Joomla! A User's Guide: Building a Successful Joomla! Powered Website by Barrie M North Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub Date: December 11, 2007 Print ISBN-10: 0-13-613560-9 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-13-613560-9 Pages: 480 Table of Contents | Index Overview The First Easy-to-Use Guide to Joomla!-The World's #1 Open Source Content Management System If you want to build sophisticated websites that can be easily edited and updated, you need to master Joomla!-the world's #1 open source content management system Now there's an easyto-read, easy-to-use guide to Joomla! for every site manager, administrator, and developer Leading Joomla! consultant Barrie North covers all you need to get results: installation, administration, site organization, template development, content updates, and a whole lot more You'll find never-beforepublished tips, tricks, and troubleshooting solutions, as well as three start-to-finish case studies New to Joomla? No problem! This book starts with the simplest design and system concepts, and builds your expertise step-bystep You'll rapidly master Joomla!'s power, even if you have no content management, scripting, or CSS expertise Experienced with Joomla!? You'll turn to this book constantly for its authoritative, plain-English, example-rich Joomla! 1.0 and 1.5 reference content · Understanding content management, what Joomla! does, and how its components fit together · Building Joomla! sites from scratch, and systematically customizing them to your needs · Organizing content with sections, categories, blogs, and tables · Creating dynamic pages and effective navigation · Working with Joomla! modules and components · Search engine optimization for Joomla! sites · Start-to-finish case studies: building a school website, an ecommerce site, and a blog · The most valuable Joomla! extensions and add-ons: finding them, and using them · Key differences between Joomla! 1.0 and 1.5, and what they mean to you Joomla! A User's Guide: Building a Successful Joomla! Powered Website by Barrie M North Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub Date: December 11, 2007 Print ISBN-10: 0-13-613560-9 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-13-613560-9 Pages: 480 Table of Contents | Index Copyright Preface Acknowledgments About the Author Chapter 1 Content Management Systems and an Introduction to Joomla! What Is a Content Management System? History of Joomla Joomla's Features Elements of a Joomla Website Summary Chapter 2 Downloading and Installing Joomla! How Do I Install Joomla? Summary Chapter 3 Joomla! Administration Basics What Is the Frontend and Backend of a Joomla-powered Website? Summary Chapter 4 Content Is King: Organizing Your Content How Does Joomla Generate Web Pages? How Does Joomla Organize Content Articles? Creating the Widget Inc Website with Uncategorized Content Creating Widget Inc with Sections and Categories Module Content Summary Chapter 5 Creating Menus and Navigation How Do Menus and Modules Work Together? What Do Menu Items Do? Blog Layout List/Standard Layout for a Section List/Standard Layout for a Blog Module Manager Submenus Summary Chapter 6 Extending Joomla! What Are Extensions? Installing Extensions Managing Extensions Components Modules Plugins Templates Summary Chapter 7 Expanding Your Content: Articles and Editors WYSIWYG Editors Creating and Managing Articles Managing Content Through the Backend Managing Content Through The Frontend Article Checkin Summary Chapter 8 Getting Traffic to Your Site Start at the Beginning: Site Goals Organic Traffic (SEO) Referral Traffic Pay-Per-Click Traffic Email Traffic Joomla SEF Extensions Summary Chapter 9 Creating a Pure CSS Template What Is a Joomla Template? Localhost Design Process W3C and Tableless Design Creating a Simple Template Using CSS to Create a Tableless Layout Making a Real Joomla 1.5 Template Advanced Templating Features Summary Chapter 10 Creating a School Site with Joomla! Why Do We Need a School Website? What Features Do We Need on a School Site? Downloading and Installing a School Template Organizing Content on a School Website Creating the Menus Building Out Content Creating Subnavigation Setting Up the Footer Setting Up the Home Page Adding Basic Functionality to a School Website Extending the School Website Beyond the Basics Summary Chapter 11 Creating a Restaurant Site with Joomla! Why Does a Restaurant Need a Website? What Features Does a Restaurant Website Need? Downloading and Installing a Restaurant Template Organizing the Content on a Restaurant Website Building Content Articles with Lorem Ipsum Creating Menus Setting Up the Home Page Using Stock Imagery Extending a Restaurant Website Summary Chapter 12 Creating a Blog Site with Joomla! What Is a Blog? Why Have a Blog? What Features Are Needed on a Blog Site? Downloading and Installing a Blog Template Organizing Content on a Blog Adding Basic Functionality to a Blog Extending a Blog Website Beyond the Basics Summary Appendix A Getting Help Community Forums Help Sites Getting Help from Google Appendix B Joomla! Case Studies Six Case Studies for Organizations That Use Joomla Summary Appendix C A Quick Start to SEO Section 1 Keyword Use in Title Tag Section 2 Anchor Text of Inbound Link Section 3 Global Link Popularity of Site (PageRank) Section 4 Age of Site Section 5 Link Popularity Within the Site Section 6 Topical Relevance of Inbound Links and Popularity of Linking Site Section 7 Link Popularity of Site in Topic Community Section 8 Keyword Use in Body Text Section 9 File Size Section 10 Clean URL Section 11 Utilize Your Error Pages What's Not Here? Appendix D Installing WAMP5 