Joomla 1.5 Primer: Basic Concepts
Quick-start for this Free Open Source Content Management System
Joomla 1.5, the latest version of the popular open source content management system, is a powerful and flexible platform, but using it can at first be overwhelming. There are many pages and functions in the administrative control panel, each of which plays a role in configuring a Joomla-powered web site. It is tempting to jump right in and start fiddling because it all looks quite intuitive. It is soon discovered however that it takes a bit of understanding to properly use sections, categories, articles, menus, components, modules and templates. There are some essential concepts and a specific series of steps one must take to get started.
Global Configuration and Interface
The first thing to do on a fresh Joomla install is to access "Global Configuration" in the "Site" menu. There are 3 different configuration pages listed here. Use "Site" to configure the site's name, meta information and SEO settings. Use "System" to set user options, media and upload settings. Finally, the "Server" page is where timezone and database connection settings are configured. Common throughout all pages of the Joolma administration is the strip of icons at the upper right side of the interface. These are always used the same way on each page to perform actions like saving changes, creating new items, deleting items and closing that administration page.
Sections and Categories
Sections are the different major features of the web site being configured. For example, a news site might have the sections "Current News," "Archived News" and "Feeds." In the "Content" menu of Joomla's web-based administrator interface, select "Sections" and create a few of them. Categories are grouped together under each section. After the sections are defined, create categories for each section. The "Categories" function is also in the "Content" menu. To continue the example above, "Current News" might contain categories like "Business," "Technology" and "Lifestyle."
Plugins and Modules
Both the "Plugins Manager" and the "Modules Manager" are listed under the "Extensions" menu. Plugins make up some of the core features of the web site like authentication, page navigation, content rating and feedback systems, the content editor and search capability. All of these and many more Plugins can be enabled and configured in the Plugins Manager. Browse through the list and see what might fit the web site being designed. Those with green check marks in the "Enabled" column will be part of the site and those with red x's will not. Modules are pieces of specific functionality that can be used by the web site. To see the distinction from Plugins, consider this example. Configure Plugins to enable authentication capability on the web site. Use the "Login" module to provide the user interface for logging in and out of the site. Peruse the list of Modules and enable and configure those of interest.
Components
Components are major blocks of functionality in the web site, such as a complete blogging system, a threaded discussion forum or a web forms generation system. Access the administrative interface to various components in the menu "Components." For example, take a look at "Banner," "Search," and "Polls." These can each be configured and enabled for use on the web site.
Continue this walk-through in Joomla 1.5 Primer: Configuration which will discuss menus, articles, the front page manager and extending and customizing Joomla with free downloads.
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