What is Joomla! ?
Joomla! is an award-winning Content Management System (CMS) that
will help you build websites and other powerful online applications.
Best of all, Joomla! is an open source solution that is freely available to
everybody.
Joomla! is used all over the world to power everything from simple,
personal homepages to complex corporate web applications. Here are
just some of the ways people use our software:
- Corporate websites or portals
- Online commerce
- Small business websites
- Non-profit and organizational websites
- Government applications
- Corporate intranets and extranets
- School and church websites
- Personal or family homepages
- Community-based portals
- Magazines and newspapers
- The possibilities are limitless??
Joomla! can be used to easily manage every aspect of your
website,
from adding content and images to updating a product catalog or
taking online reservations.
Joomla! is licensed for use for free. You are free to use it, modify it
and explore its potential without having to pay a licence fee..
FAQs
:
Q: Joomla! is Open Source. What does this mean?
A: Joomla! is licensed for use for free. You are free to use it, modify
it
and explore its potential without having to pay a licence fee..
Q: How does it work?
A: Joomla! is installed on a web server. You, the user, access the
administration side of the program through a web browser such as
Internet Explorer or Firefox. Once you're in "admin" mode, you can
type in your words and add your photos to create your pages.
Q: Could I do this Joomla! thing myself?
A: Yes you can. There are a couple of ways to get started. You can
download the latest version of Joomla! at JoomlaForge. Before you
do
this, you might like to read a bit more about Joomla! at
www.joomla.org [[site]www.joomla.org>. And, once you've got
it
installed, you can get help at the forums and help website.
Q: What level of expertise will I need to do this?
A: If you know how to use a word processor, then you're well on
your
way. There may be some situations where you need expert advice
beyond what you can do yourself, depending on what you want
Joomla! to do. You are in total control and can publish what and
when
you want enjoying the click-and-publish world of Joomla!
Q: So what can I do with Joomla!?
A: This is pretty much up to you. There are many examples of
Joomla!
sites that are mind boggling. The official Michael Jackson website is
one. It's used as an intranet by the guys at Sesame Street. And
Joomla! power is soon to be used by National Lampoon. Some
people
use Joomla! just for fun, to publish a family website. By
integrating,
freely available, additional tools you can easily expand the
features,
functionality and capability of Joomla! The potential uses of
Joomla!
are only limited by your imagination.
Q: How do I make Joomla! look different?
A: Joomla! uses a powerful templating engine which allows you to
change from the standard templates to your own personalised
template. You can either create your own template, download one
of
500 freely available templates or commission a bespoke template
from
numerous commercial designers. Once your template has been
created, click, click, click and the template is displaying your content
with your branded or new look.
Q: What about my content. What happens if I install a template?
Does
my content disappear and I'll have to type it all in again?
A: Short answer. No. Think of the template as a "skin" or a
"theme".
When you select your new look template your content is
automatically
displayed into that template. You can even select different
templates
for different parts of your website.
Q: Don't I need to know Dreamweaver or Microsoft Frontpage?
Don't I
need to buy something like that?
A: No! All you need is a browser. Advanced users wanting to do
some
templating and bespoke work, will need a good text editing
program
and an image editing program.
Q: Are there any "killer" features I should know about?
A: Where do we start with this question? Joomla! has so many
features
it's difficult to touch on them all. However, here are some of our
favourites, so we'll list them in point format:
Publishing from any computer with a web browser, you can be a
travel
writer and visit an Internet cafe to upload your new pictures and
stories.
You can use Joomla! to collaborate with other writers, contributors.
Say you've got a club and want to allow different people to
publish on
the website. They too can do it from any computer with a web
browser.
Joomla! allows you to publish unlimited pages. Based on your
template you could end up with thousands of pages. Not a
problem, all
searchable and archive-friendly too.
The system supports banner advertisements, so you can use it to
promote yours or affiliate's products and services
You can run forums on Joomla! with the addition of some Joomla!
add-
ons. Other add-ons include photo galleries, property management
systems, football team systems.
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