Using Joomla!, 2nd Edition

Book description

If you’re new to content management systems—or even new to building websites—this practical guide will get you up and running in no time. You don’t have to know much code, if any, to get started. Need to build a website quickly? Have a client that requires a powerful website with lots of compelling features? Ideal for web designers and developers alike, this updated edition takes you step-by-step through site creation with Joomla, with plenty of hands-on exercises along the way.

Publisher resources

View/Submit Errata

Table of contents

  1. Foreword
  2. Preface
    1. Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Read This Book
    2. How This Book Is Organized
    3. Conventions Used in This Book
    4. Using Code Examples
    5. Some Basic Terminology
      1. Frontend Versus Backend
      2. Extensions
        1. Components
        2. Modules
        3. Plugins
        4. Templates
        5. Languages
        6. Libraries
        7. Packages
      3. Site Content
        1. Categories and articles
    6. Safari® Books Online
    7. How to Contact Us
    8. About the Technical Reviewers
    9. Acknowledgments
  3. 1. Overview
    1. A Brief History of Joomla
    2. Joomla Series End-of-Life Dates
    3. Why Open Source and the GPL?
    4. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a CMS: Static Versus Dynamic
    5. Joomla Concepts
  4. 2. Planning Your Website
    1. Example Website: Joomla Pet Center
    2. Goals of the Website
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Write Your Goals
    3. Planning Menu Items
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Choose Menu Items and Layout
    4. Planning Categories
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Make Your List of Categories
    5. Planning Articles
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Make Your List of Articles
    6. Planning Users
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Write Out Your Users and What They Can See or Do
    7. Choosing Extensions
    8. Choosing a Template
    9. Home Page Layout
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Draw Out Your Home Page
    10. Internal Page Layout
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Draw Out Your Internal Page Layout
  5. 3. A Tour of the Administrator Panel
    1. Control Panel
    2. Administrator Menus
      1. System
      2. Users
      3. Menus
      4. Content
      5. Components
      6. Extensions
      7. Help
      8. Personal Information Settings
    3. Administrator Modules
    4. Top Toolbar
    5. Filtering and Display
    6. Footer Menu
  6. 4. Setting Up the Basics of Your Website
    1. Content Categories
    2. Creating Categories
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Create Your Categories
      2. Publishing and Unpublishing Categories
      3. Copying Categories
      4. Uncategorized Category
    3. Creating Articles
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Create Your Articles
      2. Article Publishing and Unpublishing
    4. Creating Menu Items
    5. Text Separator Menu Item type
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Create Text Separator Menu Items
    6. Creating Single Article Menu Item Types
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Single Article Menu Item Types
    7. Category Blog Layout
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Category Blog
    8. Category List Menu Item Type
    9. Mastering Backups
    10. Template Parameters
      1. The Style Tab
      2. Template CSS Overrides
      3. Features Tab
      4. Menu Tab
      5. Layouts Tab
      6. Advanced and Assignments Tabs
    11. Creating Modules
      1. Placeholder Custom HTML Module
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Create Custom HTML Placeholder Modules
      3. Ordering Modules
      4. Duplicating Modules
      5. Deleting Modules
      6. Frontend Layout After Building the Structure
  7. 5. Creating Content
    1. Joomla Pet Center Article Options Hierarchy
      1. Hands-On: Setting the Global Article Options
      2. Changing Menu Item Options
    2. The WYSIWYG Editor
      1. Installing JCE
    3. Customizing Articles: Recommended Guidelines
      1. Copying and Pasting
      2. Pasting Lists
      3. Heading Tags
      4. Text Color and Underline
      5. Tables
    4. Hyperlinking
    5. Internal Links to Content Items
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Hyperlinking to Internal Content
      2. Hands-On Exercises: External Hyperlinks
      3. Hands-On Exercise: Email Address Hyperlinks
    6. Adding Embedded HTML Code and Text Filtering
