Blog - JoomShaper

What’s New in Joomla 4.2 Release?

2022-09-13T10:53:05+00:00

Howdy Joomlers! As we all know curtains have already been raised on the latest version of the ever-evolving Joomla CMS. The team announced its newest release on the 16th of August, a day before Joomla’s 17th birthday. Although it’s just been a month since the latest version rolled out, it's already been seen gaining momentum in popularity. And we bet you all are excited to see what this major update has in store for you.

So in this article, we will highlight some of the significant features packed with this latest update. Excited? Let's dig in!

What’s New in Joomla 4.2

This new major release of Joomla comes with an impressive and significant list of newly added features that contributes to the maintenance of Joomla’s regular high standard. Let’s take a look at what the update comprises.

New Features

Keyboard Shortcuts for Accessibility
Multi-Factor Authentication (replaces Two-Factor Authentication)
Windows Hello support in WebAuthn
User-defined hide table columns
Allow typing in the media field
Indicate if the category is not published
Allow to disable session metadata tracking for guest users
Reduce the number of permission columns
Smart Search: Allow fuzzy word matching
Package filter in the Extensions: Manage page

Few Exciting Features of Joomla 4.2

Among all the new key features that have been included, we have listed some of the significant features for you to look closely at.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Check this feature out! With the new keyboard shortcuts, you can save time and become more productive. There are 9 built-in key shortcuts to your site's administrator side, such as J + F to jump into the search field or J + S to save.

To enable the keyboard shortcuts, from your Joomla dashboard navigate to the Systems > Manage > Plugins. Search for System - Keyboard Shortcuts and enable it.

Now you should be able to use the shortcut keys. All you have to do is just press J (don't hold the button down) followed by the shortcut key. As simple as that!

To make your work easy here is a list of all the shortcuts that you can use.

Multi-factor Authentication

Next comes the multi-factor authentication feature. The previous versions of Joomla only allowed Two-Factor authentications. This has now been replaced by Multi-factor authentication which will take your site access security one step further by allowing you to choose different authentication mechanisms to ensure maximum security. To check out and enable the Multi-factor authentication plugins navigate to your Joomla dashboard and go to the Systems > Manage > Plugins. Search for Multi-Factor Authentication and you should be able to see all the listed plugins and publish your authentication system from here.

Indicate If the Category is Not Published

Next comes another exciting feature, the unpublished category reminder feature. Once you unpublish a category, the articles under that particular category will now put an extra status to remind you that the category has not been published. The articles in that category will still remain published. This acts as a quick reminder that you need to publish your category in case you had forgotten about that.

Allow to Disable Session Metadata Tracking for Guest Users

This is a performance enhancement feature for sites that do not use the User registration/login feature. Suppose you have a Joomla site that doesn't need a login or membership, then Joomla doesn’t really need information about people visiting the site. In that case, you can now simply turn off the metadata tracking for guest users.

To do that, from your Joomla dashboard go to the Global Configuration > System. Scroll down the page to find ‘Track Guest Session Metadata’. Disable the option and you are good to go!

Smart Search: Allow Fuzzy Word Matching

The Smart Search word matching feature is also another new addition to the Joomla 4 family. This basically allows you to search for any particular word in 3 categories:

Match Exactly: This allows you to search for the exact word that you have entered on your site.
Match Words Beginning with the search term: This allows you to look for words in your site that match your input terms at the beginning of the word.
Match Words Containing the search term anywhere: This allows you to find words on your site that contain your input terms anywhere within the word.

Miscellaneous Improvements

This mega release is not just about new additions to the Joomla world. This version also comes with extensive bug fixes and improvements that will take your Joomla web-building experience to a new height! Here’s the list of fixes and improvements that you can expect:

Bug Fixes and Changes

Accessibility plugin - update and fixes
Joomla Updater improvements
Improved the extension installer to be more robust
Added permissions (ACL) to Media Manager actions
Added Save button to front-end article editing to save and stay in the article
Added ordering parameters to web service requests
Upload button only available once the user clicked the checkbox that they are prepared
Enabled use of Form::process() in FormModel
Convert log type field to fancy select
Enqueue requests made from QuickIcon plugins
Made Media Manager Folder Selectory accessible
Workflow Notification no recipient

Should I Plan to Upgrade to Joomla 4.2?

Joomla 4.2 is the latest major release meaning it has been updated to match the latest web trends with all the necessary features, security enhancements, and bug fixes that you will eventually need. And updating to the latest Joomla version is as easy as pie!

A few of the news have it that after upgrading to Joomla 4.2, some of the sites have been breaking. Joomla team has now had these issues in control and two updated versions 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 have already hit the ground with several fixes.

Also, it has been officially announced that Joomla 3.10.x will continue to be supported with security fixes but only until 17th August 2023. Hence it's only wise for you to start planning your migration to Joomla 4 now. For those who looking for assistance regarding how to update to Joomla 4, check this article out.

What’s the Wait For?

This new version of Joomla marks another major step closer to an even more powerful open-source web platform. For those who still haven’t updated to the latest version, it is already time now.

What new feature are you most excited about? Do let us know in the comments section.

How to Reset Article Hits in Joomla 4

2022-06-13T12:20:33+00:00

The easiest way to keep track of the number of visitors paying visits to your articles is through hit counters. Joomla CMS comes with the ability to track your article web page views each time your page is viewed. But, in most cases, while developing a site you might need to visit your articles several times before it has been released online. As a result, your articles might end up with the counts from views from your end. Hence it’s necessary to reset your article hits right before it hits online to get the accurate number of your viewers.

In this article, we will take a look at how can you get your Joomla article hits to get to zero without having to do much.

All You Need to Know About Article Hits

For those who looking are for an in-depth idea about article hit counters, here’s a quick and productive discussion for you.

What are Article Hits: Article hits are basically the recorded number of times your web article pages have been accessed.
When Should You Reset Hits: Chances are while creating a website you need to view your articles from the front end. Joomla tends to remember your article clicks and that’s when it is necessary to reset the hit counts right before publishing your article online.
Advantages of Articles Hits Counter: One way of monitoring your website traffic is through your article hits, Weigh your articles’ popularity through the hit counters and effectively track your stats. Plus, it's super easy to get done with the whole process!

The only disadvantage is that this process only calculates how many times your articles have been viewed. This is not necessarily the number of unique visitors you have had on your website. Also, it doesn’t give you any idea about how long a particular article was viewed.

Apart from that, the article hit counter is pretty handy!

So without further delay, let’s get started.

Step 1: Log in to Your Joomla Dashboard

First and foremost, log in to your Joomla dashboard. Navigate to Content > Articles. Here you should be able to find the list of all the articles that you wish to publish. In this tutorial, we will demonstrate using Helix Ultimate. We already have our Helix Ultimate Template framework installed which contains all our articles.

Note that all the articles already have multiple hits according to the views made earlier. We have to set these hits to zero.

Step 2: Navigate to the Global Configuration Settings

Once you have logged in to your dashboard, navigate to Systems > Global Configuration.