Index Copyright Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters or in all capitals The author and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained herein The publisher offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales, which may include electronic versions and/or custom covers and content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, and branding interests For more information, please contact: U.S Corporate and Government Sales (800) 382-3419 corpsales@pearsontechgroup.com For sales outside the United States please contact: International Sales international@pearsoned.com Editor in Chief Mark Taub Acquisitions Editors Catherine B Nolan Debra Williams Cauley Development Editor Sheri Cain Managing Editor Gina Kanouse Project Editor and Proofreader Chelsey Marti Copy Editor Language Logistics, LLC Senior Indexer Cheryl Lenser Technical Reviewers Corey Burger Kenneth Crowder Editorial Assistant Kim Boedigheimer Cover Designer Chuti Prasertsith Composition Gloria Schurick Visit us on the Web: www.prenhallprofessional.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: North, Barrie M Joomla! : a user's guide : building a successful Joomla! powered Website / p cm ISBN 0-13-613560-9 (pbk : alk paper) 1 Websites-Authoring programs Web site development Joomla! (Computer file) TK5105.8883.N67 2007 006.7'8 dc22 2007039551 Copyright © 2008 Barrie M North All rights reserved except for Chapter 9 (see paragraph below) Printed in the United States of America This publication is protected by copyright, and permission must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise For information regarding permissions, write to: Pearson Education, Inc Rights and Contracts Department 75 Arlington Street, Suite 300 Boston, MA 02116 Fax: (617) 848-7047 Chapter 9 is released under a Creative Commons AttributionNoncommerical-Share Alike 2.5 License Please see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ for more details ISBN-13: 978-0-136-13560-9 Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at R.R Donnelly in Crawfordsville, IN First printing November 2007 Dedication For Sarah Index [SYMBOL] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] Random Image module random images in school website example Read More links, search engine optimization (SEO) and Ready To Eat template features of installing Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, in school website example recovering administrative password referral traffic 2nd Google PageRank internal links links in email signatures submitting website to directories WebFerret Related Items module 2nd related websites, locating Release Candidate ReMOSistory 2nd requirements for Joomla 1.5 resources for information community forums on CSS Google searches tutorials restaurant website example brochure websites content creation content organization extensions 2nd email newsletters events calendar Google Maps image gallery features of footer content, creating home page, configuring menus, creating module teaser blocks, creating Ready To Eat template features installing stock images Royal Oak Public Library case study RSS feeds for blogs in school website example Index [SYMBOL] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] school website example content creation content organization Education template drop-down menu configuration features of installing module positions search box configuration extensions 2nd downloadable PDF documents email newsletters events calendar polls random images RSS feeds sitemaps staff directory user registration footer, configuring home page, configuring menus, creating subnavigation, creating user groups parents students teachers/administrators search box, configuring for Education template Search component search engine friendly (SEF) URLs 2nd 3rd 4th search engine marketing [See SEM (search engine marketing).] search engine optimization [See SEO (search engine optimization).] search engine ranking position (SERP) increasing 2nd 3rd link text and search features for blogs Search plugin Section Manager, creating sections sections adding descriptions blog layout parameters creating defined in hierarchical structure example of Widget Inc example menu item link structure in restaurant website example in school website example standard layout parameters Sections module SEF (search engine friendly) URLs 2nd 3rd 4th SEM (search engine marketing) [See also SEO (search engine optimization).] categories of email subscription lists 2nd features of hosted email solutions Joomla extensions for organic marketing creating keywords domain name, importance of Google and SERP (search engine ranking position), influences on web standards and accessibility, effect of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) 2nd referral traffic 2nd Google PageRank internal links links in email signatures submitting website to directories WebFerret site goals, importance of semantically correct HTML code semantic layout SEO (search engine optimization) 2nd 3rd [See also organic marketing; SEM (search engine marketing).] quality content, need for link text and separating content and presentation SERP (search engine ranking position) [See also SEM (search engine marketing).] increasing 2nd 3rd link text and shopping cart component shorthand (CSS) Show Title parameter (menu module) site administration [See administration.] site goals, importance of sitemap component sitemaps in school website example increasing SERP search engine optimization (SEO) and Site Menu, for administrative tasks site-wide global editor, setting Skype, troubleshooting WAMP5 startup slicing images SlideShowPro component small business