You can publish materials and promote the site in search engines from the first minutes of the site’s existence, no additional tools are required. But if you need to launch a specific niche project, you will have to dive into the settings and install additional plugins/modules.

Below we will consider the main steps that begin to master the engine beginners.

Where to start

The first step, as in the case of other CMS-systems for their hosting, will be to install the engine on the server. If you have chosen a quality and modern hoster, Joomla can be installed in one or two clicks from the hosting panel (using the auto-install script).

But if there is no such option, or you want the latest version of CMS, you will have to download the distribution from the official website of the developers and install the system manually. There is nothing complicated in this. Everything is standard – you need to pre-create a database, specify connection parameters to it, come up with the name of the site and enter the administrator’s data.

Editing the site

Unlike the same WordPress, Joomla does not require mandatory installation of plugins to start working with the publication. For example, out of the box there is everything you need to work with SEO (meta tags, CNC, etc.), caching pages, customizing the appearance of the theme and the output of content blocks, to switch to a secure HTTPS-version, etc.

If you don’t know how and what is organized in the system yet, install demo content. You can do it in one click (in the Sample Data block of the admin panel).

There is demo content and structure for a small blog.
There is a demo version of a multi-language site.

When you understand the structure of block output, if necessary, install and configure the necessary extensions, plugins and modules, customize the design theme, you can go directly to the process of publishing content. To do this, you first need to think about the structure of the site and create categories of materials, think about the system of additional fields (if they are needed).

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Easy installation. On most hosting Joomla is deployed in automatic mode. Some hosts even offer special rates, optimized for working with this CMS.
Convenient administrator panel, to master which does not require a lot of time.
Regular updates of the system and its components.

One of the disadvantages of Joomla – a high percentage of hacked sites. True, this is primarily due to the popularity of the system. The engine is often used by novice webmasters who do not immediately understand the security settings. On commercial systems threats are less because of the closed core, Joomla is an open book for fans of unauthorized access. In addition, vulnerabilities are often hidden in extensions, so their choice should be approached with great attention.

Problems may also arise when updating the system. The main difficulty is incompatibility of engine and plugin versions. This is especially true for free add-ons, whose developers do not always manage to release updates in time or stop supporting the product altogether. Because of this, there are failures in the work. Therefore, before updating the engine is recommended to make a backup copy and disable all plugins, and then include them one by one, checking the performance.

Dissatisfied with Joomla and many professional developers who believe that the CMS structure has flaws that complicate its customization, and excessive code in the templates and the engine itself lead to slow loading pages. However, on the popularity of Joomla these shortcomings if and affect, then minimally – the system continues to be used to implement a variety of ideas.

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The main features of the engine:

• Technical optimization under the requirements of search engines.
• Creating an unlimited number of pages.
• Pre-installed registration system with 9 user groups with different access rights.
• Visual editor for minor design changes and quick addition of new materials without entering the administrative panel
• Content manager, which helps to monitor how visitors react to the posted materials.
• The engine is equipped with several features that distinguish it from other free CMS: accelerated page loading, debugging mode and the ability to communicate with users in private conversations organized through a common email system. All this is basic functionality, which is noticeably expanded by installing plugins.

Modules that add new features are available for download from the official Joomla catalog or from third-party resources. You can also create them yourself – this is the advantage of the open source system. CMS configuration depends on what plugins you add. Completely without them is unlikely to do without them, because extensions perform a number of very important tasks:

• protect against unauthorized access and spam;
• allow you to create backups;
• help optimize the site to meet the requirements of search engines;
• improve site usability by adding useful widgets and applications.

Each plugin has a set of settings that are responsible for its functionality. This makes Joomla a very flexible system that can be used to create a variety of sites. If there are not enough features that offer ready-made solutions for the realization of the project, you can customize the system at a deeper level. Joomla is a PHP and JavaScript scripts. These are common programming languages, so there are no problems with finding specialists or training materials for self-training.

The engine has a high level of protection against hacking and unauthorized access. Developers regularly release updates, including those with new security tools. However, the weak point of the system remains extensions. It is impossible to control the quality of plugins downloaded from unknown sources. Therefore, it is recommended to use only add-ons from the official catalog and make sure that the developer does not abandon their support.

Design

The appearance of the site depends on what template you took and how you modified it. There are several options for choosing a design:

• Download free templates for Joomla;
• Buying premium themes;
• Self-created layout;
• Ordering the development of a customized solution.

The choice of method depends on what skills and budget you have. In most cases, for the first site is enough for the first option – free templates for Joomla. Favor, there are many offers, especially if you look on foreign sites.

In the administrative panel Joomla does not have a built-in library of templates. Therefore, your favorite theme must first be downloaded to your computer, and then uploaded to the server via “Install Extensions”. After adding the file, the new theme will appear in the “Template Manager” section, where you need to assign it the “Default” status.

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