Joomla, Easy Open Source CMS

Joomla - An Open Source CMS worth looking at.
Joomla is an open source CMS system (CMS stands for
Content Management System). I'm currently using Joomla to develop a number of themed web sites. There is a Christmas site, a recipe site and a travel site. Joomla has adapted nicely to each of these themes.


Generally CMS systems are extremely pricey
and somewhat complex to use. I've found Joomla to be quite easy to use
and now a month into using it I am really starting to appreciate it. If
you don't feel like using a simple page development tool and binding
pages together by hand, then you should look at a CMS system. From what
I've found, Joomla seems to be moving forward the quickest. I am
currently using version 1.0.11 which is the latest of the 1.0 line.



Never use 1.0 software, that's what people will tell you and for
the most part, that's true. However in the case of Joomla we must
remember (or perhaps it's my job to educate you) that Joomla's roots
(at least the 1.0 version) are in another CMS system Mambo. In fact, if
you are familiar with Mambo, Joomla will be second nature (and the
other way around).



Joomla is organized in menus, sections, catagories and items. It
fits together kind of like this (general, remember this isn't a book,
it's an article). A menu can link to a section, category or item in a
number of ways (table, list, etc). A section can link to a category. A
category can link to a number of items. So, if you need to organize
your website by menu's or tabs, this is ideal. Of course there is much
more to joomla than that, but that is the first thing you'll end up
doing...just like I did.



Joomla extensions, templates, plug-ins, components
One of
the things I love about Joomla is the wide assortment of plugins and
templates available for it, both commercial and free. I found a site,
joomlahacks.com which has a ton of these things (over 200 freely
downloadable templates). I found one that was appropriate for each of
my sites and with a little modification (you are allowed to modify most
templates as they're part of the GPL) GNU Public License, or LGPL
(lesser GNU public license).



Components that I am using are the metataggenerator component
(downloaded) and the SEO component (allowing more google readable url's
for my web site. Also, like I said I'm using a differently downloaded
(and personally modified) template for each of my sites. My sites are
Christmas, Recipes and Travel. There are a couple more, but why go into
those details.



If you go to joomla.org, you can actually test drive the software. I did this
before setting up the christmas site. I wanted to be sure that joomla was right for me.
They've set up a joomla based server and give you a demo account to
play with. This is great to get a feel for the software. I think the
site gets reset every 30 minutes or something, so don't expect your
content to stay there. Also, please please refrain from spamming on
this website! The joomla folks have been good enough to give us a great
product and let us try it out live, please don't take advantage of
their good nature by putting spam up there.



Which technologies does Joomla use
You could also call this section "what does my webserver/hosting
package need to run joomla"?



- PHP, joomla is a PHP based system. If you don't know what PHP is, you
should search around a bit. It's a language for web development (I
believe loosly based on perl) which can have html embedded in it. I
personally compare it to Java jsp's. I needed to do a bit of PHP modification on the travel and
recipe sites to make things fit properly, but this is not the fault of the original templates or Joomla, I
just wanted a bit of a different look.



- MySQL, joomla needs access to a mysql database. It's installs will
create it's own tables, but of course you need to have the appropriate
permissions to do this.



That's it...although, if it is running on an apache web server it also
makes the SEO stuff work better as you can (possible depending on your
hosting) change the .htaccess file to rewrite urls appropriately.



Linux makes a nice joomla platform, but there's no reason why it can't
run on any platform which has the above capabilities.

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About the Author: Johnny is a software engineer with 30 years experience. He has seen the landscape of computing change from the days of no personal computers and mainframes which took up entire rooms to the ipod shuffle (the clip on one)...amazing stuff. He's spent the last 10 years working on the Java platform and is a strong advocate of Java technologies.

Web Templates Are the Key to Good Web Designs

Using web templates to create a high quality web site is the best option one has these days. It is the quickest way to create a site. They also have another added advantage, and that is being very cost effective. There will be many problems that arise when it comes to creating a web site, as it has to be perfect.

Earlier, the site had to be designed from the basic step, and there was no other way to begin the web site creation. This included the creative side as well as the technical problems. It is a totally different scene with web templates. The web site is available as soon as the applications are applied.

