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
Chapter2 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
Chapter3 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
Chapter4 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
Chapter5 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
Chapter6 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
Chapter7 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
Chapter8 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
Chapter9 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
Chapter10 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
Chapter11 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
Chapter12 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
Chapter13 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
Chapter14 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
Chapter15 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
Chapter16 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