From the Global Configuration head to the Server tab. In the Server tab, scroll down to the Database section to find Database Name and Database Tables Prefix.

Note down your database name and database tables prefix as you will need them for your next step.

Step 3: Log in to phpMyAdmin & Look For Your Specific Database

Now it's time to log in to your phpMyAdmin panel. Go to http://localhost/phpMyAdmin from your browser. You should be able to see the list of databases that you have been using. Look for the database name you found in Step 2.

Step 5: Input the Reset Code

Upon choosing your database navigate to the SQL tab beside the Structure tab at the top.

Now all you have to do is add the following simple code:

“update tableprefix_content set hits = 0”

Here tableprefix stands for the Database Tables Prefix you found in Step 2.

In our case, the Database Tables Prefix is r0jva_.

Finally, click on the Go button to apply and save your changes. If your code was run successfully you should be able to see a success message.

Step 6: Go Back to the Articles From Joomla Dashboard

Time to check on the results! Now from your Joomla dashboard go to Contents > Articles.

As you can see we have successfully reset the hits to zero! Give yourself a pat on your back if you could follow so far!

Wrapping Up

Hope this quick tutorial comes in helps. Feel free to let us know if you have relevant questions or if you have got stuck anywhere. Joomla has endless possibilities to offer you so go ahead and keep exploring! Good Luck!

How to Make The Most Out of New Joomla 4 Web Accessibility Features

2022-06-07T10:44:28+00:00

In today’s world, it’s not enough to have a good website! You need a website that has inclusion at its heart. A website that welcomes people regardless of their abilities, economic situation, age, or education. Is your website accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of ability?

Even if you’ve come across the term Web Accessibility, you still might have questions like—what exactly is it, why do I need to worry about it, and most importantly how do I make my site accessible? Well, if that sounds like you, you’re in luck!

Today, we’ll address some of the common questions about web accessibility and how we can make accessibility part of our web development workflow in Joomla.

What is Web Accessibility?

In a nutshell, Web Accessibility means making your website usable to all users regardless of their abilities. It means removing any barriers so that people regardless of any disability can access your site, navigate, and browse through the products and services you offer.

As people are now accustomed to a seamless online experience to do critical day-to-day life activities, it is important everyone gets to enjoy the same user experience. This is where Web Accessibility comes to play, it ensures all users have equal access to the functionalities and information of your website.

Why is Accessibility Important?

Accessibility has become one of the primary concerns for businesses. And when I say primary, I have good reasons to list it as one of the top concerns.

It’s a Moral Thing to Do!

If you’re selling digital products or services on your site, chances are there are millions of people who need access to those products because their disabilities prohibit them to get them from a physical store. If you neglect the accessibility options for such people, that effectively means you’re creating a barrier for them simply because of an oversight on your part.

For Greater Engagement/Conversions

You're missing out on opportunities to gain higher engagement and sales from millions of people with disabilities if you're not optimizing your content to be accessible. Inaccessible websites not only affect sales but can also harm your brand reputation.

Unwelcome Legal Consequence

Accessibility is very important these days, especially for government sites, and is required by law in many situations. The law may be different depending on your location (state, province, or country), but if you're operating a website intended for the general public you should try to be compliant with accessibility best practices whenever possible.

All New Joomla 4 Accessibility

With the mission to improve accessibility, Joomla 4 comes with just one template for the backend and one template for the front-end making them both WCAG 2.1 AA compliant.

This way all Joomla end users get to enjoy the same experience no matter their different capabilities. Joomla 4 also has some new accessibility options to make the overall experience more inclusive.

Let’s have a closer look at the Joomla 4 accessibility features.

New Backend Accessibility Option

Joomla 4 has an Accessibility Settings option at the backend from where you can perform the basic accessibility settings of the template. From the Joomla Backend, click on the User drop-down menu, and select the Accessibility Settings.

This will take you to the Accessibility Settings window. Here, you will be able to set the template monochrome, choose a high contrast version, highlight links or increase the font size.

Easily Reach With Keyboard Navigation

In Joomla 4, just after opening any page of your backend, if you press “Control + Option + 9” on your keyboard, a Keyboard Navigation area will pop up from where you can easily browse all the sections of the page.

This particular shortcut comes in handy when you want to reach a section at the bottom of the page with a keyboard.

A New “Additional Accessibility Features” System Plugin

Joomla 4 has a built-in plugin for additional accessibility features. To enable the plugin, go to the Joomla backend Dashboard > System > Manage > Plugins.

Search for accessibility and enable the System - Additional Accessibility Features.

This will show a floating accessibility button with which you will be able to:

change the text, size, and spacing
invert the colors of your page
go monochromatic
get all the links underlined
make the cursor bigger
get a reading guide to easily see what they are reading next
or even get the browser to read aloud the webpage for them

How to Audit the Accessibility of Your Joomla Site

We need to audit the accessibility of our site to ensure our site is usable by people with disabilities, abide by accessibility legislation, and avoid potential lawsuits.

You can check the accessibility of your site manually or using accessibility testing tools.

Manual Accessibility testing can be challenging as you might be unfamiliar with many disabilities. However, here’re some of the key points that you can use as a checklist to be checked while performing accessibility testing.

Image Alt text
Color contrast ratio
Provides keyboard shortcuts
Forms and labels
Blinking content
Multimedia content alternatives
Basic page structure check
Text to audio converters
Magnifiers in place
Color blindness filters
Voice recognition software
Configure the timeouts accordingly
Clear controls
Easily understandable menus

There are various accessibility testing tools online like Accessibility Checker, Accessibility Developer Tools, etc., that can check the accessibility of the website.

Wrapping Up

If you think making your website accessible is costly and only intended for disabled people then let me break the myth for you. With improved accessibility, you also get to enjoy extra benefits like enhanced brand perception and optimized SEO. To know more about how to create an accessible Joomla site, refer to our article here.

Joomla has come a long way and made some excellent accessibility improvements. Let us know how you feel about the new Joomla 4 accessibility features in the comments. Good day!

Improve Your Productivity With the Joomla 4 Task Scheduler

2022-05-18T11:45:27+00:00

Hey Joomla enthusiasts! It’s time to walk you through one of the new features of Joomla that is sure to add up to your convenience. As you know Joomla’s latest update brings you a number of features along with the inclusion of Task Scheduler. Previously, Joomla didn’t come with any built-in cron scheduler. So the good news is even if your website host doesn’t allow cron jobs, Joomla has got your back!

This new addition will surely help you avoid repetitive tasks that you wouldn’t want to go back and repeat again and again. Whether you wish to process email queues in newsletter systems, synchronize e-commerce orders with a delivery platform, or clean up cache, the task scheduler is there to take care of it all.

In this article, we will look at how you can assess and set up some of the built-in Task Schedulers of Joomla 4.1.

A Brief Overview of Each Default Task

Task Scheduler allows the website owner to create web-based cron jobs from an environment that you’re already familiar with, and comfortable working within. So let’s dive in deeper to explore the default task schedulers that come with Joomla 4.1.

