Pre-Installation

Before the installation the software examines the user’s current software and hardware configuration and presents a list of possibly problematic issues that may need to be resolved. The RED items on the list are problematic, and will need to be corrected before beginning the installation. An example of a problematic issue would be using a shared host instead of a VPS. To resolve outstanding issues, you may need to contact your hosting provider.

Installation

When beginning the installation, you’ll need to enter a few details. Don’t worry, as each field is thoroughly explained. After you’ve entered your information, you’ll have the option of adding FTP configuration, letting Joomla correct any permission issues automatically. You can also choose to bypass this option and fill in the information manually later. Next, you’ll enter your site name and a few basic details, and then decide whether or not you’d like to install sample data. If you decide not to install sample data, then your website will be completely blank, so it is best to use sample data if you are not very experienced with web design. Installing sample data will let you experiment with a fully populated website. Once you have made this final decision, the installation will be completed momentarily.

Functionality and Appearance

If you chose to install sample data, you’ll notice that the default them provided by Joomla is very visually appealing. The administrative interface is also substantially improved, and is very user-friendly, employing a variety of dropdown menus. Although the software is very easy to use, the amount of features can be a bit overwhelming initially. For this reason, novice users may find it easy to lose content in arbitrary places, or become disassociated with certain areas of the CMS in some instances. Once you’ve gotten used to the plethora of functions, you’ll discover the true functionality of this award winning CMS.

Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of the CMS is a becoming familiar with the vast array of sections and content categories. Figuring out where the article will be published may be slightly difficult initially, but as you become familiar with the process, you’ll notice the design of the software actually maximizes efficiency quite well. One feature you’ll find particularly useful is the new universal installer, which lets you install a zip file form a single central box, rather than having to choose an install type. Previous versions of Joomla required you to select whether the install was a theme, component, module or mambot, so this new feature definitely improves upon the software’s simplicity.

Conclusion

Ultimately, this content management system is definitely a capable solution for any VPS user. On thing you are sure to like about the software is the fact that there is readily available Joomla themes and tutorials online, as there is a very large Joomla community. The vast amount of knowledge and material pertaining to Joomla on the web make it an excellent solution for novice and experienced users alike.

Related posts:

• February 2, 2009 – Mambo vs. Joomla – These CMS Rivals Square Off
• April 22, 2009 – Is WordPress Really a CMS?
• November 25, 2008 – The CMS Drives the Hosting Industry
• October 29, 2008 – Joomla or Drupal? Which CMS is for You?
• October 20, 2008 – Meet the CMS Lineup
• September 23, 2011 – Say it with me – Joomla!
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• May 6, 2011 – New Content Management System Released by TYPO 3
• January 28, 2011 – Mambo Web Hosting: The Industry’s Leading Content Management System
• January 17, 2011 – Understanding the Benefits of CMS

Mambo

While there has only been a slight change in the project name, most of Mambo’s development team abandoned the system in 2005 to create Joomla.  Every since then, the system has struggled in terms of popularity as a large portion of the Mambo user community followed the developers in favor of Joomla.  Be that as it may, Mambo remains a solid choice and continues to improve.

Advantages - Mambo is a stable, lightweight system that puts out exceptional performance on a busy website.  Despite losing the original development team, the project has good management and positive hope for future development.  Even as an open-source system, Mambo can be easily integrated with non-GPL systems and commercial extensions.

Disadvantages - The biggest drawback to Mambo is that it lacks new extensions.  This goes back to 2005 as most of the developers who wrote extensions for the system shifted over to Joomla.  Another disadvantage is that Mambo has a smaller user community than Joomla, meaning you might have to search long and hard to get quality support.

Mambo works best for small to medium sized businesses as well as webmasters that do not require lots of upgrades and extensions.  To put it simple, this system performs better on a basic website that contains minimal interactive features.

Joomla

As we mentioned above, Joomla 1.0 is very similar to Mambo.  In fact, there are a number of extensions that support both systems.  Although the first generation still has a large user base, that will all change soon as the Joomla development team is slated to halt support for the product this coming July.  Joomla 1.5 offers many improvements over the previous version and is largely supported by the development team and user community.

Advantages – Joomla 1.5 is supported by a wide variety of extensions and the number is growing faster than any CMS that forked off from Mambo.  The system also supports many of the older extensions with the aid of the legacy mode plugin.  The rapidly expanding community ensures that you can get decent support and answers in Joomla forums.

Disadvantages – Joomla 1.5 is a bit heavier than the previous version and thus might run slower depending on the server.  This could make it real frustrating to keep your site fresh with the  necessary updates.  Additionally, the Joomla team has taken an official stance where the GPL states that commercial extensions are not to interact with the system’s API, basically ruling out any developers who do not want their extensions licensed under the GPL.  On the other hand, many developers have chosen to ignore this rule.  As it stands now, it seems as if this is one rule that will never be strictly enforced.

Joomla is best suited for small to medium sized businesses with the need to create a content-rich site and access a variety of third-party extensions.

If you’re looking for a winner, Joomla is most likely to be supported into the future but Mambo will probably require fewer upgrades as versions aren’t released as frequently.

Related posts:

• March 15, 2010 – Joomla 1.5 Review – Installation and Improvements
• April 22, 2009 – Is WordPress Really a CMS?
• November 25, 2008 – The CMS Drives the Hosting Industry
• February 11, 2009 – Top 7 Reasons to Drupal
• January 8, 2009 – Assessing the Open-source CMS
• October 29, 2008 – Joomla or Drupal? Which CMS is for You?
• October 20, 2008 – Meet the CMS Lineup
• September 23, 2011 – Say it with me – Joomla!
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• May 6, 2011 – New Content Management System Released by TYPO 3