website example [See restaurant website example.] social bookmarking sorting articles in blog layout source-ordered content importance of in nested float layouts specificity in CSS of links in school website example splash pages, avoiding split testing sponsored links (Google) SQL database configuring as requirement for installing Joomla staff directory in school website example standard layout for categories parameters for sections parameters standards, web starting WAMP5, troubleshooting static modules, adding to blogs static web pages 2nd Statistics module stock images strict DOCTYPE students (school website example) submenus creating for blogs subnavigation, creating for school website example Syndicate module syndication [See RSS feeds.] System–Cache plugin System–Legacy plugin system blog layout parameters Index [SYMBOL] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] table layout [See standard layout.] tableless layouts, creating table of contents, creating tables avoiding for layout for page layout tagging in blogs teachers (school website example) teaser blocks, creating in restaurant website example The Telx Group case study templateDetails.xml file Template Manager 2nd templates [See also extensions.] Aqualine template drop-down menu configuration features of installing logo configuration module positions core templates CSS files in described Education template drop-down menu configuration features of installing module positions search box configuration as extensions Joomla templates accessibility/usability/SEO body of column background image placement creating blank template creating with CSS design comp for file components header image placement hiding columns localhost design process menus in module flexibility module locations modules in overrides for parameters for slicing images typography for as part of Joomla website Ready To Eat template features of installing third-party templates text, centering in CSS the forge (Joomla code repository) third-party components third-party editors third-party hosted email solutions third-party modules third-party plugins third-party templates TinyMCE editor parameters, setting title tag (increasing SERP) 2nd 3rd 4th titles linked titles, creating punctuation in titles of articles (increasing SERP) Toolbar, for administrative tasks Tools Menu, for administrative tasks topical community, link popularity in (increasing SERP) 2nd Trackback, for blogs tracking eye movement traffic, driving to website [See SEM (search engine marketing); SEO (search engine optimization).] transitional DOCTYPE troubleshooting extension installation WAMP5 startup tutorials typography for Joomla templates Index [SYMBOL] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] uncategorized content articles Widget Inc example uninstalling components extensions unpacking Joomla on hosting account on local desktop computer upgrades to Joomla 1.5 URLs, search engine friendly (SEF) URLs 2nd 3rd 4th usability [See also accessibility.] eye movement tracking user groups for school website example parents students teachers/administrators user management component User Manager user registration in school website example Index [SYMBOL] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] VirtueMart component Index [SYMBOL] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) 2nd WAMP5 configuring installing troubleshooting startup WebFerret Web Links component web pages CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) dynamic web pages generating main body of open source software, CMS as static web pages 2nd web servers localhost web servers as requirement for running Joomla web standards SEO (search engine optimization) and websites age of (increasing SERP) blog content organization within case studies City of Longwood Everything Treo NZMac.com Royal Oak Public Library The Telx Group Welcome to Your Wedding competition, determining amount of creating with uncategorized content articles for Joomla information Joomla websites, elements of related websites, locating restaurant website example [See restaurant website example.] school website example [See school website example.] site goals, importance of standalone websites, blog content organization in submitting to directories for tutorials Welcome to Your Wedding case study What You See Is What You Get [See WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get).] white space around images Who's Online module Widget Inc example sections/categories hierarchical structure uncategorized content articles Wordtracker Workspace, for administrative tasks World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) 2nd Wrapper module WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) WYSIWYG editors managing third-party editors tips for WYSIWYGPro editor 2nd Index [SYMBOL] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] XHTML editors XML-RPC plugin XStandard editor Index [SYMBOL] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] YaNC (email newsletters) 2nd ... Elements of a Joomla Website Summary Chapter 2 Downloading and Installing Joomla! How Do I Install Joomla? Summary Chapter 3 Joomla! Administration Basics What Is the Frontend and Backend of a Joomla- powered. .. Creating a Pure CSS Template What Is a Joomla Template? Localhost Design Process W3C and Tableless Design Creating a Simple Template Using CSS to Create a Tableless Layout Making a Real Joomla 1.5 Template... "Extending Joomla! ." Lastly, the Appendices contain valuable extra information about various aspects of Joomla! Chapter 1: Content Management Systems and an Introduction to Joomla! In today's fast moving web, if you have a website that doesn't