Prentice hall joomla a users guide building a successful joomla powered website dec 2007 ISBN 0136135609

Joomla!AUser'sGuide:BuildingaSuccessful
Joomla!PoweredWebsite
byBarrieM.North
Publisher:PrenticeHall
PubDate:December11,2007
PrintISBN-10:0-13-613560-9
PrintISBN-13:978-0-13-613560-9
Pages:480
TableofContents|Index

Overview
TheFirstEasy-to-UseGuidetoJoomla!-TheWorld's#1
OpenSourceContentManagementSystem
Ifyouwanttobuildsophisticatedwebsitesthatcanbeeasily
editedandupdated,youneedtomasterJoomla!-theworld's#1
opensourcecontentmanagementsystem.Nowthere'saneasyto-read,easy-to-useguidetoJoomla!foreverysitemanager,
administrator,anddeveloper.LeadingJoomla!consultantBarrie
Northcoversallyouneedtogetresults:installation,
administration,siteorganization,templatedevelopment,
contentupdates,andawholelotmore.You'llfindnever-beforepublishedtips,tricks,andtroubleshootingsolutions,aswellas
threestart-to-finishcasestudies.
NewtoJoomla?Noproblem!Thisbookstartswiththesimplest
designandsystemconcepts,andbuildsyourexpertisestep-bystep.You'llrapidlymasterJoomla!'spower,evenifyouhaveno
contentmanagement,scripting,orCSSexpertise.Experienced
withJoomla!?You'llturntothisbookconstantlyforits
authoritative,plain-English,example-richJoomla!1.0and1.5
referencecontent.
·Understandingcontentmanagement,whatJoomla!does,
andhowitscomponentsfittogether

·BuildingJoomla!sitesfromscratch,andsystematically
customizingthemtoyourneeds
·Organizingcontentwithsections,categories,blogs,and
tables
·Creatingdynamicpagesandeffectivenavigation
·WorkingwithJoomla!modulesandcomponents
·SearchengineoptimizationforJoomla!sites
·Start-to-finishcasestudies:buildingaschoolwebsite,anecommercesite,andablog
·ThemostvaluableJoomla!extensionsandadd-ons:finding
them,andusingthem
·KeydifferencesbetweenJoomla!1.0and1.5,andwhatthey
meantoyou


Joomla!AUser'sGuide:BuildingaSuccessful
Joomla!PoweredWebsite
byBarrieM.North
Publisher:PrenticeHall
PubDate:December11,2007
PrintISBN-10:0-13-613560-9
PrintISBN-13:978-0-13-613560-9
Pages:480
TableofContents|Index

Copyright
Preface
Acknowledgments
AbouttheAuthor
Chapter1.ContentManagementSystemsandanIntroduction
toJoomla!

WhatIsaContentManagementSystem?
HistoryofJoomla
Joomla'sFeatures
ElementsofaJoomlaWebsite
Summary
Chapter2.DownloadingandInstallingJoomla!
HowDoIInstallJoomla?
Summary
Chapter3.Joomla!AdministrationBasics
WhatIstheFrontendandBackendofaJoomla-powered
Website?
Summary
Chapter4.ContentIsKing:OrganizingYourContent
HowDoesJoomlaGenerateWebPages?
HowDoesJoomlaOrganizeContentArticles?
CreatingtheWidgetInc.WebsitewithUncategorized


Content
CreatingWidgetInc.withSectionsandCategories
ModuleContent
Summary
Chapter5.CreatingMenusandNavigation
HowDoMenusandModulesWorkTogether?
WhatDoMenuItemsDo?
BlogLayout
List/StandardLayoutforaSection
List/StandardLayoutforaBlog
ModuleManager
Submenus

Summary
Chapter6.ExtendingJoomla!
WhatAreExtensions?
InstallingExtensions
ManagingExtensions
Components
Modules
Plugins
Templates
Summary
Chapter7.ExpandingYourContent:ArticlesandEditors
WYSIWYGEditors
CreatingandManagingArticles
ManagingContentThroughtheBackend
ManagingContentThroughTheFrontend
ArticleCheckin
Summary
Chapter8.GettingTraffictoYourSite
StartattheBeginning:SiteGoals
OrganicTraffic(SEO)