Among the 9 default or pre-installed tasks, only some are useful, and others are for demo ideas. Here is a quick overview of each of the default tasks:

Image Size Check: Resizes images from your given directory after a certain interval of time
Demo Task - Sleep: Do nothing for a certain interval of time
Stress Memory: Decide a task behavior when you run out of PHP memory limit
Stress Memory, Override Limit: Decide a task behavior when you run out of system memory limit
Resumable Task: This is useful whenever you have long-running tasks to avoid hitting a memory or timeout limit on your server
GET Request: Make a custom timeout for GET Requests to a server
Toggle Offline: Set the site’s status to online or offline on each run
Set Site Offline: Set your site’s status to offline after a specific time
Set Site Online: Set your site’s status to online after a specific time

Where to Find Task Scheduler

From your Joomla dashboard navigate to the System > Manage > Scheduled Tasks

Create and Select a Task

Once you navigate to the Scheduled Tasks, click Add a Task. This should display all the pre-installed tasks that you can choose from on the basis of the task you want to carry out.

If you have had other relevant extensions previously installed then it should also show up here. In our case, we don’t have any previously installed extensions so we are left with the default tasks only.

For this tutorial, we will check how the Image Size Check scheduled task work.

Select and Create Your Task

Select the Image Size Check task from the available tasks. This should take you to a form for setting your preferred parameters.

Set the fields according to your preference:

Title: Test Task
Execution Rule: Interval, Minutes
Interval in Minutes: 5
Directory: sampledata
Dimension: Width
Limit (px): 100
Maximum Images: 1

Hit Save & Close. Good job! Your task has been created.

Check the Directory to Spot the Changes

Now since we set the directory to the existing sample images of Joomla, we head right to the sample data folder to check the changes.

From your dashboard navigate to Content > Media > sampledata > cassiopiea

Before creating the task the images were in default size as shown in the screenshot.

After setting the task, the image sizes should be resized to the dimension you set in the task. Let’s take a look at the result:

As you can see in our case, the task worked perfectly and the image has been resized accordingly.

This way, the task repeats itself after every 5 minutes (The time you set while creating the Task) to resize the images without you having to fix them individually.

Similarly, you can go ahead and set different tasks on the basis of your need like setting your site online or offline after a certain time, and more.

Wrapping Up

Joomla is constantly developing and advancing in its endeavor to keep up with the latest functionalities and usabilities. Have more control over when you decide to run a particular task and also get the freedom to schedule the task that fits your preference with this new feature.

Hope this tutorial was helpful to you and could give you some insight into this new addition to the Joomla world! Also, should you have any more relevant questions, do not forget to let us know in the comment section. Good Luck!

How to Create and Display RSS Feed on Your Joomla 4 Site

2022-03-10T10:08:11+00:00

As the internet continues to implode with trending news and topics every day, it is not easy to stay all-caught-up! Among some of the ways to keep up with the speeding internet, one of the most popular ones is RSS News Feed. So if you are looking for easy and effective ways to drive more traffic to your website, RSS feeds can be a worthy way to go!

In today’s tutorial, we will take a look at how you can integrate an RSS Newsfeed into your Joomla site. But before that, let’s take a look at some of the usefulness of having an RSS feed on your website.

The Benefit of Using RSS Feeds

With the advent of social media, the RSS feeds slowly lost their popularity as social media became more prevalent. But it had its share of inconveniences as social media don't provide all the news owing to the use of algorithms that filters out posts according to different preferences.

But with an RSS feed, you can get your hands on all the latest news without having to do much. Here are some of the conveniences:

Content available to a wider audience
No repetition of contents
Old contents can be reused
Users get notified every time the feed is renewed
It's easy!

All in all, RSS news feeds let your user navigate smoothly through the piles of news and articles without getting lost or having to search for them individually.

So without further ado let's take a look at how you can create and display one on your website!

How to Create an RSS News Feed

Firstly, let's take a quick look at how you can create a news feed that you wish to display on your website. The steps are pretty simple to follow so keep reading to find out how to create your very own RSS news feed.

Step: 1 Login to Your Joomla Site

In our case, we demonstrate using the Helix Ultimate template framework. So we log in to Helix Ultimate administrator first.

Step: 2 Navigate to Components

From your dashboard navigate to the Components > News Feed. From the top left corner choose +New.

Step 3: Create a New Newsfeed

Create a new newsfeed by filling up the necessary and compulsory fields. Here we have added a title to our newsfeed, provided a suitable link, and hit Save & Close.

Title: My News Feed
Link: https://www.espn.com/espn/rss/news

Your Newsfeed has been created! As simple as that!

Tips: Since the RSS feeds are coded in XML format, make sure the RSS links that you would like to use for your site look something like this:

How to Display RSS Feed on Your Website

The newsfeed you just created needs to be seen somewhere on your website for people to access it without a hitch. We can do that simply by creating a menu item and assigning the created news feed to the menu item. Let's see how we can do that.

Step 1: Click Main Menu Under Menus

From your Home Dashboard navigate to the Menus > All Menu Items. Choose +New from the top left corner.

Step 2: Create a New Menu Item

Provide a title for your Menu Item and the other necessary information. For the Menu Item Type field, choose News Feeds > Single News Feed.

Title: News Feed
Menu Item Type: News Feeds > Single News Feed
Feed: My News Feed ( Created earlier in this tutorial )
Menu: Main Menu

Hit Save & Close.

Step 3: View the Created Menu Item from Your Website Front End

Once you are done, it’s time to view the created RSS feed on your frond-end. From your dashboard navigate to the Systems > Site Template Styles. Choose shaper_helixultimate - Default and then hit Template Options. This should land you at the front end of the Helix Ultimate template. On your menu panel, you should find the menu item you just created.

Let’s see how our news feed page turned out:

With the right RSS feed embedded on your website, you don't really have to worry about keeping your audience up-to-date with the daily updates. It's a big job done with such little effort!

Hope this article was helpful to you and solves any hurdle you might have had relevant to today’s tutorial. Also, don’t hesitate to let us know your opinions in the comment section below. Happy developing!

How to Create a Multilingual Site in Joomla 4 Using Helix Ultimate

2021-12-06T05:36:07+00:00

Having a multilingual website can come to your benefit in more ways than you can imagine. From increasing traffic to your website to increasing sales, building a brand, and giving off a trustworthy impression - the advantages of having a multilingual website go a long way. As the demand for multilingual sites continues to rise, more companies are embracing this cost-effective way of populating websites for years.

Today we will take a look at how we can create a multilingual site in Joomla 4 using the best Joomla template framework - Helix Ultimate. Follow through the detailed steps of this tutorial carefully and you will get your multilingual panel and site ready in no time.

So without further ado let’s jump into the tutorial.

Step 1: Install the Required Languages

First things first - to start making your site multilingual, we need to install the languages that you want your website to display.

