Joomla! For Bullet Heads

I know so little about Joomla, that I have to fall back on my old stand-by “Wikipedia” for a definition:

Joomla! is an open source content management system platform for publishing content on the World Wide Web and intranets as well as a Model–view–controller (MVC) Web application framework. It is written in PHP, stores data in MySQL and includes features such as page caching, RSS feeds, printable versions of pages, news flashes, blogs, polls, search, and support for language internationalization.  There, …….. that should clear things up, …… right?

It’s a good thing this is a beginners Blog, as I’m not sure I’m up for the tech insight of Joomla.  What I think is Joomla is the web’s most popular open source content management system. An an excellent choice for those wanting to manage a Blog for profit.  My experience has led me to believe that Joomla templates are some of the most dynamic templates offered today.

Deployment can be tricky and there is a learning curve involved, as I guess with anything you do in computers, but Joomla offers a great alternative to WordPress.  Joomla also has a great choice of themes available to anyone willing to troll the web for such choices.

What follows are some basic points to consider when looking at Joomla as an alternative to WordPress.

• Start by watching some Videos on Joomla. This is the really a better way to go in the beginning. WATCH THESE TWO!
• Take a look at different themes that are available, don’t get too involved, just look for right now!
• Don’t make your decision to purchase on price, when it comes to a Joomla theme. Let something stand out and grab you and then purchase. Remember, you’re going to be living with this theme for a while.
• If ,in the course of searching for Joomla themes, you find a theme that is not Joomla, make sure it is a “Premium WordPress Theme”. These themes come with a lot of the same benefits of Joomla themes and will save you many headaches over a “FREE” WordPress Template.
• Once you have decided on a Joomla theme, see if you can purchase others at a reduced cost or think about joining a Joomla Club like Rocket theme for a flat fee.
• Follow installation instructions closely and take your time doing this. Please keep in mind this is not for the faint of heart and can be a real challenge for the beginner.
• Don’t forget to do your due diligence on your plug-ins. Don’t install too many at first. Just what you need to get started.
• Under no circumstances should you try to alter, in any way, the code.
• After six months of use, you should have a good understanding of what you are dealing with. If you are interested in changing code, go for it! Please remember to back-up your Blog before you do any coding.
• Take multiple screen-shots of any change in code you make (before and after) and keep in a separate folder on your hard drive.
• Remember to make a back-up of your Blog every month. Avoid storing server-side (the web host will frown on this practice)! Back-up to your own hard drive!
• Be careful to follow all of your Joomla theme guidelines in relation to media (both still images and videos). This shows good SEO form, and will leave you way ahead of the game.

One final word of warning when it comes to Joomla for the beginner. It can be a bear, so if you have several years of computer skills behind you, you will do just fine. If, however, you are a newbie, in my opinion, you need to pass on Joomla for the mean time. But, keep your eye open for this platform to serve your Blogging interests in the future.