There are many ways to present the site, as well as many styles to design it when it comes to the use of web templates and it is very exciting. When it comes to creating a web site, a customer does not need anything else. The designing cost may run high, if the web templates are not used when it comes to the site.

All that is needed for the web site will have to be designed from scratch. The web designer will have to work from step one. The customer just has to choose the type of template he wants when they are available. The designer is then faced with an easier job and the process becomes easier for both of them.

Only the necessary applications have to be applied and thus, as it easy, the cost of designing the web page will also reduce. The client will have requirements, and all the designer has to do is customize the needs. Thus the process is easier for the designer and the client and this can be done only with the help of the web templates.

All the costs of web designing are reduced when it comes to using web templates. There will be no need to spend thousands of dollars, when it comes to templates, as otherwise designers may charge so much. When it comes to hiring world class web designers, there will be a lot of money associated with it.

The web templates are very simple to apply, and it can be altered according to the taste of the client, so there will be no need to look for good designers. A good website will be ready to host, as the designer only has to make the changes according to the taste of the client. No major changes will be required.

Every method of web templates is designed to give a very unique look, so the client need not worry about quality. The customer can also choose what he wants from a variety of them, as there are shops that have many templates. At a very less cost, one can obtain a world class web site through web templates.

Thus websites designing is all about picking the right web templates, and also apply the required techniques to bring about a website that is attractive to all users.

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About the Author: Paul Maddox started in the Internet industry in 1998 and has held executive positions in various sales, marketing and website development.To know more visit http://myacetemplates.net

Why Using An Oscommerce Template For Your Shopping Site?

Going shopping is an activity that one way or another we all have. Either by going to the market or to buy clothes, somehow it is part of us. But, with the development of the computers and of the Internet, some brilliant minds thought that it would be even better if people who do not have enough time to spend in shops, could buy stuff over the Internet. So online shopping has spread, nowadays, over all the domains, from clothes to electronic equipments. Logically, online shopping is strictly connected to the use of websites, because through the sites, people can place orders.

First of all, whenever you launch a shopping site the most important thing that you should take care of is the layout. Why? Simple. Who does not enjoy entering a website that has a nice, smooth design, something that catches the eye and makes the surfing interesting? Also, the layout should be clear and easy to work with. But the next question is, how can someone realize this when the knowledge about html is little or the sum of money is not very big? The solution: oscommerce templates.

Easily to use and to update without any developed web designing skills, for many beginners this kind of web templates are the perfect option. They are already made so you can, in a way, preview the look of your site. Also they can be easily modified and updated, and moreover, they have no errors, so there won’t be any worries concerning a line or a box not being where it should.

Oscommerce templates are made by web design specialists and put at your disposal in several shapes and colors. There are many such templates that can be found over the world wide web. Anyway, even though you must pay for them, the price is lower than if you would pay a web designer to create a personalized page.

This would also take much longer and much more stress might be involved because the final result may not show up like you hoped or thought. On the other hand, oscommerce templates give you the exact image as how your page will look.

The diversity is large and for all the possible purposes. Keep in mind that if you decide to launch an online shopping site, the layout you choose must be accessible and clear, the information you give must be specific and trustful. The design should be simple and neat. Some persons may consider a very complicated web layout as being hard to use.

As a conclusion, I want to say that it is not a shame to use an oscommerce template instead of hiring a web design team to create your own shopping site design. These web site layouts are made for you to use and are actually created by specialists to ease the work, mostly, for the beginners.

Before starting your own shopping website you should think what you really want to do, how your site should look, and then choose from the large number of web templates, the one that fits better. Good luck.

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About the Author: This article was written by Christophe S. For more details about oscommerce templates for online shopping sites, you may visit www.flashtrue.com. This site is ideal for the beginners who want to start their own online shopping site.

Why Should One Use Web Templates

Whenever a person enters a website, the first thing that meets the eye is, of course, the layout. And there are many sorts of layouts: simple, elegant, colorful or full of drawings. Despite being so different, the purpose is the same: to make the site attractive and to outline what the site has to offer. Obviously, not many site owners have the money or the time to create a website design. And here come the advantages of the web templates.