Simply log in to your Joomla administration control panel first. From your dashboard go to System > Install > Languages. From the list choose your preferred languages and hit Install.

For this tutorial, we will install Arabic, Chinese Simplified, and Finnish languages and keep English as the default language.

The system will show the message “Installation of the language pack was successful” upon the language installation.

Step 2: Enable Content Language

Now we need to enable the languages that we have installed in Step 1. To do so go to System > Manage > Content Languages. Select the languages you installed and choose Publish from the Actions drop-down menu.

After publishing, you will get a message showing “Content Languages Published”

Step 3: Install the Language Plugins

Next comes the installation of the Language Filter and Language Code plugins. Language Filter plugin help the CMS to recognize what languages you have installed and displays the relevant content and the Language Code improves SEO for the generated HTML document. Let’s take a look at how we can enable these plugins.

Go to System > Manage > Plugins. Type in Language in the search bar and hit enter. You will get a list of plugins related to language. From the list, enable Language Filter and Language Code.

Step 4: Assign Languages to Specific Pages

Hopefully, you were able to follow the steps so far. Now it’s time to create copies of web pages for your installed languages. For this tutorial, we will demonstrate using the Legacy Home page of Helix Ultimate.

Go to your Joomla Dashboard and navigate to Components > SP Page Builder. From the list of pages choose Home - Legacy.

From the dropdown menu of the Save button click Save as Copy.

Repeat this process for the number of languages you have installed. In this tutorial, we will be saving four copies of the Home page each for English, Arabic, Chinese and Finnish.

Let’s see how we can edit and assign the Arabic language to one of the pages we have just created. Go back to the Sp Page Builder - Pages and scroll down to the copy of the Home page “Home - Legacy (2)” you have just created.

Rename the Title as “Home - Arabic” and navigate to the Publishing tab from the sidebar.

From the dropdown list of the Language option choose Arabic. Click Save and Close.

Repeat the same process for the rest of the languages.

Step 5: Set up Menu for the Multilingual Site

The next step is to create a menu for each of the languages you have installed and want to display on your website. This step is necessary for better control and easy navigation for your website. Let’s see how we can do that.

From your dashboard navigate to the Menu option and choose Manage. Click on the New button.

For the Arabic Menu, you can set the Title of your menu as “Home - AR” and the Unique Name as “Home - Ar”. Hit Save & Close.

Repeat the same process for the rest of the languages.

Step 6: Add Menu Items for the Languages

Once you have created the menus for each of the languages, it is time to add menu items for each main menu. From your dashboard go to the Menus. From the dropdown items, you should be able to see the list of the menus you have just created.

Here we will demonstrate adding menu items for the Arabic menu.

Go to Menus > Home - AR > New

Title Home - AR
Menu Item Type: SP Page Builder > Page
Select Page: Home Arabic ( Previously created in Step 4 )
Menu: Home - AR
Language: Arabic

Once everything is set, hit Save & Close.

Repeat the same process for each of the Menus you had created.

Click on this Set As Home button shown on the screenshot above for the language flag to appear. This will become the default Home item for Arabic language pages.

Step 7: Menu Association via the Menu Item

Once you have added a menu item and assigned languages, you should be able to find the Associations tab like shown in the screenshot. Choose the menu items for the associated languages that you have previously created the menu of.

To do so go to Menus > Site. From each menu type choose the associated languages individually.

Step 8: Enable Language Switcher Module

The next thing you need to do is to enable the language switcher module. This module displays the available content languages that you want to display and enables users to switch between the list of available content languages in a multilingual site.

Go to Content > Site Modules > New and select the Language Switcher module.

Now the Language Switcher module should appear in your Site Module. Click on the Module.

Rename the Title as Language Switcher. Click on the Title bar to Hide the main title from appearing on your webpage. Then select the Position to Top 2.

Hit Save & Close.

Step 9: Duplicate Template Style

With each language that we installed, we will assign the Helix Ultimate template to its content. To do that, we have to create duplicates of our Helix Ultimate template so that we get the same look and feel for each of our multilingual pages.

Navigate to System > Templates > Site Template Styles.

Select shaper_helixultimate - Default and click on the Duplicate tab on the top.

Once you are done, it’s time to assign languages to each of the duplicated templates. Let’s see an example of how we can do that.

Click on the shaper_helixultimate - Default (2) that you have just created and rename the Style Name as “shaper_helixultimate - English”. From the default language menu choose English. Hit Save and go to the Menu Assignment tab beside the Details tab.

Choose the respective language menu for each language like shown in the screenshot. Hit save and close.

Choose shaper_helixultimate - English from Site Templates Styles. Now click on Template Options.

This should take you to the front end of your Helix template. From the sidebar, navigate to Menu and select Home - EN from the Select Menu Type dropdown list. Hit the Save button on the top.

Repeat the same process for each of your template styles that you have just duplicated. In our case, we repeated the same process for shaper_helixultimate - Arabic, shaper_helixultimate - Chinese, haper_helixultimate - Finnish duplicated templates.

Step 10: Content Localization Method

Please note that the methods you followed so far allow you to have a separate panel for languages that you have installed and wish to display to your audience. Your content language will still be in the default language. The contents of each language should be localized manually. Let’s see how we can do that.

From your Joomla 4 dashboard go to Components > SP Page Builder.

From the list of pages scroll down to the home pages you had initially created in Step 4. Once you hover over the pages you should be able to see the two options Preview and Frontend Editor. Click on the Frontend Editor.

This should take you to the frontend editing page of Helix Ultimate from where you can localize your webpage as your preference.

Let’s see what the translated pages look like after localization.

Congratulations! You have successfully created a multilingual site in Joomla 4 using Helix Ultimate.

Final Words

So in this article, we have tried to solve any confusion or difficulties you might have had for creating a multilingual site in Joomla 4 using Helix Ultimate. Localizing your website can effectively increase web traffic and consequently expand audience reach. So if you are looking to increase your global brand presence it’s definitely worth it to give it a try today!

Hope this article was helpful to you and don’t forget to leave your experience and feedback in the comments section below.

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Complete Guideline on the New Workflow Feature of Joomla 4

2021-09-06T09:39:41+00:00

Your content workflow isn’t just about the process of writing and publishing. A solid team workflow can boost your overall productivity and practically run your content team itself. Whether you are a solo blogger or manage a team, with the new Workflow feature of Joomla 4 you can easily set up your workflow to manage your content development.

While the Joomla 4 release news is still hot, let’s take a look at what the hype about the new workflow feature is all about and how it works. But before we proceed, please note that you don’t need to migrate to Joomla 4 ASAP. Wait till all the products ( templates, plugins, extensions) in use on your live site are fully compatible with Joomla 4.

The New Workflow Feature

The new workflow feature of Joomla 4 allows you to create a customized workflow to manage articles. It consists of everything involved to successfully execute content creation - whether you run a content team or a solo blogger.

With this feature, you can ensure the entire team is clear on their and others’ responsibilities. It will also save you time as the article publication process will go through a system.