ReferralTraffic
Pay-Per-ClickTraffic
EmailTraffic
JoomlaSEFExtensions
Summary
Chapter9.CreatingaPureCSSTemplate
WhatIsaJoomlaTemplate?
LocalhostDesignProcess

W3CandTablelessDesign
CreatingaSimpleTemplate
UsingCSStoCreateaTablelessLayout
MakingaRealJoomla1.5Template
AdvancedTemplatingFeatures
Summary
Chapter10.CreatingaSchoolSitewithJoomla!
WhyDoWeNeedaSchoolWebsite?
WhatFeaturesDoWeNeedonaSchoolSite?
DownloadingandInstallingaSchoolTemplate
OrganizingContentonaSchoolWebsite
CreatingtheMenus
BuildingOutContent
CreatingSubnavigation
SettingUptheFooter
SettingUptheHomePage
AddingBasicFunctionalitytoaSchoolWebsite
ExtendingtheSchoolWebsiteBeyondtheBasics
Summary
Chapter11.CreatingaRestaurantSitewithJoomla!
WhyDoesaRestaurantNeedaWebsite?
WhatFeaturesDoesaRestaurantWebsiteNeed?
DownloadingandInstallingaRestaurantTemplate
OrganizingtheContentonaRestaurantWebsite


BuildingContentArticleswithLoremIpsum
CreatingMenus
SettingUptheHomePage
UsingStockImagery

ExtendingaRestaurantWebsite
Summary
Chapter12.CreatingaBlogSitewithJoomla!
WhatIsaBlog?
WhyHaveaBlog?
WhatFeaturesAreNeededonaBlogSite?
DownloadingandInstallingaBlogTemplate
OrganizingContentonaBlog
AddingBasicFunctionalitytoaBlog
ExtendingaBlogWebsiteBeyondtheBasics
Summary
AppendixA.GettingHelp
CommunityForums
HelpSites
GettingHelpfromGoogle
AppendixB.Joomla!CaseStudies
SixCaseStudiesforOrganizationsThatUseJoomla
Summary
AppendixC.AQuickStarttoSEO
Section1.KeywordUseinTitleTag
Section2.AnchorTextofInboundLink
Section3.GlobalLinkPopularityofSite(PageRank)
Section4.AgeofSite
Section5.LinkPopularityWithintheSite
Section6.TopicalRelevanceofInboundLinksandPopularity
ofLinkingSite
Section7.LinkPopularityofSiteinTopicCommunity


Section8.KeywordUseinBodyText

Section9.FileSize
Section10.CleanURL
Section11.UtilizeYourErrorPages
What'sNotHere?
AppendixD.InstallingWAMP5
Index


Copyright
Manyofthedesignationsusedbymanufacturersandsellersto
distinguishtheirproductsareclaimedastrademarks.Where
thosedesignationsappearinthisbook,andthepublisherwas
awareofatrademarkclaim,thedesignationshavebeenprinted
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Theauthorandpublisherhavetakencareinthepreparationof
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kindandassumenoresponsibilityforerrorsoromissions.No
liabilityisassumedforincidentalorconsequentialdamagesin
connectionwithorarisingoutoftheuseoftheinformationor
programscontainedherein.
Thepublisheroffersexcellentdiscountsonthisbookwhen
orderedinquantityforbulkpurchasesorspecialsales,which
mayincludeelectronicversionsand/orcustomcoversand
contentparticulartoyourbusiness,traininggoals,marketing
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(800)382-3419

ForsalesoutsidetheUnitedStatespleasecontact:

InternationalSales

EditorinChief
MarkTaub
AcquisitionsEditors
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VisitusontheWeb:www.prenhallprofessional.com
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData:

North,BarrieM.
Joomla!:auser'sguide:buildingasuccessfulJoomla!poweredWebsite/
p.cm.
ISBN0-13-613560-9(pbk.:alk.paper)1.Websites-Authoringprograms.2.Websitedevelopment.3.Joomla!(Computerfile)
TK5105.8883.N672007
006.7'8--dc22


