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Thread: Creating Websites With Joomla

  1. #1
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    Default Creating Websites With Joomla

    I am in the process of learning to create websites.

    My search on this forum has led me to Joomla. A number of people on the forum recommend it. After going through the posts, I can see that I have a significant learning curve ahead.

    So far, I have loaded CentOS 6 on a virtual machine. I will be loading Apache, mySQL and PHP next. After that will come the installation of Joomla and lots of learning.

    I have seen a number of sites offering Joomla templates. Where can I find some graphics to use with these templates?

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    What graphics are you referring to? The templates come with its own set of graphics. For photos I usually use sites like shutterstock.com to get what I want.
    Last edited by Arch_Angel; Sep 14, 2014 at 05:41 PM.

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    I mean photos. I am always careful with free stuff on the internet. Which sites other than shutterstuck.com have you used? BTW, is it shutterstuck or shutterstock?
    Last edited by jamrock; Sep 14, 2014 at 01:05 PM.

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    You can also use fotolia.com to buy pictures, been using them for over two years now. The price and selection of pictures seem reasonable.
    I use WAMP on my windows PC, it comes with everything you want to get started - Apache, Mysql and Php all per-configured, you should be up and running in a few minutes after downloading it. No need to set up a Virtual machine unless you like that kind of challenge or something.
    In terms of learning curve, Im not so sure, Joomla is not difficult to learn. Unless your are referring to coding skills to build your own template. The easiest approach is to buy the template and with basic html, php, css knowledge you should be able modify the template to make it look somewhat different from stock.
    Oh you will need some basic graphics skills as well
    Last edited by DarkAngel; Sep 14, 2014 at 03:15 PM.

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    Thanks for the info. I set up virtual machines often. Use them for training and demos. Doesn't take long. Did it last night while I was watching tv.

    I will check out fotolia.com.

    Truth is, it is always fun to learn something new. Haven't had to learn something new in a while.

    I have a question about templates. If I plan to use my own graphics, does it matter which template I use? Is it the artwork that distinguishes one template from the next or is it the layout?

    Real newbie question. I know.

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    No it doesn't. You can also modify them with your own graphics to give it your own personal touch if you know what you are doing, or you can leave it as is because virtually all joomla templates are good to go out of the box.

    In response to your last question, just like anything else not all templates are created alike - developers are now adding features like template responsiveness (allow website to be viewed across various devices -tablets and cellphone not just on desktop PCs), interface in the backend to adjust template elements - colour, font layout (modules) etc and tech support for the template, which is very important.
    One word of warning be careful where you source your template, Ive come across some really terrible templates from templatemonster which were ports from stocks of basic old html webpages.

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    wordpress is a good alternative. Seems much easier and can be adapted to almost any site.

    vgsage.com - wip. Using this to learn sort of

    I think building a site from scratch might be better than these. Not sure but seems that you take out all the extra baggage of wordpress or joomla when you just have your own html, css php javascript etc, setup your own way. I'd guess you'd still need to import code for more complex features. Could be easier in the long because you put everything where it is yourself
    Last edited by semitop; Sep 20, 2014 at 11:28 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by jamrock View Post
    I am in the process of learning to create websites.

    My search on this forum has led me to Joomla. A number of people on the forum recommend it. After going through the posts, I can see that I have a significant learning curve ahead.

    So far, I have loaded CentOS 6 on a virtual machine. I will be loading Apache, mySQL and PHP next. After that will come the installation of Joomla and lots of learning.

    I have seen a number of sites offering Joomla templates. Where can I find some graphics to use with these templates?

    If you are serious about this stuff, I would advise you to start from basics of learning html.

    You can use w3schools.

    You will come across a scenario where you want to edit the template which requires you to touch code and have no idea.

    Had to do that when I had my website up. Good thing I new html/php
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    I have been learning some html. My hosting company has some web templates. I have downloaded a few and I have been using an editor to look at them. I had done some basic stuff with html years ago. I found it rather tedious. These days we have templates. It is much easier to edit a template instead of writing everything from scratch in html. Who has the time for that???

    I will take a look at w3schools. I am sure I will need to edit whichever templates I choose.

    So far I have set up my test web server

    Minimal installation of CentOS Linux 6
    Installation of MySQL
    Installation of Apache
    Installation of PHP

    I have used the following documents:

    Installing Joomla - http://docs.joomla.org/J3.x:Installing_Joomla!

    CentOS - Apache and PHP install - http://www.rackspace.com/knowledge_c...nd-php-install

    Installing MySQL Server on CentOS - http://www.rackspace.com/knowledge_c...rver-on-centos

    Install Apache2, PHP5 and MySQL Support on CentOS 6.5 (LAMP) - http://www.howtoforge.com/apache_php...entos_6.5_lamp

    The Joomla documentation is not clear on the approach to take with mod_sql, mod_xml and mod_zlib. I have seen lots of questions about this process on several forums. From what I understand, you need to install the mod_sql and mod_xml PHP modules. The mod_zlib gets installed as part of the base PHP installation. I used the standard yum install.

    Installing these modules adds some files to the default PHP extensions folder. On CentOS 6 it is /usr/lib/php/modules. To load the mysql module when Apache starts up, add the line
    extension = mysql.so
    in the Dynamic Extensions section of the /etc/php file.

    See the the following article for an explanation http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.ph...0836&view=next

    Make sure to check the /var/log/httpd/error_log after starting Apache to see if there are any errors.

    I am impressed with the documentation at rackspace.com. I will need to spend some more time there. Some good information re: setting up and managing web servers.

    I will take a look at Wordpress once I get a good understanding of Joomla. My initial research suggested that it was designed more for sites with a focus on blogs. For this reason, I started with Joomla.
    Last edited by jamrock; Sep 20, 2014 at 07:59 PM.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by jamrock View Post
    I have been learning some html. My hosting company has some web templates. I have downloaded a few and I have been using an editor to look at them. I had done some basic stuff with html years ago. I found it rather tedious. These days we have templates. It is much easier to edit a template instead of writing everything from scratch in html. Who has the time for that???
    When I say edit I dont mean stuff that can be done in the editor. If you want to add functionality you cant do that though the editor. Or if the template does something you dont like etc.
    SLAPPA Phenom II AM3 Overclocking Essentials
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    http://miniprofile.xfire.com/bg/sh/type/0/skugpezz.png
    Mi know dem fear mi!!!!! Gigabyte 790x ud4p
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