Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post

Dani · 03-14-2007, 01:58 AM

Your webhost should have a once click install of Joomla. Almost every host I know of does... Much easier than installing it manually, because you need a MYSQL database as well.

Look if your website control panel has an option called 'fantastica' or 'one click installs' or 'extras' it should be under one of those.

You can get LOTS of templates for Joomla.

Paid and free.

The best idea though is to join a template 'club'. You pay a fee for a certain period of time, and then you get access to all the template maker's templates for x-months. They should also add one or two new ones a month.

You can usually only have a certain number of actual live sites using the templates, but you can change which template you are using during that time period. This allows you to try out many different templates on your site while only paying for one.

Honestly I don't recommend free templates, especially for a commercial site, it's fine for your vanity site or moms webpage though. Because by and large they are terrible and flakey. Often they only work in one browser, or you cant put flash in them, you get no support when you have issues etc. etc. The clubs offer you great support both from the designers and from the community as well. I get most of my questions answered within a day on the forums.

I went out and took 'developer' memberships at several template clubs for my business so I have unlimited access to their templates and can use an unlimited amount on my sites.

Worth every penny.

Depending on how IT literate you are, Joomla might take a while to get started with. But once you get going you can throw a decent site up in a few days and a good one up in a week or two.

Check out my new design site in my sig. It was built in joomla and has links to a few Joomla sites I and my partners built so you can see what is possible.

It also has links to some good Joomla template sites, and will very soon have some free video training on administering, building and using Joomla sites. The first couple should go up this weekend.

I was going to restrict the videos to just customers but decided to share the wealth.

You are more than welcome to help yourself to them to get you started.

03-14-2007, 01:58 AM	#12 (permalink)
Dani Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 305	Your webhost should have a once click install of Joomla. Almost every host I know of does... Much easier than installing it manually, because you need a MYSQL database as well. Look if your website control panel has an option called 'fantastica' or 'one click installs' or 'extras' it should be under one of those. You can get LOTS of templates for Joomla. Paid and free. The best idea though is to join a template 'club'. You pay a fee for a certain period of time, and then you get access to all the template maker's templates for x-months. They should also add one or two new ones a month. You can usually only have a certain number of actual live sites using the templates, but you can change which template you are using during that time period. This allows you to try out many different templates on your site while only paying for one. Honestly I don't recommend free templates, especially for a commercial site, it's fine for your vanity site or moms webpage though. Because by and large they are terrible and flakey. Often they only work in one browser, or you cant put flash in them, you get no support when you have issues etc. etc. The clubs offer you great support both from the designers and from the community as well. I get most of my questions answered within a day on the forums. I went out and took 'developer' memberships at several template clubs for my business so I have unlimited access to their templates and can use an unlimited amount on my sites. Worth every penny. Depending on how IT literate you are, Joomla might take a while to get started with. But once you get going you can throw a decent site up in a few days and a good one up in a week or two. Check out my new design site in my sig. It was built in joomla and has links to a few Joomla sites I and my partners built so you can see what is possible. It also has links to some good Joomla template sites, and will very soon have some free video training on administering, building and using Joomla sites. The first couple should go up this weekend. I was going to restrict the videos to just customers but decided to share the wealth. You are more than welcome to help yourself to them to get you started. Last edited by Dani; 03-14-2007 at 02:01 AM.