What are web templates? Well, in a few words, they are already made designs for sites, that can be modified and adapted to the user’s needs. All over the Internet there are countless web templates, ready to meet everyone’s wishes and expectations. And now comes the question: Why shall we use them? Let’s take it step by step.

First of all, for a person whose time is little, whose funds are limited or who is not a web design expert, it is not very convenient to pay another person to make a webpage layout. This is, logically, what everyone ultimately wants: a fully personalized site. But for some it is just not the right option. So, searching and applying a web template is the best solution. It is fast and can easily be handled even by the beginners.

Secondly, given the fact that they are already made, you should not worry too much about the errors that you can face with when hiring someone to design your pages. For instance, a line may appear in the wrong spot, or a box is on the left side, when it should be on the right. With web templates you can see from the start how your page might look, and moreover, you can choose from a large number of layouts. In addition, if you really want to modify something, it is easy to do by yourself, without the need to ask someone else’s help. Not to mention that by studying the code of the template you might actually learn something about the whole designing stuff.

On the other hand, as I mentioned above, it is true that web templates are not entirely personalized, and there may be some aspects that you may dislike (if you are not lucky enough to find exactly the layout you wanted), but they prevent you from many problems and lost time. Another problem that can occur is that another person might have the same web template that you have. However, these cases are rare, and can happen mostly when talking about the free templates. Nowadays there are thousands of web layout already made, for all needs and purposes.

As a conclusion, it is obvious that for those who do not dispose of much free time, for those who want to handle their site easily by themselves and for those who do not want or who do not have enough money to pay another person to make a website design, web templates are always the perfect solution. So keep searching, because in the end, the perfect layout will come out.

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About the Author: Chavez Fazli is a freelance writer and webdesigner. For more information about web templates and layouts you can visit his site, www.layoutbank.com, where you can find the answers to many of your questions.

Flash Templates

It can be hard to stay on top of the constantly shifting world of website design. New technologies are being developed daily, and the websites found throughout the internet reflect this. One of the latest technologies to be commonly integrated into websites is interactivity, or as it is more commonly known, flash. Flash is a process by which a user can modify or click on elements of an image and obtain a response. An entire site can be designed exclusively in Flash.

Although the Flash technology has been circulating the internet for some time, perhaps the simplest way to integrate the tool into a website is through Flash templates. Falsh templates are available in great quantities through hundreds of websites and online companies. Much like traditional Web templates, Flash templates provide a simplified framework for a user that includes Flash elements.

Although actually creating Flash can be relatively pain-free for professionals with significant knowledge of programming and design, for most individuals, however, this is not the case. It is far simpler to use the services of a company in the business of proving Flash templates along with excellent support and customization. Most providers offer customization as a part of obtaining that company's Flash templates.

For example, an individual would purchase a template from a reliable online source, and before delivery, that online source would input the relevant company information, such as the company name, slogan, original content, or even a logo into the Flash design. Even with this customization, a Flash template is significantly less expensive than creating an original design through a professional. It also takes considerably less time.

Once the interactive portion of the Flash template has been customized, the buyer would simple modify any remaining portion of the template using simple commands and often without needing any knowledge of HTML coding. Once the template is complete with all relevant content, it is uploaded and the Flash portion will be live.

While these templates might seem more complex than a traditional design template, an individual would actually complete the same type of modification for both. The Flash is already integrated into Flash templates before a customer even receives the framework to modify. Thus, there is no additional work, but the added benefit of the Flash template to a respective website could be significant.

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About the Author: Author name – Hasan Saleem
Author’s website – http://www.templatesfactory.net

Web Design - Some Quick Tips To Get Started

Web design can be quite a daunting prospect if you are new to the Internet. You would like to create your own site but have no idea where to start. Html? Photoshop? Fireworks? FrontPage? Dreamweaver?

This article/tutorial will give you some tips and hints on how to get started with web design - and which shortcuts to take!

