Content Management Systems like Joomla! have become one the internet’s most powerful web developer tools since PHP. A CMS allows you to edit, update, add and remove information quickly and easily using a simple back-end and/or front-end interface. So most of your time can be spent creating content for your new website not a source code.
You don’t have to be a programmer to build your own website, but you have to make proper decisions at the beginning. There are basically two different types of CMS: open-source (like Joomla!) and professional. It’s very important for you to know what you’re getting, because it can be difficult to switch to a different CMS later on.
Before you even start searching for a content management system, you need to know: Why you are creating a website? How much money do you want to invest (spend) in it? How fast website should be created? So, before you even start to seek or install a CMS, create a list of what all you and your want to do on your website. Use your imagination, and check what the competition offers.
Always make sure to check that the CMS you are looking into does include extensions with the functionality you will need. For example, Joomla provides 9761 extensions to the community – much of it is free to download and use in your web projects.
Reasons for using a Joomla! than other Content Management System:
- Joomla! 2.5 currently supports 64 World languages.
- There is plenty number of books and courses on DVD or online that will help you understand this CMS.
- A large international community.
What about design of your website
Every website has its own purpose. And this purpose will greatly affect the kind of template (theme) you should be searching for. It is easy to find a template that fits your needs. There’re thousands of professional Joomla themes in the web, more and more of them also works with the latest version of Joomla 2.5 and 3. Joomla! has a very active developer and contributor community, which regulary relases new templates every month.
There are both free and paid templates which we can use for our web or shop design. Just because some of then they’re free doesn’t necessarily mean they’re any less well written or lack some of the options of their paid-for counterparts. But of course Premium Templates have more features and have a support desk and forum to answer your technical and how-to questions. Developers often provide updates that fix bugs or add features. Usually these are free upgrades to paid members.
Premium Joomla templates also support the RWD (like Gavick Fashion – Responsive Joomla Template or Music Free) or just mobile view. You don’t even need any design experience to change your website’s appearance. You can customize template easily: change fonts, colors, use typography, enable optimizations options so as to achieve the desired effect with barely any effort from back-end.
Building your own website you should start from visualize your site’s organization & navigation. Look at how some sites you like to visit are organized. Try to collect all information which you’ll include on your website.
How to choose a useful Joomla Template?
A template is responsible for the look of your website. By default, there are only three templates you can choose. But in general most users would like to install other templates to speed up work on their project website.
There are a number of considerations to keep in mind whilst choosing a contributed Joomla template. Firstly, it’s important to have a general idea of the layout required for your website. Most templates support a three-column (with two sidebars and a content area) layout which can also optionally function as a two-column single sidebar layout if no content is added to one of the sidebars.
Every template project page usually provides screenshots and explicitly specifes layout and other pertinent information for example support for 3rd party extensions. Try to avoid templates that look good but too much design work to be done in it to make it suitable for you. Chosen properly a theme can save your money and time. After choosing the right template you’re now ready to download and install it.
It’s usually difficult to find a template that fits your requirements exactly. Serious template developers understand this, so they provide you with the possibility to change the layout a bit. Don’t be afraid to change your design until you find one that works for you. I have to admit that I have changed template few times before I decided this is the right design for me.