You don’t have to stick to one workflow. This feature's flexibility will allow you to create various workflows depending on your needs. In this article, we’ll implement a workflow from planning to the publishing process. Let’s get started.

Step 1: Workflow From Idea to Publication (Planning)

Planning what your workflow will do beforehand is a must to effectively execute it. Here’s the content workflow plan that we will implement in this tutorial.

Initially, when an author comes up with a topic, it will be in the Idea stage. An idea can either be set On Hold or approved to be In Progress. From the In Progress stage, the article will proceed to the In Review stage. And finally, from the review stage, it can be Published if it is ready to release or go back to the In Progress stage to make edits.

Step 2: Create User Groups and Add Users (Optional)

This step is optional as you can also use the default user groups such as Author, Manager, etc.

In this step, we will set up the users group for the Editorial team, who can review the articles submitted by the authors. To create a new user group, go to Users > Groups > New.

Set the Group Title to Editorial Team and Group Parents to Registered. Hit Save & Close.

Now, let’s add users to this Editorial Team user group. To do that, go to Users > Manage > New.

In the Account Details tab, set the editorial team name, username, password, and email. Scroll down a bit and enable the receive system emails option.

Now, click on the Assigned User Groups tab and select the Editorial Team user group we have created earlier.

Step 3: Enable Workflow in Joomla 4

To create our workflow, we need to first enable the workflow option in Joomla 4. To do that, go to the administrator panel and navigate to Content → Articles → Options → Integration. Scroll down to the bottom, and you will see an option to enable workflow.

Once the workflow is enabled, each article can now undergo transitions before it is published.

Step 4: Create a New Workflow

You can create different types of workflow using the new Joomla 4 workflow feature on your needs. It will be selected in the Articles category to give a new filter.

To add a new Workflow Navigate to Joomla Content > Workflows > Add New item.

Let’s set the name to Custom Workflow. Hit Save & Close to proceed on to creating workflow stages.

Step 5: Create Workflow Stages

Now we need to create the workflow stages. In the planning stage, we have created a workflow that has the following stages:

Idea
On Hold
In Progress
In Review
Published
Trashed
Unpublished

Depending on your workflow, you’ll have various stages on which the transitions will take place.

To create stages for the workflow, go to Content > Workflow and click on Stages.

Click on New, enter the stage name, and hit Save & Close.

Repeat the process to create the rest of the stages.

Step 6: Create Transitions Actions

Once we have created the stages, we need to add transition actions to connect the stages. Follow the planning diagram to create a flow from one stage to another. Let's add the following transition action to see how it works.

Transition: To add a new transition, go to Content > Workflow > Transitions. Click on New, and add the following information.

Name: On Hold

Current Stage: Idea

Target Stage: On Hold

Transition Actions: The Transition Actions tab allows you to define what state the item will be in after the transition is complete.

For example, it can be published, unpublished, archived, etc. Set the publishing state according to the transition.

Notification: The transition notifications tab allows you to define whether a notification is sent during that state. For example, if an article has been written but needs to be proofread, you could send an email notification to the editor.

The Usergroups option will allow you to define who will receive the notification. Let’s set it to Editor.

Permissions: Now click the Permissions tab of the Transition. Select the User Group and for the Execute Transition Action, select Allowed from the drop-down. Click Save & Close.

Repeat the process to add the rest of the transitions.

Assign Categories to Articles

Articles can be assigned to categories. They correspond to a certain workflow and can be customized in various ways. To assign a category, go to Content → Categories. Open a category and you will see the workflows tab. From the drop-down menu, you can select the workflow for that category.

You can also set a status, parent category and also restrict the access as well as the permissions.

Final Output

Let’s create an article and have a look at the final outcome of the custom workflow that we’ve just created.

Wrapping Up

This is just one workflow scenario that we have covered today. Similarly, you can create a workflow plan that works for you and implement it. Although, the feature is a bit tricky to wrap your head around. But once you get the hang of it, you can easily manage content development and the publishing process.

What’s your take on the workflow feature, and how are you planning to use it? Let us know in the comments.

How to Update Your Site to Joomla 4 (Detailed Guideline)

2021-08-23T09:23:48+00:00

Joomla 4 stable version is already out! It’s a huge upgrade to the CMS bringing so many amazing new features and functionalities. The new major version will forever change the way you have been using Joomla as the platform is now more reliable, steady, secure, and fully equipped to empower innovations.

If you’re stressing about how to upgrade your site to Joomla 4, don’t worry. In this article, we will guide you through the entire process of upgrading your Joomla 3.x site to Joomla 4 without breaking your site. You’re encouraged to follow the entire article carefully so that you don’t end up making a mess.

Let's get started.

When Should You Update to Joomla 4

Joomla 4 is out. Does that mean you have to immediately upgrade your site to Joomla 4? No! As you can not update Joomla 3.x to 4 directly, you must first update your site to 3.10.

The Joomla 3.10 bridge will help you perform the mini migration to Joomla 4 and show a pre-update check of the extensions installed on your site. As per the official documentation, Joomla 3.10.x will be supported until 16 August 2023. So, there’s no rush. Wait till all the extensions in use are ready for Joomla 4.

How to Update From Joomla 3.x to Joomla 4

If you’ve come this far, it’s safe to say you’re ready to migrate to Joomla 4. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you successfully upgrade your Joomla 3.x site to Joomla 4.

Here's the visual representation of the entire update process.

The entire procedure has been broken down in detail so that you can easily follow along.

Check Technical Requirements

Before proceeding, you need to first make sure your environment meets the technical requirements of Joomla 4. Head over to the admin panel > System > System Information. In this tab, you’ll find the current PHP value, Joomla version, etc.

It is suggested to use the recommended values of Joomla 4 for a smooth transition. Here’s the requirement for Joomla 4.x.

Take a Full Backup of Your Live Site (MUST)

You must always take a backup of your site before updating Joomla. This is a must to prevent loss of data and restore your site up again if anything goes wrong during the update.

Method 1: Using Akeeba Backup

You can backup and restore your Joomla site using Akeeba Backup. To do this, you will be using the Akeeba Backup Joomla extension first to take a backup of your website (root files and database) and then Akeeba Kickstart to restore the backup. It’s a free extension and the transfer process is pretty straightforward.

Method 2: Take Manual Backup

Alternatively, you can take a manual backup of your live site. In this case, you have to first take a manual backup of all the files and folders from the website root folder so the same files and folder can be restored to another domain/host. And then, take a manual backup of the website database.

You can read the step-by-step tutorial on both methods HERE.

Set Up a Staging Site From the Backup

Now we need to create a testing site to restore the backup copy of our site. You can do it in one of the following places:

A subdomain.
A subdirectory.
A local development environment using XAMPP, MAMP, or other suitable alternatives.

You can read our article on how to set up a local web environment for Joomla for an in-depth tutorial.

Update to Joomla 3.10

Please do not update your live website to Joomla 3.10 unless you intend to update for Joomla 4. This is a bridge version that has been released to make the migration to Joomla 4 easier.

