Ton Ten Tips to Know Before Starting with Joomla
Several database driven sites that we manage, such as Content Creator’s Guild, utilize a fantastic content management system called Joomla. After having used Joomla since 2006 and gone through a painful Joomla 1.0.x to Joomla 1.5.x upgrade, I’ve put together a set of top ten tips to know before you start using Joomla. This assumes you are new to content managment systems and are just getting started with Joomla.
1. You can include modules inside of a Joomla Content Item
I didn’t think this was possible, but yes, you can include a module within a content item, using the magic of creating your own virtual user positions.
REF: How to include Joomla Modules in a Content Item
2. Change columns on the Front Page module to Single Column
Does the blog style on your front page really mess up your front page? This is easily fixed – through a menu.
REF: How to change column sizes on Joomla FrontPage
3. You can find a well organized wiki of Joomla Tips
Although the new Joomla 1.5 section of the Joomla site is much better, finding answers on the discussion boards can be frustrating – especially when noone is willing to answer your questions.
REF: Joomla Wiki of Useful Tips
4. You Can Remove “Welcome to Front Page”
This is a fast and easy one in Joomla 1.5.x.
- Go to Menus >Main Menu
- Click on Home link to enter Menu Item: Edit.
- From Parameters System and change the Page title.
5. Create an Alter Ego for Handling No Editor HTML Situations
Joomla 1.5 has a visual HTML editor that likes to edit your work – it can strip out vital codes, like PayPal or Amazon information. Get around this by creating a second account and setting your edit preferences to No Editor.
6. Purge Anything with the Word Joomla in it
Unless you are using a custom install of Joomla (some template creators make custom installs with different default content), Joomla installs with many example pages – and many links and meta descriptions that link it back to the Joomla site. It is not quite as bad as Wordpress, but still its annoying to find your site link on Google and its filled with information about Joomla. Do this right after you install.
7. You Can Filter Your News
The mod_latestnews module that displays your most recent news, can be set to only display news that belongs to particular sections and categories. Go to mod_latestnews module parameters and you’ll quickly spot Section ID and Category ID filters.
8. Menus, Not Pages
This is a hard concept to grasp when you are just getting started with a CMS – and how Joomla works. A menu item links to a unique expression of items that look like a page. But really it isnt a page until it renders. When you want something to appear on a particular page, it has to be visible on the menu item. Your cool widget in User3 not appearing? Check to see if its associated with the menu item.
9. Uncategorized can be Bad
Joomla 1.0.X forced you to categorize your articles, which means each article is also part of the Joomla hierarchy: article > category > section. Joomla 1.5.x lets you leave a page as Uncategorized. Because Joomla 1.5 now has a wonderful filtering system for only viewing articles you want, it becomes very easy to overlook your uncategorized articles.
10. Stay Away from Tables in Joomla
A lot of template makers are building very modern templates, and dispensing with tables all together. Yet there are some add-ons, like previous versions of VirtueMart, that hard code tables. Before installing a new add-on or module, ensure that it does not hard code tables into its output. The modern architecture of Joomla supports using divs and spans.
