Joomla

[sapanbehar]

Anyone have any experience with Joomla? I am trying to setup a site with Joomla and I am so lost between the categories, modules, sections and whatever else.

I tried googling the how-tos etc but nothing really written to total newbies to Joomla.

[thataway61]

You really have to grasp categories, modules, and sections.

Getting it set up is mind breaking because the logic of setup was backwards from the way my mind worked. Once the basic concepts were understood it was a piece of cake. Read this book in a day and understand and become proficient - packtpub.com/mambo/book .

The sites will index well and rank well if you know just a little about SEO.

I left it, because there was no need for me to reinvent real estate websites. I could better focus on what I needed to do by focusing on content on someone elses platform and not getting sidetracked adding plugins, modules, etc.

If you are going to stick with it, get the book. If you value your time at all, you will recover the cost in a day by understanding the concepts and actually being productive in your efforts.

I would use it again, but am sticking with the REW CMS (similar backend for page creation without all the confusion of being able to do too many things) so that I focus on what I need to as an agent, not as a web designer.

[sapanbehar]

I hear ya about REW CMS. I don't even want to look at the Wordpress backend since switching over to REW. I just want to try Joomla and Drupal, for a couple of really focussed sites. Plus a chance to learn something new. I'll give that book a try - I was almost ready to give up on the idea last night and take advantage of the REW offer - but at this time, even the hosting is a bit out of my budget.

[thataway61]

If it's a real estate site, I would take the REW template special and bite the bullet. You could stay focused on what you need instead of getting bogged down with all the Joomla bells and whistle, add in's, plug in's, gadgets, learning basic php, ftp'ing, searching for broken code, etc.

Just my 2 cents. Joomla is fun, REW template let's you push on through to what you need - real estate content creation and seo on a seo friendly platform that doesn't bog you down.

[fpforum]

Joomla is hard to learn, but trust me once you learn it, it's one of the best CMS on the market

[kid disco]

You're just going to be spinning your wheels trying to learn Joomla or Drupal. Especially if you don't even want to look at the WordPress admin. Paying for an REW site will probably give you a better return as opposed to the time you lose trying to figure out a platform your aren't familiar with.

[sapanbehar]

Wordpress admin doesn't scare me, I'd rather just not look at it.

I already have a REW site and I am very, very, very happy with it. Just want to play around with something new.

[sapanbehar]

You really have to grasp categories, modules, and sections.

Getting it set up is mind breaking because the logic of setup was backwards from the way my mind worked. Once the basic concepts were understood it was a piece of cake. Read this book in a day and understand and become proficient - packtpub.com/mambo/book .

The sites will index well and rank well if you know just a little about SEO.

I left it, because there was no need for me to reinvent real estate websites. I could better focus on what I needed to do by focusing on content on someone elses platform and not getting sidetracked adding plugins, modules, etc.

If you are going to stick with it, get the book. If you value your time at all, you will recover the cost in a day by understanding the concepts and actually being productive in your efforts.

I would use it again, but am sticking with the REW CMS (similar backend for page creation without all the confusion of being able to do too many things) so that I focus on what I need to as an agent, not as a web designer.

Thanks for the tip on the book. That is an excellent read!

[TheRealOBX]

Joomla is very frustrating and has a definite learning curve but after starting to grasp the concepts it becomes easier to use.

[RonnieG]

For a RE website, you are probably better off with REW plus a bit more PHP and HTML under your belt than to jump into Joomla. I am currently working on a Joomla conversion and enhancement of my 12 year old Web 1.0 genealogy hobby site, which is starting to be fun. But the learning curve is a bit steep, even for me, a seasoned system design and programming veteran.