From the Administration panel, go to Components > Joomla updates > Options.

Set the update channel to Joomla Next.

Click on Install the Update to update to the stable 3.10 version.

Once we have updated our staging site to Joomla 3.10, we need to check our database schema.

To do that go to Extensions > Manage > Database and check if your database table structure is up-to-date. If not, fix the issues by clicking on the Fix button.

Check System Requirements & 3rd Party Extensions Compatibility

Joomla 3.10 version comes with a pre-update check option. This shows the technical specifications of the server the site is on and core and third-party extensions that use the Update Server in a list form.

To navigate to the Pre-Update Check-screen, Click Components > Joomla Update.

If you don’t see the Pre-Update Check-screen click on the Check for Updates button or clear cache and refresh the page.

The first section shows you if the PHP and database settings meet the system requirements. We need to check if anything is red and not compatible with Joomla 4.

The next section - Extensions Pre-Update Check pulls third-party integrations and checks their compatibility. In our case, Helix Ultimate 2.0.10 is fully compatible with Joomla 4. If you’re using other extensions, please contact the developers of the extensions to know about their Joomla 4 compatibility. Know more about JoomShaper’s product update plan for Joomla 4.

Disable Incompatible Extensions

If the Joomla Pre-update checklist shows the extension is not ready for Joomla, you have to update it to the compatible version or disable it. It is strongly recommended to disable all incompatible extensions before you run the upgrade as they could break your upgrade. If you are not sure which extra installed plugin may cause problems also disable all extra plugins, later you can enable them one by. I also recommend comparing the installed version of the extensions with those that are on the developer site, sometimes Joomla may not display info about current updates.

To remove incompatible extensions, go to the Extension Manager → Manage tab and remove all the extensions that are not compatible with Joomla 4.

Update From 3.10 to Joomla 4

Before upgrading from one Joomla version to another, always take a full backup of the website! So go ahead and take a full backup again.

From the admin panel navigate to Global Configuration > Server > Error Reporting and set it to Maximum to get all error messages, warnings, and notices.

Now head over to Components > Joomla Update > and Click on Live Update to see Joomla 4 update notification.

You can also manually upload the Joomla 4 package in the Upload & Update tab. Click on Install the Update, you’ll be asked to provide your login credentials. The update will take some time and then you’ll be redirected to the Joomla 4 dashboard.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully updated to Joomla 4.

Post Update Checklist:

Clear cache.
Check the database schema and fix if any errors show.
See if your site is performing as expected ( both frontend and backend ).
Set the error report from maximum to default.
Install Joomla 4 ready extensions as needed.

Joomla 4 Tips - Fix Upgrade bug

Watch Video clip

Move the Website From Localhost to Live

The final step is to move the Joomla site from localhost to the live server. Here’s how to do that.

Copy the files from the root folder of the localhost to the server using FTP or File Manager
Export the Joomla database from the localhost phpMyAdmin
Import the Joomla database to the phpMyAdmin on the server
Update the configuration.php to make sure you have the correct details
Test and Go Live

Read the step-by-step tutorial HERE.

Final Thoughts

Joomla 3.10 will have a long-term support. You will get at least two years of support for 3.10, so please wait till all the extensions and third-party integrations in use are fully compatible with Joomla 4 if you’re planning to keep them.

Also, never skip a backup! Always take a backup of your live site before updating your Joomla version. Good luck!

JoomShaper’s Plans for Joomla 4

2021-08-12T12:08:53+00:00

Joomla 4 is just around the corner. It is going to have a major impact on the Joomla industry for sure. Just like every other Joomla user, we are excited about this update. We hope this is going to uplift Joomla as a CMS and take it to a new height.

While you all are thinking about when to update your site to the new Joomla 4 version, we are working tirelessly to make each of our products fully compatible with the latest version of Joomla. And, this is what we will talk about today.

As a Joomla user or a fan of JoomShaper, you know we have 45+ powerful extensions, 135+ rich Joomla templates, along with a couple of revolutionary Joomla tools (SP Page Builder and Helix Ultimate). Updating such a large pool of robust products is never an easy task. Thanks to our developers, we are making it happen quite smartly.

We are here to talk about our plans to address Joomla 4 and let you know the phase we are in now. So, let’s get started.

JoomShaper’s Plan for Joomla 4

You would be happy to know that we have already made some of our products Joomla 4 compatible even before it is officially released. We are planning on making all of our products Joomla 4 compatible as soon as possible.

Joomla 4 Compatible Joomla Products Of JoomShaper

We have made a good number of Joomla extensions compatible with Joomla 4. Here’s the list of the products we have made compatible so far.

SP Page Builder
SP Property
SP Simple Portfolio
SP LMS
SP Easy Image Gallery
SP Weather
SP Tweet

Our Roadmap to Upgrade Our Templates and Extensions

Here’s JoomShaper’s plan for Joomla 4.

Templates: Helix Ultimate Framework will be compatible with Joomla 4 from the launch date. We will be adding Joomla 4 compatibility of all Helix Ultimate Framework-based templates within a couple of months. (If there is no third-party extension dependency).
Helix 3: After updating all Helix Ultimate-based templates, we will be updating the Helix 3 framework. And, Helix 3 based templates will be updated within 2022.
All Other Joomla Extensions: All other Joomla extensions will be updated within the first half of 2022.

Joomla 4 Resources for Our Users

Joomla 4 is a major shift from its previous version. Upgrading to Joomla 4 can be painful if there are not enough guidelines or resources to handle unwanted issues carefully. This is why we are coming up with regular tips and tutorials focused on Joomla 4 so that you don’t experience any unwanted issues.

Here are some links to the resources that we have already published.

Our Guideline for Users to Upgrade to Joomla 4

There are some factors to have in mind before you upgrade your site to Joomla 4. We suggest you have the following things in mind for a smoother upgrade.

First of all, check whether all of the extensions and templates installed on your site are Joomla 4 compatible
Take a backup of your site
Make sure you have the latest version of Joomla 3
Update all of your Joomla templates and extensions before upgrading to Joomla 4. Otherwise, you may run into some unexpected issues.

We always want you to enjoy the latest technologies with our products. You already know that we regularly update our products. We hope our users will have a safe transition to Joomla 4 if they wish.

What’s New in Joomla 4 - Major Initiatives & Improvements

2021-08-11T07:27:37+00:00

Hola Joomla enthusiasts! I am sure you’ve already heard the birthday present announcement Joomla has made recently. As per the official announcement, the planned launch of Joomla 4 will take place on 17th August 2021. Nearly nine years in the making, this major Joomla version is ready to change the way you’ll be using Joomla in the future. Excited? So are we!

It is the perfect time to explore the new features and fall in love with Joomla all over again. Today, let’s shed some light on the major initiatives and improvements Joomla 4 is shipping with and appreciate the work of art it is.

Before we proceed, please note that if you’re using any JoomShaper product on your live site, please do not upgrade your site to Joomla 4 until the products in use are fully compatible with Joomla 4.

