting Content on the Frontend;
6.12 Summary;
Chapter 7: Menus;
7.1 Menu Structure Versus Content Structure;
7.2 Menu Manager;
7.3 Menu Item Manager: Menu Item Types Explained, Controlling Layout;
7.4 Menu Item Parameters;
7.5 Menu Modules: Parameters;
7.6 Menu Module: Split Menus;
7.7 Built-in Site Map;
7.8 Using ItemID to Create Internal Links;
7.9 Menu Trash;
7.10 Summary;
Chapter 8: Components;
8.1 Extending Joomla with Extensions and Compatibility;
8.2 Built-in Components: Banners, Contacts, News Feeds, Polls, Search, and Web Links;
8.3 Other Built-in Components in the Extension Manager;
8.4 Third-Party Components: How to Install;
8.5 Summary;
Chapter 9: Modules;
9.1 The Module Manager;
9.2 Built-in Frontend Modules;
9.3 Creating a Menu Module;
9.4 Creating a Custom HTML Module;
9.5 Built-in Administrator Modules;
9.6 Showing a Module Inside an Article;
9.7 Installing Third-Party Modules;
9.8 View All of the Module Positions;
9.9 Summary;
Chapter 10: Plug-ins;
10.1 The Plugin Manager;
10.2 Plug-in Types;
10.3 Built-in Plug-ins;
10.4 Third-Party Plug-ins: How to Install;
10.5 Summary;
Chapter 11: Templates;
11.1 The Template Manager;
11.2 Installing and Assigning Templates;
11.3 Template Folder Structure;
11.4 Editing Templates;
11.5 Anatomy of a Template File;
11.6 Module Chrome;
11.7 Template Parameters;
11.8 Template Overrides (MVC);
11.9 Summary;
Chapter 12: User Manager;
12.1 User Manager;
12.2 Adding and Editing Users;
12.3 User Registration;
12.4 Recover Your Admin Password;
12.5 User Permissions;
12.6 Summary;
Chapter 13: Media Manager;
13.1 The Media Manager;
13.2 Navigating Views and Managing Media;
13.3 Uploading and Deleting Media;
13.4 Using Media in Your Articles;
13.5 Summary;
Chapter 14: Languages;
14.1 The Language Manager;
14.2 Finding and Installing Languages;
14.3 Creating a Language Pack;
14.4 Other Language Options;
14.5 Summary;
Chapter 15: Extension Manager;
15.1 Installing Extensions;
15.2 Uninstalling Extensions;
15.3 Upgrading Extensions;
15.4 Summary;
Chapter 16: Tools;
16.1 Global Check-in;
16.2 Clean Cache;
16.3 Purge Expired Cache;
16.4 Read/Write Private Messages;
16.5 Mass Mail;
16.6 System Info;
16.7 Summary;
Chapter 17: Hands-on: Converting a Site to Joomla;
17.1 Designing Your Website;
17.2 Finding Zones in Your Design;
17.3 Preparing the HTML and CSS;
17.4 Hands-on Walkthrough;
17.5 Summary;
Chapter 18: Extending Your Site: Recommended Solutions;
18.1 E-Commerce: Set Up a Simple Online Storefront Using VirtueMart;
18.2 Blog: Blogging Functionality Built In;
18.3 Calendaring/Event Management: Manage and Share Online Calendars with JCal Pro;
18.4 Forms: Create Custom Forms to Collect and Store Information with bfForms;
18.5 Photo Gallery: Set Up an Online Photo Gallery Using Phoca;
18.6 Document Library: Create Online Document Storage Using RokDownloads;
18.7 Reviews: Create an Online Review System Using JReviews Express;
18.8 Building a Community: Extend User Profiles and Functions with Community Builder;
18.9 Podcasting: Publish Podcasts on Your Site and on iTunes with the Podcast Suite;
18.10 Discussion Forum: Set Up an Integrated Discussion Forum Using Kunena;
18.11 Site Backup/Migration: Perform Backups and Migrate Your Site Using JoomlaPack;
18.12 Power Search: Powerful Site Searches with JXtended Finder;
18.13 Content Tagging: Organize and Connect Related Content Using JXtended Labels;
18.14 Comments: Set Up User Comments Using JXtended Comments;
18.15 Summary;
Chapter 19: SEO and SEF;
19.1 What Is SEO and SEF?;
19.2 Lowering Your Page Rank;
19.3 Keywords and Metadata;
19.4 SEF URLs and Creating Custom URLs;
19.5 Error Pages;
19.6 SEO and SEF Resources;
19.7 Summary;
Chapter 20: Security;
20.1 Importance of Security and the JSST;
20.2 Best Practices;
20.3 Summary;
Chapter 21: Joomla 1.6 and Beyond;
21.1 Changes and Improvements;
21.2 Extension Compatibility;
21.3 Migrating to Joomla 1.6;
21.4 Summary;
Chapter 22: Getting Involved;
22.1 Write or Translate a Tutorial or Documentation;
22.2 Test or Add a Comment to an Issue Report;
22.3 Develop an Extension or Template;
22.4 Join a Joomla Working Group;
22.5 Help Out at a Joomla Event;
22.6 Contribute in Other Ways;
22.7 Summary;
Installing and Upgrading;
Requirements;
Database Setup;
FTP (File Transfer Protocol);
Web Installer;
Local Web Servers;
Upgrading;
Choosing the Right Extensions;
Which Extension Is Right for Me?;
Where Can I Find an Extension Used in This Book?;
Developing for Joomla;
Joomla Framework;
Developer Resources;
Tips and Tricks;
How to Tell if a Website Is Running Joomla;
What Is Key Reference Anyway?;
Showing Component Area Without Modules;
Colophon;