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Add a YouTube Video
    7. Read More and Pagebreak
    8. Meta Description and Keywords
    9. Article Management
      1. Versioning/Revisions and Editing Articles
      2. Check In
      3. Ordering Articles
      4. Permissions
      5. Archiving Articles
      6. Trashing Articles
    10. Adding Content to Modules
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Showing Modules Inside an Article
  8. 6. Managing Media and Creating Galleries
    1. Media Manager
      1. Navigating Views and Managing Media
    2. Uploading and Deleting Media
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Uploading Media
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Deleting Media
    3. Using Media in Your Articles
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Adding an Image to an Article
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Adding Folders and Uploading Images from the Editor
      3. Hands-On Exercise: Changing an Image
      4. Hands-On Exercise: Removing an Image
      5. Hands-On Exercise: Hyperlinking an Image
      6. Hands-On Exercise: Linking Documents
    4. Organizing Media
    5. Resizing, Optimizing, and Naming Image Files
    6. Global Media Manager Options
    7. Adding an Image Gallery
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Installing sigplus
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Creating a Gallery in a Module
      3. Hands-On Exercise: Embedding a Gallery in an Article
    8. Other Gallery Resources
  9. 7. Making Your Website Speak Multiple Languages
    1. Offering Your Site Content in Multiple Languages
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Installing Multiple Languages When Joomla is Initially Installed
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Installing Additional Site Languages After Joomla is Installed
    2. Uninstall a Language
    3. Translating Your Content
    4. Using the Joomla Administrator Interface in Another Language
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Setting the Language Options for Site Administrators
  10. 8. Starting a Blog
    1. Joomla Articles as a Blog
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Creating a New Blog Post
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Scheduling an Article to Publish and Unpublish
    2. Adding Comments, Tags, and Modules to Your Blog
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Adding Comments Using Komento
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Adding Comments Using the Kunena Forum
      3. Hands-On Exercise: Adding Joomla Tags to Your Blog
      4. Hands-On Exercise: Adding a Popular Tags Module
      5. Hands-On Exercise: Adding a Latest Posts Module
  11. 9. Create and Share an Event Calendar
    1. Hands-On Exercise: Installing and Configuring JEvents
    2. Hands-On Exercise: Creating a Calendar
    3. Hands-On Exercise: Creating Event Categories
    4. Hands-On Exercise: Adding JEvents to the Menu
    5. Hands-On Exercise: Adding Events to JEvents
      1. Create One-Time Events
      2. Create Recurring Events
    6. Adding Events from the Frontend by Visitors/Registered Users
    7. Add a Module Showing Latest Events on Other Pages of the Site
  12. 10. Creating Forms
    1. Contact Form with Contact Enhanced
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Installing Contact Enhanced
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Creating Beautiful Contact Pages with Forms
      3. Hands-On Exercise: Adding a Contact Form to the Menu
      4. Hands-On Exercise: Configuring Contact Enhanced
      5. Hands-On Exercise: Adding a Contact Form to an Article
      6. Hands-On Exercise: Add a Form Field to the Contact Form
      7. Hands-On Exercise: Adding Captcha to the Form
      8. Testing Your Contact Form
    2. Donation Form with RSForm Pro
      1. Installing RSForm
      2. Configuring RSForm
      3. Installing Plugins and Modules for RSForm Pro
      4. Creating a Donation Form with PayPal Payment Integration
      5. Adding a Form to the Menu
  13. 11. Building an Online Store
    1. Hands-On Exercise: Installing HikaShop
    2. Hands-On Exercise: Configuring HikaShop
    3. Hands-On Exercise: Setting Up Payments, Shipping, and Taxes
      1. Payments
      2. Zones
      3. Shipping
      4. Tax
    4. Hands-On Exercise: Adding Categories, Products, and Attributes
    5. Adding the Shop to the Menu
    6. Adding HikaShop-Specific Modules
    7. Notes About Security, SSL, and PCI Compliance
  14. 12. Engaging and Keeping in Touch with Your Users
    1. Getting Social with JomSocial
