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
Author(s): Jennifer Marriott, Elin Waring
Series: Joomla! Press
Edition: 1
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 362
Contents......Page 10
Foreword......Page 18
Joomla! Press Mission Statement......Page 19
Preface......Page 20
Acknowledgments......Page 22
About the Authors......Page 24
A Brief History of Joomla!......Page 26
Joomla! the Framework......Page 29
The Joomla! Forum......Page 30
Joomla! Community......Page 33
Joomla! Demo Site......Page 34
Joomla! Extension Directory......Page 35
Joomla! Resources Directory......Page 36
Joomla! Internationalization, Localization, and Translations......Page 38
Joomla! Wants You: How to Be a Contributor......Page 39
Project Leadership......Page 40
Conclusion......Page 41
Identifying Your Purpose......Page 42
Domain Names: Registering Your Domain Name......Page 43
Trademarks, Licensing, Copyright, and Legalities......Page 44
Trademarks......Page 45
Copyright......Page 46
Licensing......Page 47
The Basics of Branding......Page 48
Memorable Logos and Why You Need One......Page 49
All About Color and Color Schemes......Page 50
Knowing Your Visitors......Page 53
Usability: Novel Idea! Users Want to Actually Use Your Site......Page 54
What Is Accessibility?......Page 55
Wireframes, Storyboarding, and Visualization......Page 57
Creating Great Content......Page 58
Mission Critical: Why Choosing a Good Host Matters......Page 59
Conclusion......Page 61
Downloading Joomla!......Page 62
Creating a Database......Page 63
Using File Manager to Upload Joomla!......Page 68
Joomla! Web Installation......Page 70
Basic Configuration Steps for Your New Site......Page 77
Editing the Administrator User......Page 78
User Groups......Page 79
Basic Global Configuration Options......Page 80
Conclusion......Page 85
Defining Content......Page 86
Managing Content......Page 91
Working with the Media Manager and Inserting Images......Page 97
Menu Items......Page 100
Menu Item Type Layouts......Page 102
Conclusion......Page 107
5 Customizing Templates and the Basics of Templates for Joomla!......Page 108
Customizing the Default Template Beez......Page 109
Beez Color Scheme......Page 113
Adding Your Own Logo......Page 119
The Basics of Joomla! Templates......Page 121
Design Styling and CSS......Page 122
Template Positions......Page 123
Template Overrides......Page 125
Conclusion......Page 126
Components......Page 128
Content......Page 129
Web Links......Page 131
Contacts......Page 133
Search......Page 134
Polls......Page 135
Content Modules......Page 137
Display Modules......Page 138
Plugins......Page 139
How to Choose Extensions......Page 140
Using the Joomla! Extension Directory......Page 141
Installing Extensions and Viewing Extension Information......Page 142
Popular Extensions......Page 144
Conclusion......Page 145
First Impressions Count: What Your Home Page Says About You......Page 148
Search Engines, SEO, Getting Listed, and Staying There......Page 150
Submitting to Search Engines......Page 151
Search Engine Optimization......Page 153
Using Navigation......Page 154
Engaging Your Visitors and Keeping Your Content Fresh......Page 162
Marketing Basics and Social Networking......Page 163
Upgrades: Why and How......Page 164
Conclusion......Page 165
Basic Planning of Business Sites......Page 166
Extending Joomla!: Some Extensions to Consider for Business......Page 167
Which Payment System Is Right for You?......Page 168
Extending Joomla!: Some Extensions to Consider for E-commerce......Page 169
Other Business Site Extensions......Page 170
Phase 1: Brochure Site......Page 171
Phase 2: Add a Simple Shopping Cart......Page 191
Conclusion......Page 194
Basic Planning of Group Sites......Page 196
Leveraging Your Site to Raise Awareness and Gain Momentum......Page 197
Calendars and Event Registration......Page 198
Forums......Page 199
CRMs: Constituent/Client/Customer Relationship Management......Page 200
Community Builder......Page 201
Fund-Raising......Page 202
Setting Up the Site and Extensions......Page 203
Creating a Contact Form......Page 204
Setting Up a Calendar......Page 205
Forum......Page 208
Creating a Copy of the Template......Page 209
Editing the Index File......Page 211
Modifying CSS and Styling......Page 213
Conclusion......Page 217
Basic Planning of Educational Sites......Page 218
JCE......Page 219
Displaying Documents......Page 220
Contact Information and Staff Pages......Page 221
Access Management......Page 223
Accessible Template Design......Page 224
Learning Extensions......Page 225
School Web Site Demo......Page 226
JCE......Page 227
Community Builder......Page 231
Community Builder Profile Pages......Page 232
Community Builder Lists......Page 237
Community Builder Plugins......Page 240
More on Navigation......Page 242
Calendars......Page 243
Template Customization......Page 245
Conclusion......Page 248
Changes in Minimum Requirements......Page 250
Menu Manager......Page 251
No More Sections, Only Categories......Page 253
Templates......Page 254
Template Styles......Page 255
Access Control (ACL)......Page 256
New Extensions......Page 259
Plugins......Page 260
Conclusion......Page 261
Expert Q&A with Andrew Eddie: Owner of NewLifeInIT and Lead Developer of Joomla!......Page 262
Expert Q&A with Mark Dexter and Sam Moffatt: The Joomla! Bug Squad......Page 266
Expert Q&A with Ian MacLennan: Joomla! Production Leadership Team and Joomla! Security Strike Team......Page 271
Expert Q&A with Elin Waring: Professor, Author, and Joomla! Contributor—Trademark and Licensing......Page 272
Expert Q&A with Wendy Robinson: Rochen Ltd.—Creating Your Brand......Page 277
Expert Q&A with Brad Baker: Rochen Ltd.—Joomla! Hosting......Page 279
Expert Q&A with Chris Davenport: Joomla! Production Leadership Team—Finding and Editing Templates......Page 280
Expert Q&A with Vic Drover: Owner of Anything Digital— Extending Joomla!......Page 283
Expert Q&A with Gary Brooks: President of CloudAccess.net—Benefits of Joomla! for Business......Page 286
Expert Q&A with Ryan Ozimek: President of Open Source Matters, and CEO and Founder of PICnet Inc.—Joomla! in the NPO/NGO Sector......Page 290
Expert Q&A with Jennifer Marriott: Owner of Marpo Multimedia and Joomla! Contributor—Sites for Education......Page 293
Expert Q&A with Louis Landry: Lead Architect of Joomla! and Joomla! Professional......Page 297
Joomla! 1.5......Page 300
Joomla! 1.6......Page 303
File Permissions and Ownership Problems......Page 304
Editor Background Has a Color or Looks Strange......Page 305
Site Displays Differently or Incorrectly in a Certain Browser......Page 306
Basic Joomla! Resources......Page 308
Tools for Webmasters and Site Developers......Page 309
Search Engines......Page 310
Learn HTML and CSS Skills......Page 311
Improve the Design of Your Site......Page 312
Web Standards, Usability, and Accessibility......Page 313
Underlying Software......Page 314
Other Resources for Nonprofits and Organizations......Page 315
Other Resources for Schools and Education......Page 316
Controlling What People Can Do......Page 318
Controlling What People Can See......Page 326
A......Page 330
C......Page 331
E......Page 332
I......Page 333
M......Page 334
R......Page 335
S......Page 336
V......Page 337
X......Page 338
A......Page 340
B......Page 341
C......Page 342
D......Page 344
E......Page 345
G......Page 346
I......Page 347
J......Page 348
L......Page 349
M......Page 350
N......Page 351
P......Page 352
S......Page 353
T......Page 355
W......Page 356
Z......Page 357
