Stephen Burge has split his career equally between teaching and web development. In 2007 he merged the two by teaching web development with Joomla!. His company Open Source Training teaches Joomla! classes around the world and online. Stephen travels widely, helping people learn and thrive with Joomla!. He has been involved with many aspects of the Joomla! community, most recently as board member of Open Source Matters, which provides Joomla! with financial and legal support.

Preface     xv

Acknowledgments     xvi

About the Author     xvii

Chapter 1  Joomla! Explained     1

The What, When, Where, and Who of Joomla     2

    Why Joomla?     2

    How Much Is Joomla?     3

    What Does the Joomla Name Mean?     3

    How Many Versions of Joomla Are There?     4

    Who Uses Joomla?     5

This Book Explained     8

    What You’ll Need     8

    What This Book Covers     8

    This Book Is Concise     10

    This Book Is Active     10

    This Book Uses Specific Examples     10

What’s Next?     12

Chapter 2  Joomla! Installations Explained     13

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     14

Choose the Best Place to Install Joomla     14

    Your Computer     14

    A Web Server     15

Choose the Best Way to Install Joomla!     16

Install Joomla Automatically     16

Install Joomla Manually     22

    Step 1: Create a Database     23

    Step 2: Download the Joomla Files and Upload Them to Our Web Server     26

    Step 3: Complete the Joomla Installation by Connecting the Database and Files Together     29