2007039551
Copyright©2008BarrieM.North
AllrightsreservedexceptforChapter9(seeparagraphbelow).
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.Thispublicationis
protectedbycopyright,andpermissionmustbeobtainedfrom
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ISBN-13:978-0-136-13560-9
TextprintedintheUnitedStatesonrecycledpaperatR.R.
DonnellyinCrawfordsville,IN
FirstprintingNovember2007

Dedication
ForSarah


Preface
Joomla!isanopensourceContentManagementSystem(CMS)
thatanyonecandownloadforfree.[1]Thismakesitanideal
choiceforsmallbusinesses.Don'tletthepricetagfoolyou—
Joomla!ispowerfulandrobust,andmorebigorganizationsare
choosingtohaveopensourcesoftwaresolutionsallthetime.
ThisuniversalappealhasmadeJoomla!hugelypopularasa
CMS.ThisisevidentbylookingathowsearchesforJoomla!in
Googlehavegrown,roughlydoublingeverytwomonths(see
FigureP.1).
[1]mla!.org/sf/go/projects.Joomla!/frs

FigureP.1.Joomla!—asPopularasPop
[Viewfullsizeimage]

AsJoomla!matures,itisbeingadoptedbymoreandmore
organizations.Itsgreatestadvantageisitsflexibility.Youcan
seeitonahugevarietyofsites:
Corporations
SchoolsandUniversities
OnlineCommerceOrganizations


SmallBusinesses
Non-profitandCommunityOrganizations

GovernmentOrganizations
CorporateIntranetsandExtranets
PersonalorFamilyHomePages
Community-basedPortals
MagazinesandNewspapers

ThePurposeofThisBook
ThisbookisaboutJoomla!,thepopularandaward-winning[2]
opensourceCMS.Itwilltakeyoustep-by-stepthrough
everythingyouneedtodevelopasuccessfulwebsitepowered
byJoomla!.Thebookgivesageneraloverviewofmanagement
ofaCMSandteachesyoukeyconceptsregardingcontent
organization,editing,andtemplates.Last,thebookexamines
somemoregeneraltopicssuchashowSearchEngine
Optimization(SEO)canbemaximizedwithJoomla!andwhat
resourcesareavailableintheJoomla!webcommunity.
[2]Joomla!wontheawardforthe"BestLinux/OpenSourceProject"for2005.

ThisbookfocusesonthemostcurrentreleaseofJoomla!,
knownasJoomla!1.5.Thisisabrandnewandsignificant
updatetothisCMS.

ThisBook'sTargetAudience
ThisbookprimarilytargetspeopleusingJoomla!1.5tocreatea
website,eitherforthemselvesortheirclients.It'seasytoread
andlowontechnicaljargon.Itdoesn'tassumeyouknowPHP,
CSS,oranyotherofthemanyacronymscommontoweb
applications.
Alloftheconceptsinthebookareexplainedwithclear,step-by-

stepcontextualexamples.Ifyoufollowallthestepsinallthe
chapters,youwillbuildsevenseparateJoomla!websites!

HowShouldIUseThisBook?
Youcanusethisbookinseveralways.Youcanstartatthe
beginningandgochapterbychapterasyoudevelopyourown
site.Thebookiscarefullylaidoutsothatintroductoryideasin
theearlierchaptersaredevelopedandbuiltontohelpyou
understandmoreadvancedconceptslateron.Youcanalsouse
thebookasareference.Ifyouneedsomequickideasofwhat
newsletterextensionsareavailable,headtoChapter6,
"ExtendingJoomla!."Lastly,theAppendicescontainvaluable
extrainformationaboutvariousaspectsofJoomla!.

Chapter1:ContentManagementSystemsandan
IntroductiontoJoomla!
Intoday'sfastmovingweb,ifyouhaveawebsitethatdoesn't
haverichfunctionalityorfreshcontent,youwillfindyourselfat
adisadvantagetothosethatdo.Theideaofpoweringwebsites
withaCMShasbeenaroundforsometime,butitisonly
recentlywiththeadventofhighqualityopensourceCMSscripts
likeJoomla!thatwehaveseenthesepowerfulCMStools
comingintothehandsofyouandme.
Inthischapter,Iexplainindetailthedifferencebetweena
"traditional"websiteandoneusingaCMS.Wealsolookatthe
historyofJoomla!andanoverviewofsomeofitsfeatures.