Brand New Administrator and Site Templates

The very first thing you’ll notice about Joomla 4 is the completely new layout of the administration area. The new Admin Dashboards are designed for site managers to optimize their site management experience for themselves or clients quickly and easily.

The Home dashboard presents Admin modules like Logged-in Users, Latest Actions, Site Information, Notifications, system shortcuts, and more to get you started administering your Joomla 4 site. Followed by Content, Menus, Components, and Users dashboards to easily manage content, menus, components, and users.

On each dashboard, there’s always an area to click on to add a module to customize the dashboard.

Joomla 4 also introduced 1 new front-end template: Cassiopeia and 1 new back-end template: Atum.

Improved Command Line Interface (CLI)

The new improved and expanded command-line interface is introducing a faster way to perform operations through the command line. It brings forward a way to integrate things faster, perform updates in the CMS, and run small tests without having to go through the process of the web dashboard.

With the available commands you can easily check for core updates, manage ( install, list, remove) extensions, update the Joomla core, quickly put your Joomla-powered website into offline or online mode, and do much more.

More Powerful Codebase

Joomla 4 has a clean and optimized codebase with the removal of all 3.x deprecated functions. The move to PHP namespaces is one of the biggest changes in Joomla 4 empowering developers to develop more robust and innovative applications.

The PHP namespacing allows for a better organization by grouping classes that work together to perform a task. It also allows you to use the same class name for frontend and backend classes. Read the official documentation to know more about namespace conventions in Joomla 4.

Bootstrap 5 Integration

Bootstrap 5 is a major rewrite of the entire Bootstrap project to make it even more powerful. And the good news is Joomla 4 is shipping with Bootstrap 5! This means Joomla 4 and its later versions will stay up-to-date with the latest Bootstrap version to prevent conflict and backward compatibility issues.

As the web has already evolved beyond jQuery, so does Bootstrap. With JavaScript standards and dominant web browsers already supporting most of the features in jQuery, Bootstrap 5 has dropped the support of jQuery and Internet Explorer. It’s a huge improvement as Google uses page speed as one of the ranking factors.

From an improved grid system, custom form controls to a new icon library, you’ll get to enjoy all the great features Bootstrap 5 offers with the new major Joomla version.

Accessibility - (WCAG) 2.0 AA Compliance

Joomla 4 got even better with one of the most important features, which is accessibility support. It has WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliance, which means websites powered by Joomla 4 are usable and understandable for the majority of people with or without disabilities.

There is no need to invest in any external extensions or plugins, thanks to its built-in accessibility for both frontend and backend templates. With this feature, anyone can manage a Joomla website, it is a fantastic convenience for people who have been struggling with accessibility to use Joomla.

New Workflows

The new Workflows feature will make sure the tasks get done more efficiently and by the right people. This is a feature content writers will surely fall in love with!

With the new Joomla 4 workflow feature, you can set the workflow stage and allow administrators to review the article before it is supposed to be published. The new features allow you to create user groups, give limited access control, and set approvers and posters for the article or blog.

New Media Manager

The new media manager of Joomla 4 comes with a cleaner UI and new image editing capabilities. It is much more user-friendly and has more advanced features in comparison with Joomla 3. It’s now more efficient and hassle-free with the support of multi-files upload and drop & drag uploading.

You can now edit images straight from the backend. Once you click on the ellipsis icon over an image, it will give you options for Preview, Rename, Edit, Get shareable link, Download, and Delete an image.

You can perform basic edits to your images with the image editor like crop, resize, and rotate.

Email Templating

Another feature of Joomla 4 that adds remarkable value is the new customizable HTML Mail templates. In Joomla 3, we had to modify system emails creating a custom language override. We were limited to having the emails go out as plain text only unless you used a third-party extension. There’s no need to use third-party extensions anymore to modify your emails from the Joomla core, you can do this through Joomla itself!

The new Mail Templates component allows you to add HTML formatting along with plain text to make your emails look far more professional. A wide range of Mail Templates is available in Joomla 4 that can be easily customized to suit your site’s needs.

Smart Search

Joomla 4 smart search has many improvements over previous Joomla search and is the best to date. The com_search component of Joomla 3.x is replaced by Joomla smart search in Joomla 4 with new options for the active search index.

With the active search index, every time you add new content on the website, Joomla will automatically index the new items for the search result. Wave goodbye to manual indexing!

Apart from this, it also brings new advanced options for a search filter and content map. You can also publish the search module anywhere on the website using a module position and support different types of filter selection.

Improved Security

With many architectural changes and well-written code, you can be assured your Joomla-powered website will be more secure than ever. New security features such as support for prepared SQL statements and managing security headers from within your site make protecting your site even easier.

Joomla 4 has new tools for the Joomla Core to help every site integrator with the setup of the headers. That allows a wider range of users to understand and set up that headers and even apply some of the basic protections by default.

Joomla 4 SEO & Speed

SEO built into the architecture of the page means you get the correct page structure without any additional extensions. The Joomla 4’s key features and core benefits have greater potential than other CMS to rank very high if a website and pages are set up properly.

Joomla 4 comes with a built-in plugin for Lazy Load. Once it is enabled, it will automatically lazy load all the images resulting in faster-loading pages, better user experience, and better organic rankings for your website. There’s no doubt with all improvements in the codebase and core architecture, your Joomla site will be more powerful and faster!

Final Thoughts

Joomla 4 brings a huge upgrade to the CMS and is packed with features it needs to perform at its best!. It’s safe to say with all the improvements - Joomla 4 will offer you a platform that is reliable, steady, secure, and fully equipped to empower innovations.

So get ready for a new world of possibilities. With the platform growing so tremendously, we are incredibly proud of how Joomla has evolved throughout the years!

Joomla - Myths & Misconceptions You Should Know

2020-07-24T09:58:38+00:00

Open source content management system like Joomla has pushed the web forward for the past decade and is responsible for millions of websites online. Joomla is the second largest CMS, with a rock-solid code base and has an immensely helpful support community. Despite being one of the most popular CMSs, Joomla is surrounded by so many ridiculous myths. If you are just starting with Joomla, you might get lost in the pool of information and misinformation on the internet.

The goal of today’s article is to help the novice who are on their journey to find a good CMS to make an informed decision before they back out from Joomla hearing the myths. Let’s clear the air and break some of the most common misconceptions about Joomla, shall we?

"Is Joomla Still Relevant Nowadays?"

Let’s start with the most popular myth - Joomla is disappearing from the world of CMS. In case you are wondering if Joomla is still relevant nowadays, certainly, it is! In fact, Joomla is now more powerful and stable than ever. According to many resources, Joomla is still the 2nd most popular CMS, also in the market share area (w3techs.com). What’s even better, Joomla is seeing constant improvement and the major upcoming version Joomla 4.0 has all the latest web technologies. The 3x series has also been fantastic with advanced features, security enhancements, and UI updates.

