Joomla! 101 - Introduction to Joomla! v3

1. JOOMLA 101
Rodger Fields

2. What is Joomla!
The short answer:
- Software for building powerful
Web sites and online applications
- Open Source and free
- A global community

3. Joomla.Org

4. How Easy Is It To Start?
Register at demo.joomla.org for a live
Joomla! site:
- 90 day free Joomla! demo account
- Installed and activated for you
- No need to purchase a domain name
- Full-featured Joomla! Front & Back End
- Easy video tutorials provided
- 24/7 support team

5. What’s the Catch?
The Demo is a 90-day trial site.
There’s no obligation to go with Joomla!
If you do want to continue with Joomla!,
you’ll need to pick a host. SiteGround
offers a beginner package for $3.95/month

6. My Humble Opinion?
The demo is a great way to start.
Wish they had it when I started.

7. www.inmotion
Joomla Needs Host Services
Apache
or IIS
DBMS
PHP
Host System Pick A Host
… Or “Host” on
your Desktop
Refer to Supplemental
Materials at back
SiteGround, Rochen
and inmotionhosting
all specialize in Joomla.
Other hosts offer
Joomla! as well but avoid
bargain basement hosts.

8. … To Work with Joomla
Apache
or IIS
DBMS
Joomla Files
PHP
Database
Host System These are specific to
your Joomla! site

9. Installing Joomla!
- Just for a test spin: demo.joomla.org
- Most hosts offer “One Click Installs”
- Do it manually. Refer to host
instructions or refer to docs.joomla.org
- Install on your own computer (see
Supplemental Materials at back)

10. Joomla - Front End
The Front-End is what the USER sees

11. Joomla - Front-End
Changing as they move around the site

12. Joomla - Back-End
Providing access to tools for configuring the site.

13. Media Manager
The Media Manager provides a repository
for images used in articles, modules, etc.

14. Joomla Templates
★ Define how a web site LOOKS
★ Front-end and back-end templates provided
★ Vendors provide both free & paid templates
★ OR ... You can build your own

15. Installing a Template
1) Download the Template Package(s)
2) Load the file(s) with Extension Manager
Choose File - then click Upload & Install

16. Now Make It Your Default
1) Extensions/Template Manager
2) Click the star icon in the Default column for the Template
3) Verify - Go to the Front-end to see the template applied.

17. Template Positions
About Positions
★ Specific to a given
template
★ The unnamed position
used for components
(e.g. content)
★ Positions determine
where Modules
appear
Positions Are Named
Page Regions
topcenter
midleft midright
left right
footer

18. Template Positions
Viewing PositionsPositions Are Named
Page Regions
topcenter
midleft midright
left right
footer
Enable Preview Module
Position in Template
Manager Options
Append /?tp=1 to
front-end URL

19. Modules
Modules can be:
★ Menus
★ Login Forms
★ Custom HTML
★ Breadcrumbs
★ Random Images
★ ... and Much More
Functionality to display
in a Page Position
topcenter
midleft midright
left right
footer

20. Modules
Where & When?Functionality to display
in a Page Position
topcenter
midleft midright
left right
footer
WHERE
A Module is assigned to
One-and-Only-One
Position ALWAYS
WHEN
A Module appears ONLY
on assigned Menu Items

21. Content Component
Web Page Content
Displays in the Main Part
of the Web Page
topcenter
midleft midright
left right
Main
Part of the
Web Page
footer
★ ONE component per
page
★ Web content is
managed via CAM:
✦ Categories
✦ Articles
✦ Menus

22. Manage Content with CAM
Categories
CAM Paradigm Managing Categories
★ Used to structure
your site overall
★ Content/Category
Manager
★ Nest categories using
parents
★ PLAN your categories

23. Category/Article/Menu
Categories
Articles
CAM Paradigm Managing Articles
★ Creates content
within the categories
★ Content/Article
Manager
★ An article can belong
to only one category
★ Articles aren’t visible
until menus defined
(with 1 exception)

24. Category/Article/Menu
Categories
Menus
Articles
CAM Paradigm Managing Menus
★ Menu items make
articles visible
★ Manage menu items
within a specific menu
- NOT the Menu Mgr
★ Individual articles
★ Category lists or blogs

25. Category/Article/Menu
Categories
Menus
Articles
CAM Paradigm CAM Order is Important!
Follow CAM order
when creating
Reverse CAM
(i.e. MAC)
when deleting