Chapter2:DownloadingandInstallingJoomla!
Joomla!isoneofthemostpopularopensourceCMSonthe

planet.Thefirststepinbecomingpartofthe"Joomla!sphere,"
thevibrantcommunitythatexistsaroundtheJoomla!Project,
istodownloadJoomla!andinstallitonyourwebserver.
Thischaptershowsyouhowtogetupandrunningwitha
Joomla!site.Thetwostepsaretofindanddownloadthelatest


filesandtoinstallthemonawebserver.Thischapterdescribes
bothalocal(yourhomecomputer)installationtouseasyou
readthisbook(ifyoudon'thaveahostingaccountorhavea
slowinternetconnection)andrealwebserverinstallations.

Chapter3:Joomla!AdministrationBasics
Theterm"siteadministration"usuallymeansthedaytoday
tasksofaddingcontent,managingusersandmakingsure
installedcomponentsandmodulesarerunningcorrectly.Witha
properlyconfiguredJoomla!site,theadministrationburdenis
relativelylow.Mostoftheeffortcanbededicatedtogenerating
thatallimportantcontent.
Inthischapter,wegoonawhirlwindtourofthecore
administrativefunctionsyouneed.Iwon'tbegoingstepbystep
explainingeverylastbuttonintheadminbackend,butrather
pickingoutkeyfunctions,tips,andtricksthatyou'llneedto
knowtokeepyoursitehumming.

Chapter4:ContentIsKing:OrganizingYour
Content
AsaCMS,Joomla!'sprimaryfunctionistoorganizeandpresent
allthecontentinyoursite.Itdoesthisthroughcontentarticles.
Thesediscretepiecesofcontentmustbeorganizedintoatwolevelhierarchycalledsectionsandcategories.

Thischapterprovidesanin-depthtutorialthatexplainshow
Joomla!displaysitscontentarticlesandhowyoucanorganize
thehierarchicalstructureofthem.Itdetailshowtoplanand
organizethecontentanduserexperienceforthesite.Italso
explainsthehierarchystructurecurrentlyusedinJoomla!,
sectionsandcategories,andhowtobeststructurecontentinto
themforsmallandlargesites.

Chapter5:CreatingMenusandNavigation
MenusareperhapsthecoreofaJoomla!site.InastaticHTML
site,theymerelyserveasnavigation.InaJoomla!site,they


servethatpurpose,butalsodeterminethelayoutofwhata
dynamicpagewilllooklikeandwhatcontentwillappearonthat
pagewhenyounavigatetoit.Therelationshipbetweenmenus,
menuitems,pagesandmodulesisperhapsoneofthemost
confusinginJoomla!.Thischapterexplainsthisrelationshipso
thatyoucancreateanavigationschemethatworksforyour
site.
Chapter5examineshowthenavigation(menusandlinks)is
builtforaJoomla!websiteandhowthedifferentaspects
interacttoproduceacoherentnavigationstructure.

Chapter6:ExtendingJoomla!
It'shardtofindaJoomla!poweredwebsitethathasnotadded
functionalitybeyondthebasicswithsomesortofextension.The
wordextensioncollectivelydescribescomponents,modules,
plugins,andlanguages.Therearemanyhundredsavailable
bothfreeandcommerciallyfrom3rdpartyproviders.

Inthischapter,welookatsomeexamplesofcoreand3rdparty
Joomla!extensions.Wealsoexaminehowtheyareinstalled
andmanagedinJoomla!.

