What is Joomla?

It takes work to start a website and keep it running. A website can only be as good as the content that goes into it, and managing that content is easier than ever before thanks to content management systems. These web based applications allow users to create edit, and distribute content and information with different levels of permission. One popular CMS that has existed for over 12 years is Joomla, and throughout it’s history, it has served website owners well.

Joomla was created in 2005 as a free open source CMS that takes advantage of the model-viewer-controller framework, which separates an application into three parts that share a connection and allows multiple people to view and develop the application at the same time. It is written using PHP and uses versions of Structured Query Language for data storage. The composition of Joomla allows it to create RSS feeds, page caching, printable page versions, and even allows for internalization of languages and search features.

Given the feature set of Joomla and how easy it is to obtain because it’s open source, Joomla is being actively used in many websites. Simple personal pages and blogs are pretty common uses, as the average user will likely want something to help them share their favorite moments with their friends and family, but it doesn’t stop here. Schools, churches, and other community based websites use Joomla for web portals and delivering the most up to date information. Even governments and non-profit organizations benefit from the usage of Joomla while keeping their content secure.

On the other side, Joomla can be used for website that want to deal in commerce. Online shops owned by individuals have risen greatly in the past decade, and Joomla is at the forefront of these shops. On a more professional level, online publications, small businesses, and large corporations implement Joomla through extranets and intranets.

The open source nature of Joomla also comes with an advantage in the form of extensions. Since more than 90 million people have downloaded Joomla, many people have created free and commercial extensions that can enhance the functionality of Joomla. All extensions fall into one of eight categories, each with a specific purpose. The largest extensions are components, which make up a large portion of a website page. Plugins are advanced versions of extensions that take care of website events. Templates are essential for the design of websites made with Joomla, and modules act as outputs in positions on templates. Libraries give core functionality, while languages can be either core or extensions. Files are installed into Joomla one by one, and packages act as a grouping of other extensions that can install them all at once.

Those who are building websites for others can use Joomla as an enhanced tool for creating websites easily. Even beginners can easily install Joomla or run it on a LAMP stack. Video training programs are officially provided by Joomla developers to walk users through the basics of using Joomla to speed up the process and make the learning curve even shorter.

There are also options for using Joomla without having to actually install it. The Joomla website offers users the ability to host a website on their own. These websites can take advantage of the full capabilities of Joomla and can be enhanced with extensions, most of which come at no cost due to GPL licensing. For those hosting a website on their own host, Joomla can be extended to their platform while using templates and extensions provided by third parties. A free demo allows users to test the self hosting option for 90 days to see if it fits their expectations.

Whether a website owner wants to just share personal content, or start up a platform that will help them make money, it can all be done with the use of Joomla. Starting with Joomla has never been as easy as it is now, and with years of time for development and improvements, there are a plethora of options to choose from that can make any website unique from all of the others on the Internet. All it takes is a little bit of time to learn and Joomla can do it all.