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Installing and Configuring JomSocial
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Setting Up a Custom User Profile
      3. Hands-On Exercise: Setting Up Groups in JomSocial
      4. Hands-On Exercise: Creating Events in JomSocial
    2. Social Media Sharing
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Adding an AddThis Module
    3. Creating a Discussion Forum with Kunena
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Creating Forum Categories
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Creating Category Permissions and Moderating Users
      3. Preventing Spam in Your Forum
      4. Customizing the Look of Kunena
    4. Getting the Word Out with a Newsletter
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Setting Up and Creating a Mailing List
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Send Your First Newsletter
      3. Hands-On Exercise: Letting Users Manage Their Subscriptions with the AcyMailing Module
      4. Troubleshooting AcyMailing
    5. Additional Newsletter Options
  15. 13. Solutions to Common Problems
    1. Database Fix Tool
    2. SEF URL Settings and SEO Basics
      1. SEF URLs
      2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics
    3. Favicon
    4. Language Overrides
    5. Users, User Groups, Access Control Lists (ACLs), and Frontend Editing
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Creating Users
      2. User Groups
    6. Access Control Lists (ACLs)
      1. Hands-On Exercise: Allowing a User Group to Edit Specific Content
      2. Hands-On Exercise: Control What the User Sees with ACLs
      3. Set the Access Level of Your Content
      4. Hands-On Exercise: Login Module
      5. Setting User Options
  16. 14. Making Your Website Secure and Optimized
    1. Tips and Best Practices
    2. Using Security Tools and Performing Health Checks
      1. Additional Resources
    3. Enable Two-Factor Authentication
    4. I Was Hacked!
  17. A. How to Install Joomla
    1. Requirements
    2. Choosing a Host
    3. Local Web Servers
    4. One-Click Installers
    5. Database Setup
    6. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
      1. Web Installer
    7. Global Configuration
    8. Global Configuration Expanded
      1. Site
        1. Site settings
        2. Metadata settings
        3. SEO settings
        4. Cookie settings
      2. System
        1. System settings
        2. Debug settings
        3. Cache settings
        4. Session settings
      3. Server
        1. Server settings
        2. Location settings
        3. FTP settings
        4. Database settings
        5. Mail settings
        6. Permissions
        7. Text filters
    9. Global Check-in
    10. Clear Cache
    11. Purge Expired Cache
    12. System Information
  18. B. Updating and Migrating Joomla
    1. Joomla Updates
      1. Updating Joomla Within a Release Cycle
      2. Updating Third-Party Extensions
    2. Joomla Migrations
      1. Planning for Migration
      2. Steps for Mini-Migration: Joomla 2.5 to 3.x
      3. Steps for a Full Migration from Joomla 1.5 to 3.x
        1. Migration Tools
        2. Case Study: Migrating www.usingjoomlabook.com from Joomla 1.5 to 3.x
        3. Hands-On Exercise: Migrating from Joomla 1.5 to 3.x
        4. Migrate to a New Host While Migrating to 3.x
  19. C. Choosing the Right Extensions
    1. Which Extension Is Right for Me?
      1. What Do I Want the Extension to Do?
      2. What Do Others Say About the Extension?
      3. Am I Willing to Pay for the Extension?
      4. Can I Get Support on the Extension If I Need It?
      5. Changelogs
      6. License
      7. Is It Secure?
      8. Is the Extension Encrypted?
    2. Where Can I Find an Extension Used in This Book?
      1. Chapter 3
      2. Chapter 4
      3. Chapter 6
      4. Chapter 8
      5. Chapter 9
      6. Chapter 10
      7. Chapter 11
      8. Chapter 12
      9. Chapter 13
      10. Chapter 14
      11. Appendix A
      12. Appendix B
    3. Ways Extensions Are Packaged
    4. Disable Install from Web Feature
  20. D. Developing for Joomla
    1. Joomla Framework and API
    2. Developer Resources
    3. How to Get Involved and Give Back to the Community
  21. E. Tips and Tricks
    1. How to Recover Your Admin Password
    2. How to Tell If a Website Is Running Joomla
  22. Index
  23. Colophon
  24. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: Using Joomla!, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Ron Severdia, Jennifer Gress
  • Release date: June 2014
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781449345396