Chapter7:ExpandingYourContent:Articlesand
Editors
Therearetwomainwaystoaddandmanagecontenttoa
Joomla!site:throughthefrontendorbackend.Partofthe
biggestattractionofJoomla!istoeasilyaddandeditcontent
throughaWhatYouSeeIsWhatYouGet(WYSIWYG)editor.
Inthischapter,westartoutlookingatWYSIWYGandhowit
functionsinthebackendwithManagers,Administrators,and
SuperAdministrators.Wethenexaminehowauthors,editors,
andpublishersmanagecontentthroughthefrontend.

Chapter8:GettingTraffictoYourSite
SearchEngineOptimization(SEO)mightbeoneofthemost


malignedsubjectsontheweb.FromtalktoblackhatSEO,
peoplewhouseunethicalmethodstogainrankinsearch
engines,totheircounterpartsofwhitehatSEO,thegoodguys,
howbesttogettraffictoyoursiteisloadedwithopinionand
myth.
TryingtolearnaboutSEOisdifficult,tosaytheleast.Inthis
chapter,IemphasizeSearchEngineMarketing(SEM).Ipoint
outsomeobviousSEOtipsandhowtheyapplytoJoomla!,but
I'llalsodiscussamoreholisticmarketingplanincludingsuch
strategiesasPayPerClickandblogging.

Chapter9:CreatingaPureCSSTemplate
Inthischapter,wegothroughthestepsofcreatingaJoomla!
template.Specifically,wecreateatemplatethatusesCascading
StyleSheets(CSS)toproducealayoutwithoutuseoftables.
Thisisadesirablegoalasitmeansthatthetemplatecodeis
easiertovalidatetoWorldWideWebConsortium(W3C)
standards.Italsotendstoloadfaster,beeasiertomaintainand
performbetterinsearchengines.Wediscusstheseissuesin
detaillaterinthechapter.

Chapter10:CreatingaSchoolSitewithJoomla!
Schoolwebsitestendtobemediumtolargeinsize.Oneofthe
definingcharacteristicsofJoomla!isthatitisverypowerfuland
flexible,butcanbequitetimeintensivetosetup.Thisleadsus
ofcoursetothischapter,hopefullyanextensiveguideto
creatingandsettingupaschoolwebsiteusingtheJoomla!CMS.

Chapter11:CreatingaRestaurantSitewith
Joomla!
Thechapterlooksattheentireprocessofcreatingarestaurant
websitefromscratch.Weexaminehowtobuildasmallbusiness
website,inthiscasearestaurant.Startingfromananalysisof
needs,thischaptershowsyouhowtoorganizepossiblecontent
allthewaythroughtoaddingphotosandconsideringfurther


extensions.

Chapter12:CreatingaBlogSitewithJoomla!
Itseemslikeeveryonehasablogthesedays.Manypeoplestill

thinkofblogsaspersonaldiaries,butmoreandmore
organizationsandcompaniesareusingblogsasawaytoshape
perceptionofwhotheyareandwhattheydo.Chancesare,if
yougotoawebsitetoday,youwillfindalinktotheirblog
somewhereontheirsite.Whatisbecomingmorecommonon
websitesnow,isasectionofthesitethatisdedicatedtothe
blog.
Thischaptertalksaboutblogsinamoregeneralsense:a
dynamiccommunicationmediumforapersonororganizationto
interactwiththeirstakeholders.Welookatcreatingablogsite
fromscratchusingJoomla!.

AppendixA:GettingHelp
StuckwithJoomla!?Thereisatremendousamountof
informationontheweb,aswellasmanyactivecommunitiesto
askforhelp.

AppendixB:Joomla!CaseStudies
SixrealsitesthatareusingJoomla!,takenfromawiderangeof
industriesandtypesofsite.

AppendixC:AQuickStarttoSEO
NeedsomequicktipstohelpyourSearchEngineRanking?
Implementthese.

AppendixD:InstallWAMP5
AquickguidetoinstallingWAMP5onyourhomecomputer.This
packageisimportantsoyoucanfollowalongwithallthesite
examplesinthebook.

WhatIsaContentManagementSystem?