26. User Groups
Select Users/Groups to see the default User Groups:

27. Default User Groups - Front-end
★ Public - users who just browse the front-end
★ Guest - hides items from users who are logged in
★ Registered - log on to the front-end and get special
functionality (e.g. see something, comment, etc.)
★ Authors - allowed to create articles for the web site
★ Editors - Create and edit articles
★ Publishers - Create, edit, and publish articles
These groups operate solely from the front-end

28. Default User Groups - Back-end
★ Managers - Create/Edit/Publish & Link to Menus - but
can’t manage Users, Templates, or Modules
★ Administrators - can do almost everything except
configure Option Configurations (e.g. Article Manager
Options)
★ Super Users - can do everything
These groups access the back-end of the site

29. Add Users
Users/User Manager/Add New User:

30. Extending Joomla
Over 8,700 Extensions available at extensions.joomla.org

31. Extensions - Things to Look For
★ General description of the extension
★ What Joomla versions it supports
★ Review score and number of votes
★ Makeup: Component, Module, Plug-In

32. Adding an Extension
With Joomla! 3 - Install from Web directly!

33. First Extensions to Get
★ Akeeba Backup - Making your site easy to backup and
restore
★ JCE (Editor) - use in place of Tiny MCE which is Joomla’s
default editor
★ Fabrik - allows you to connect to the backend database
with your own custom data
★ ALL of the above have free versions - so start with that
Consider these extensions to start:

34. Backing Up Your Site
This should be your #1 Priority
- Install Akeeba Backup
- Make a Backup using Akeeba
- Copy Your Backup to Safe Places
- Test Your Backup by Restoring it
A Backup That Hasn’t Been Tested
ISN’T A BACKUP!

35. Backing Up Your Site
BEFORE You Back Up
IMPORTANT
FOR ACTIVE
PRODUCTION
SITES!
Place site Offline in
Global Configuration
AFTER You Back Up
Place site Online in
Global Configuration

36. Restoring From Backup
- Akeeba creates a .jpa backup file
- Get Kickstart from AkeebaBackup.com
- Delete all the files at your web site
- Upload the .jpa file and kickstart.php
- In browser go to mysite.com/kickstart.php

37. Updating Joomla
★ ALWAYS backup your site before updating
★ Check your extensions - will they work?
(particularly with major version upgrades)
★ The Maintenance area of the Joomla Control
Panel will check to see if updates are available -
and give you the capability to update

38. Joomla is More than
just an Open Source CMS ...
... Joomla is a Community.
Become a part of it -
Join HoustonJUG.Com!

39. Questions?
Personal Website: JudyAndRodger.Com
Business Website: CraftedData.Com
Email: Rodger@JudyAndRodger.Com
Hosted by: inmotionhosting.com

40. Supplemental Materials
For You To
Consider
At Your
Leisure

41. Desktop Versions of AMP
★ AMP stands for Apache/MySQL/PHP
★ Rather than downloading the AMP components
individually, it is easiest to use:
✦ WAMP - for Windows PCs - find directions and
downloads at www.wampserver.com/en/
✦ MAMP - AMP for the Mac - find directions and
downloads at www.mamp.info/en/index.html
★ Installation is relatively straight-forward but, for more
help, David Gassner has a video named Installing Apache,
MySQL, and PHP at lynda.com

42. Desktop Document Root
★ For Desktop installations, you’ll end up with a Document
Root (i.e. where you’ll set up your Joomla folders):
✦ WAMP: C:wampwww
✦ MAMP: Applications/MAMP/htdocs
✦ Create a folder for your Joomla site beneath that root:
✦ WAMP: C:wampwwwmysite
✦ MAMP: Application/MAMP/htdocs/mysite

43. Installing Joomla on Desktop
1. Go to Joomla.org and download the installation zip file
2. Copy that file into your Mysite folder and extract all the
files there
3. Create a new blank database in PHPMyAdmin
4. In your browser, go to localhost/mysite
5. The Joomla installation script will lead you through the
process

44. Other Joomla Components
★ Banners - for advertising banners
★ Contacts - creates contact forms
★ Search - allow users to search your site
★ News Feeds - pull news from other sites
★ Web Links - links to other sites

45. Access Control Lists
★ Joomla uses Access Control Lists to
manage sophisticated permissions
★ ACL is beyond Joomla 101
★ Suggest you attend training for ACL or
view training videos (e.g. @lynda.com)

46. Viewing With /?tp=1

47. Bending Display Rules
Bending the RulesNormal Display Rules:
topcenter
midleft midright
left right
Main
Part of the
Web Page
footer
★ Display Modules in
Articles using
{loadposition
positionname}
★ Some Components
work together with
Modules to display
them in Positions
(e.g. Banners)
Modules in Positions
Components in Main Part