~ Tip 1: Learn HTML ~
I can hear you groan. I said I was going to give you some shortcuts, now I suggest you learn HTML! Unfortunately there is no way around it. Even if you make use to the shortcuts to web design that I am going to suggest, learning HTML will still be the best investment that you can make. It is really not that difficult and it will greatly aid in your understanding of web design.

A really good place for online tutorials on HTML can be found here: http://www.w3schools.com/html/

Depending on your enthusiasm and level of technical skill I would also suggest that you learn a bit about CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Cascading style sheets can assist you tremendously with controlling the layout, colors and images on your web page. You can also find good CSS tutorials on the w3schools website.

~ Tip 2: Use a web template for web design ~
Now this is really a shortcut to web design! I suggest that you create your first website by making use of a web template. There are lots of commercial templates available, and frankly, they are beautiful, but I am going to give you some hints on where to find free web templates. Most people would think that searching for 'free web templates' in Google would be the most obvious way of doing it - but I suggest that you rather search for 'open source web templates'.

Here are three sources with open source (basically - free to use) web templates. The advantage of these templates is that they are normally well designed and will also teach you good web design principles (as opposed to most of the commercial templates which, while they are undeniably beautiful to look at, they are normally not built making use of good web design principles).

My favorite Open Source web design site is http://www.oswd.org
This site has over a 1600 free designs to choose from. Download any design and build your site! Most of these designs make use of CSS as well which is why it is a good idea to learn CSS.

Another site with lots of free template designs is http://www.daydreamgraphics.com
I suggest that if you are just starting out you stick with the designs made with tables. These are the easiest to manipulate and use. The templates on Daydreamgraphics are not for everyone - they are mostly geared towards a young funky look, so if you are looking for a design that you can use for your business or company, you might do better to rather select a design from OSWD, but if you are looking at setting up a personal website, a hobby site or a site related to music or entertainment, these designs will work very well.

~ Tip 3: Use Wordpress or Joomla to create your site ~
This option is really by far the best way to create your website in the long term. Theoretically you do not need to know HTML and CSS to create and modify your site but in practice it pays off to learn these skills since it will help you master these tools just so much faster.

The steps to creating your website using these tools are as follows:

1. Log into your CPanel control panel (if you are not using a host that provides you with a CPanel control panel and Fantastico scripts - frankly, my only advice is to change to one that does!)

2. Select Fantastico from the control panel

3. Select either Wordpress or Joomla from the menu on the left.

4. Install Wordpress or Joomla in the root folder. You will have to select an administrator username and password to access the admin side of your site.

Log into the admin backend (normally /wp-admin for Wordpress and /administrator for Joomla). There are lots of free Wordpress tutorials available - just do a Google search for 'free Wordpress tutorials' and to get started in Joomla, do a search for 'how to use Joomla'.

To change the look and feel of your Wordpress or Joomla website is really easy! You simply install a new template. Wordpress and Joomla templates are specific to these tools (you cannot use any templates). For a guide to where to find the best free Wordpress and Joomla templates you can take a look at these resources:

http://www.tm4y.co.za/joomla-tips/best-joomla-templates.html

and

http://www.tm4y.co.za/wordpress-tips/wordpress-templates.html

I hope that these tips will help you on your way to creating your own website - web design the easy way!

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About the Author: Christine Anderssen is the owner of Tailormade4you Web Design and Internet Web Hosting for South Africa. After spending 20 years in the corporate IT world she recently started her own Web Design and Development company specializing in custom built Internet solutions for small businesses. Visit her website for free tutorials and tips on how to use Joomla and Wordpress for Web Design.

Over 50 free dreamweaver web templates

If you interested in Dreamweaver templates , naturally free ones. I found this site. Professional Dreamweaver Templates.  For those of you who need some help and inspiration these free web templates, are just the thing you need.

with over 50 free web templates to choose from i thing they are a great source for our free stockpile.  Although i generally use Visual Studio for my development Dreamweaver being one of the most popular editors on the market, I can see a huge interest in these items.

Check for yourself!

www.snakeyewebtemplates.com
www.jsbwebtemplates.com

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