ACMSisacollectionofscriptsthatseparatescontentfromits
presentation.Itsmainfeaturesaretheeaseofcreationand
editingofcontentanddynamicwebpages.CMSsareusually
verysophisticatedandcanhavenewsfeeds,forums,andonline
stores—andareeasilyedited.Moreandmorewebsitesare
movingtowardasitepoweredbyaCMS.
MostContentManagementSystemsareexpensive,anywhere
from$50,000to$300,000,butthereareanincreasingnumber
ofopensourcealternativesbecomingavailable.Opensource
CMSshavebecomeincreasinglymorereliableandarenow
beingusedforimportantprojectsinmanycompanies,nonprofits,andorganizations.

WhyUseaCMS?
ACMSseparatesouttheresponsibilitiesofdevelopinga
website.Thewebdesignercanconcernhimselfwiththedesign,
whichmeansthatnontechnicalpeoplecanberesponsiblefor
thecontent.
ThemodernCMSisusuallydefinedbyitscapabilitytomanage
andpublishcontent.Mostdofarmore,havingthecapabilityto
addonawiderangeofextensionsoradd-onstoincrease
functionalityofthesite.

WhatIsOpenSourceSoftware?
Joomla!isanexampleofopensourcesoftware;itsnon-profit
copyrightholderisOpenSourceMatters.[3]Anopensource
projectisdevelopedbyacommunityofdevelopersacrossthe
world,allvolunteeringtheirtime.Someexamplesyoumight

haveheardofareFirefox,Apache,Wiki,Linux,orOpenOffice.
Alloftheseareopensourceandbothhavechallengedand
surpassedtheircommercialequivalents.Ifyouarecurious
abouthowandwhypeopleshouldcreatepowerfulsoftwarefor
free,youcanfindmoreinformationonthesesites:


[3]

/> />
ThingsToLookFor
Thefollowingarespecificelementstolookforwhenreading:
Tip
Thetipboxesgivemoreadvancedideas
aboutanaspectofJoomla!.Youwillusually
beabletofindmoredetailsat
compassdesigns.netaboutthetip.

Note
Thenotesboxdenotesacautionaboutan
aspectofthetopic.Itsometimeswon'tbe
applicabletoallsituations,butyoushould
checkifitwouldapplytoyoursite.

TheLeastYouNeedtoKnow
Thekeycriticalconceptsexplainedcanbe
foundintheLYNTKbox.Theseareworth
circlinginabigredpenorwritingoutfor
yourselfonacheatsheet.

Joomla!
ThefullandpropernameoftheJoomla!CMSincludesan
exclamationpoint,asshownhere.Forthesakeofreadability,
andatreeortwo,I'llbedroppingtheexclamationinthetext.

www.Joomlabook.com
Youcanfindmoreinformationaboutthisbook,including
completebrowsableanddownloadableversionsofallthesites
createdinthechapters,atwww.Joomlabook.com.


Acknowledgments
Withoutthecontinuingsupportofmywife,Sarah,thisbook
wouldnothavebeenpossible.Aswehadourthirdsonhalfway
throughwritingit,sheletmefrequentlyslipofftoworkonthe
manuscriptwhileshekeptthembusy.Partofmythanksalso
goestomythreeboyswho(mostly)managednottobugme
whilewriting.
I'dliketothankthethird-partydevelopercommunitywhoI
wouldfrequentlyannoyonSkypewithquestionsaboutthisor
that.
Last,allofmythankstotheguyswholiveonthetrunk—the
manydeveloperswhoselflesslycontributecodetotheJoomla!
projectonadailybasis.


AbouttheAuthor
BarrieNorthhasover15yearsofexperiencewiththeInternet,
asauser,designer,andteacher.Hehasspentovereightyears

intheeducationfield,becomingsteadilymoreinvolvedinweb
technologyandteachingwebdesignclassestostudentsand
technologyintegrationtoteachers.Mostrecentlyheworkedas
anITconsultantfortwonewschoolspioneeringintheuseof
technology.Aswellaswebdesign,hehasprovidedweb
marketing/SEO,usability,andstandardscomplianceexpertise
tohisclients.
HeisapartnerofJoomla!shack.com,providingtemplatesand
customservices.Healsomaintainsablogaboutallthings
Joomla!atcompassdesigns.net.
Whennotworking,hecanfrequentlybefoundontheJoomla!
communityboards,andhehaswrittenmanyfreetutorialsfor
usingJoomla!.HiscombinationofJoomla!expertise,
educationalskills,andengagingwritinghasproducedabook
accessibletoeveryone.