Get Help If You’re Stuck Installing Joomla!     36

What’s Next?     37

Chapter 3  Joomla! Sites Explained     39

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     39

Understand the Two Areas of a Joomla Site     39

    Visitor Area     40

    Administrator Area     40

Understand the Administrator Area of Your Joomla Site     41

Things You’ll See All the Time in Joomla     44

    Language     44

    Page Layouts     44

    Individual Page Layouts     46

Understand the Visitor Area of Your Joomla Site     49

Make Your First Joomla Site Changes     50

    Changing Your First Article     50

    Changing Your First Template     53

What’s Next?     55

Chapter 4  Joomla! Content Explained     57

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     57

Step 1: Categorize     57

Step 2: Add     61

Step 3: Show     66

The Joomla CASh Workflow—Why Do It This Way?     71

Practicing the CASh Workflow     72

    Step 1: Categorize     73

    Step 2: Add     73

    Step 3: Show     73

What’s Next?     76

Chapter 5  Joomla! Content Editing Explained     77

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     77

Formatting Your Text     77

    Bold, Italic, Underline, and Strikethrough     78

    Aligning Your Text     80

    Bullet Points and Indentation     82

    What if I Made a Mistake?     84

Adding Images to Your Content     85

    Categorize Images     86

    Add Images     88

    Show Images     90

    What If I Made a Mistake?     92

Adding Links to Your Content     94

    Internal Links     94

    External Links     96

    What If I Made a Mistake?     97

    Internal Article Links     98

    What If I Want to Remove a Link?     101

Choosing Your Article Options     101

    Publishing Options     102

    Article Options     103

    Global Options     104

    Metadata Options     106

Practicing Joomla Content     108

    Airport     108

    Bus Station     110

    Train Station     112

What’s Next?     114

Chapter 6  Joomla! Menus Explained     115

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     115

Why Do you Need Menus?     115

Step 1: Categorize Your Menu Links     116

Step 2: Adding Your Menu Links     118

    If You Already Have the Links     119

    If You Haven’t Already Created the Links     120

Step 3: Showing Your Menu Links     121

Practicing the CASh Workflow with Menus     123

    Transport Menu     124

    Festivals Menu     126

    About Joomlaville Menu     127

More Advanced Layout Options Using Menus     128

Putting It All Together in a Blog Layout     129

    Categorize     130

    Add     130

    Show     131

    Selecting the Options     132

Putting It All Together in a List Layout     134

    Categorize     135

    Add     135

    Show     136

    Selecting the Options     136

What’s Next?     138

Chapter 7  Joomla! Components Explained     141

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     141

Banners Component     142

    Setting Up an Advertising Banner     142

Contacts Component     146

    Categorize     147

    Add     148

    Show     149

    Options     149

Messaging Component     151

News Feeds Component     154

    Categorize     154

    Add     155

    Show     155

Redirect Component     157

Search Component     158

    Options     160

Web Links Component     161

    Categorize     161

    Add     161

    Show     162

    Banners     163

    Contacts     166

    News Feeds     170

    Web Links     172

    Cleaning Up the Menu Links     175

What’s Next?     181

Chapter 8  Joomla! Modules Explained     183

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     183

Understanding Modules     183

Creating New Modules     188

Changing the Order of Modules     192

Changing Which Pages Modules Appear On     196

Change When Modules Appear     202

Practice     205

    Categorize     205

    Add     205

    Show     205

    Position     207

    Order     207

    Menu Links     207

    Time and Date     209

What’s Next?     211

Chapter 9  Joomla! Plug-ins Explained     213

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     213

The Plug-in Manager     213

Authentication Plug-ins     214

Content Plug-ins     216

Editors and Editors-XTD Plug-ins     220

Search Plug-ins     223

User Plug-ins     224

Extension, System, and Other Plug-in Types     226

What’s Next?     228

Chapter 10  Joomla! Templates Explained     229

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     229

Understanding Templates     229

Changing Templates     233

Changing Template Options     236

Different Designs and Layouts for Different Pages     240

    Different Templates on Different Pages     240

    Different Template Styles on Different Pages     241

Practice     244

What’s Next?     246

Chapter 11  Adding Joomla! Extensions Explained     247

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     247

Research Components, Modules, and Plug-ins     247

    Find the Right Category     248

    Evaluate an Individual Extension     255

Install Components, Modules, and Plug-ins     259

    Install a Module     259

    Install a Plug-in     264

    Install a Component     267

Find and Install Templates     273

    Find a Free Template     273

    Find a Commercial Template     281

Practice     284

    Install a Component     284

    Install a Module     285

    Install a Plug-in     285

What’s Next?     286

Chapter 12  Putting It All Together: Personal Site     289

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     289

Step 1: Installation     290

    One-Click Installation     290

    Manual Installation     291

Step 2: Content     293

    Categorize     293

    Add     294

    Show     296

Step 3: Components, Modules, and Plug-ins     298

    Default Component: Contacts     298

    Installed Component: Photo Gallery     299

    Default Module: Most Read Content     303

    Installed Module: SP Weather     304

    Default Plug-in: Load Module     305

    Installed Plug-in: ITPSocial Buttons     307

Step 4: Templates     308

What’s Next?     314

Chapter 13  Putting It All Together: Business Site     315

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     315

Step 1: Installation     316

Step 2: Content     316

    Categorize     316

    Add     318

    Show     319

Step 3: Components, Modules, and Plug-ins     321

    Default Component: Contacts     321

    Installed Component: Zen Portfolio     321

    Default Modules: Most Read Content     324

    Installed Module: GTranslate     325

    Default Plug-in: User Profile     327

    Installed Plug-in: JPlayer     327

Step 4: Templates     330

What’s Next?     335

Chapter 14  Joomla! Users Explained     337

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     338

What People Can See: Joomla’s Access Levels     339

Method 2: What Users Can Do: Joomla’s User Groups     347

Method 3: Creating Your Own Access Controls     350

    Setting Up a New User Group     350

    Creating a Chief Editor for Our Site     356

What’s Next?     360

Chapter 15  Joomla! Languages Explained     363

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     364

Step 1: Installation     364

Step 2: Content     372

    An Example of How Translation Works     372

    Categorize     373

    Add     375

    Show     375

Step 3: Extensions (Components, Modules, and Plug-ins)     377

    Components     377

    Modules     378

Step 4: Templates     379

What’s Next?     380

Chapter 16  Joomla! Site Management Explained     381

Things You Can Do After Reading This Chapter     381

Updating Your Site     381

    An Overview of Joomla Version Numbers     382

    What Version Do I Have?     384

    How Do I Get Notified About Updates?     384

    How Do I Update?     385

Updating Your Extensions     387

Disabling or Uninstalling Your Extensions     391

Additional Measures to Protect Your Site     392

Backing Up Your Site     396

    Backups Made by Your Hosting Company     396

    Backups Made by You     396

Global Configuration     400

    Taking Your Site Offline     401

    Metadata Settings     402

    Changing Your Site’s URLs     403

    Making Your Site Run Faster     407

    Staying Logged In for Longer     409

What’s Next?     409

Index     411

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