Chapter1.ContentManagement
SystemsandanIntroductiontoJoomla!
InThisChapter
Intoday'sfast-pacedworldoftheInternet,ifyouhavea
websitethatdoesn'thaverichfunctionalityorfreshcontent,
youwillfindyourselfatadisadvantagetothosethatdo.The
ideaofpoweringwebsiteswithContentManagementSystems
(CMS)hasbeenaroundforsometime,butitisonlyrecently,
withtheadventofhigh-qualityopensourceCMSscriptslike
Joomla,thatyouandIcannowusethesepowerfulCMStools.
Inthischapter,Iexplainindetailthedifferencebetweena
"traditional"websiteandoneusingaCMS.Ialsoprovidealook
backintothehistoryofJoomlaandgiveanoverviewofsomeof

itsfeatures.Herearesomeofthetopicsthischaptercovers:
WhatisaContentManagementSystem(CMS),andhowis
itdifferentfroma"normal"website?
WhatisJoomla,andwherediditcomefrom?
WhatcanJoomlado?
WhatarethebasicelementsofaJoomlawebpage?

WhatIsaContentManagementSystem?
WhatexactlyisaContentManagementSystem?Tobetter
understandthis,let'sbrieflylookatyourcommon,everyday
webpage.Wewillhavetotalkalittleaboutsomeofthe
technologyofwebpages,butit'sworthittounderstandthe
powerofaCMS.
Tostart,let'stakealookatthehistoricaldevelopmentofweb
pages.Conceptually,therearetwoaspectstoawebpage:Its
contentandthepresentationofthatcontent.Overthelast
decade,therehasbeenanevolutionofhowthesetwopieces


interact:
Staticwebpages—Thecontentandpresentationarein
thesamefile.
CascadingStyleSheetwebpages—Contentand
presentationareseparated.
Dynamicwebpages—Contentandpresentationare
separatedfromthewebpageitself.

StaticWebPages
Awebpageismadeupofasetofinstructions—eXtensible
HypertextMarkupLanguage(XHTML)—thattellsyourbrowser

howtopresentthecontentofawebpage.Forexample,the
codemightsay,"Takethistitle'Thisisawebpage,'makeit
large,andmakeitbold."Theresultswilllooksomethinglike
Figure1.1.
Figure1.1.Resultsofcodeonawebpage
[Viewfullsizeimage]

Thiswayofcreatingawebpageisoutdated,butit'sastonishing
howmanydesignersstillcreatesitesusingthisoutdated
method.Ithastwomaindrawbacks:
Allofthecontentshownonthepage("Thisisawebpage")
andthepresentation(bigandbold)aretiedtogether.Ifyou
wanttochangethecolorofallyourtitles,youhavetogo


throughallthepagesinyoursitetodoso.
Thepageshavelargefilesizes.Becauseeachbitofcontent
isindividuallystyled,thepagesarebig,whichmeansit
takesforevertoload.Mostexpertsagreethatthisalso
penalizesyoursearchengineoptimizationeffortsaslarge
pagesareharderforsearchenginestoindex.

CascadingStyleSheetWebPages
Thenextsteptowardunderstandingcontentmanagementisa
recent(recentmeaninginthelastfourorfiveyears)
developmentofwebstandards,acommonsetof"rules"thata
webbrowserlikeInternetExplorerorFirefoxusestooutputa
webpageontoyourscreen.Oneofthesestandardsinvolves
usingCascadingStyleSheets(CSS)tocontrolthevisual
presentationofyourwebpage.CSSisasimplemechanismfor

addingstyle(forexample,fonts,colors,spacing,andsoon)to
webdocuments.Allofthispresentationinformationiscontained
inseparatefilesfromthecontent.
NowthewebpagegeneratedmightlooksomethinglikeFigure
1.2.
Figure1.2.ModernwebpageusingCSS
[Viewfullsizeimage]