If you are looking for a CMS that’s reliable, excels with systems like menu management, module management, user management, built-in multilingual support, etc. then Joomla ticks all the right boxes! To conclude, Joomla will be equally reliable in many more years to come just as it has been in the past decade.

"Joomla is Not Innovative"

Visual design is an integral part of modern web. And whoever said you can’t achieve a fully-functional great looking website with Joomla is probably still living in the past. Joomla extensions and templates are its greatest advantages. Popular tools like SP Page Builder, Helix framework, JoomShaper templates, and extensions like JCE, Akeeba Backup, etc. are proven examples of innovation.

To get a taste of the future of Joomla templates and innovation, do not forget to check out our Helix Ultimate 2.0 Alpha 1 and decide for yourself.

"Limited Customization"

Joomla is highly customizable and flexible to work with. You do not need to have advanced coding skills to wrap your head around Joomla features and tweaks. You can customize any Joomla template with basic CSS or drag & drop page builder and create a masterpiece of your own. On the Template Manager of your Administrator dashboard, you have the option to edit any template file and change the appearance of it. You can also customize and improve UX of the backend using free extensions like KC Admin QuickIcons, Admin Menu Manager, etc.

In fact, here at JoomShaper, we offer templates and layout bundles that are highly customizable and easy to work with. Learn how to install a template here or if you are interested in learning how to install a QuickStart pack of a template and personalize it to your requirements, here’s our guide.

"Joomla Is Based on Outdated Technology" (PHP)

Surprisingly, you even get to hear this. PHP is not outdated! This myth has surfaced because of the hype around new technologies or due to irregular updates & maintenance of old Joomla sites. The latest versions of PHP are actually faster, more stable than many other server-side scripting languages, and Joomla & SP Page Builder can also work on PHP 7.4 (the latest stable version of PHP when we published this post).

The problem arises when you build a site and hope that it will last a lifetime without having to maintain it. And this is true for any CMS you choose. You have to update your website once in a while to keep pace with the technology and avoid relying on the older versions.

"Not Beginner Friendly"

There is a commonly-held belief that Joomla is not beginner-friendly and difficult to learn compared to other CMSs. Is this true? Well, the answer would depend on what type of a beginner you are. You could be a beginner who has a clear knowledge of what it takes to build a website and familiar with HTML and CSS. Or, you could be a beginner who is completely new to the world of web development but interested in developing knowledge.

If you fall into the former category, learning Joomla is going to be a piece of cake. And if you fall into the latter, you can still make it given the fact there are so many learning resources available such as books, e-books, and online courses/tutorials. If you are an absolute beginner and want to learn how to build a Joomla website, here’s our guide.

"All Joomla Websites Look Similar"

Seriously!? Just because all basic Joomla installations look the same straight out of the box, doesn’t mean they’ll look the same when they finally go online. This CMS uses templates to control the appearance of any Joomla-powered website and just like extensions (components, modules), there are hundreds of Joomla templates to choose from, including both free and paid ones. Moreover, SP Page Builder Pro has lots of predesigned page layouts as well.

"Joomla is Meant for Small Businesses"

Joomla powers millions of websites and many leading businesses around the world use Joomla for building their business sites. From companies like IKEA, Barnes & Noble, to media, tourism to famous people like Michael Phelps, Joomla is trusted by many to create an impacful presence online.

To conclude, Joomla can be used to build, organize, manage, and publish content for any business and eCommerce of any size and is robust enough to handle a large amount of traffic.

"Joomla is Not Secure"

Really!? Joomla is just as secure as any other CMSs if hosted on a reliable server. Even it can be better. No matter which CMS you plan to choose, you need to take all sorts of safety measures and not rely solely on the core CMS. Nearly 80% of actual security threats and infections are due to a vulnerability caused by outdated extensions and password exploits. A 100% secure website does not exist but the following measures can protect your Joomla site from the majority of attacks.

Regular update of Joomla, PHP, extensions, and plugins (read here)
Select your hosting provider carefully
Use SSL/HTTPS
Prevent hotlinking
Secure login with 2-factor authentication
Use strong passwords
.htaccess security rules
Joomla security (firewall) extensions

Wrapping Up

In this article, we tried to shed some positive light on Joomla as we believe it is a great web development software. Against all odds and myths, Joomla has managed to have the continued trust of millions of users including ours which is a testimony that Joomla is still relevant. Whether you want to build websites or develop templates and extensions, you can do it all with Joomla. Let us know how you feel about these myths in the comments section. Good day!

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8 Pro Tips to Take Care of Your Joomla Site Properly

2019-12-17T11:00:03+00:00

Having a website for your business, blog, organization, or anything is a blessing. But it can also be a curse if you don’t maintain that properly. For the internet audience, who don’t visit your business physically, your website is the store, business point, or whatever you say to the visitors. In fact, the image of your business heavily depends on your site. Any anomaly, outdated information of the products, and lack of proper maintenance can cost you big.

Scared? Please don’t be. Because, today, we will share some pro tips to take care of your website properly. No matter the type of site you have, these actionable measures can help you improve the site performance without spending a dime.

Taking care of your Joomla sites is so easy. You don’t have to work so hard to do this. With our detailed guide, you will know some proven ways to maintain your Joomla sites and improve the overall performance.

8 Pro Tips to Take Care of Your Joomla Site

Maintaining a Joomla website is more like following the best practices. You can take care of your Joomla sites in different ways. Following the tips below will not only improve site performance but also speed up your site to a greater extent.

Update Joomla to the Latest Version

The first and foremost maintenance tip is to update your Joomla version. To equip you with new functionalities, fixes, and improvements, Joomla is updated regularly. You need to update your Joomla version to the latest one. In fact, if outdated versions may pose a security threat to your website. In this case, updating the Joomla version is so crucial. Here are some key benefits of having sites on the latest Joomla versions.

Offers new features and functionalities
Fixes bugs
Strengthen website security
Improves overall performance
Speeds up website
Introduces new technologies

It's not likely that every update will bring all these above changes. But updates are basically targeted at all the above changes.

Update Joomla Extensions

Joomla helps you create websites at scale. It is rich with plenty of extensions to extend website functionality. In most cases, people install different modules and components to add new features or functionalities. People behind these Joomla extensions also bring news features, fixes and improvements. To get on board with the new stuff, you must upgrade your extensions to the latest versions.

Outdated extensions may cause issues in different ways. You should always consider updating Joomla extensions regularly to run your site smoothly.

Take Backup of Your Site and Database Regularly

You should always keep a backup of your site and database. If in any case, your website is disturbed and loses its valuable content. Restoring those content from backup is the only option to get those back. Accidents can happen anytime. There's no way you'll know about it beforehand. This is why it’s wise to keep a recent backup of your site.

There are many reasons to need to revert the site back to a previous working state. Having a backup is not just merely about accidents, a person well versed in the backup can help with smoother development of new features. Backup and restore help you create a staging website where new changes can be practiced without risking the production website.

Optimize Your Media Resources (Images, Videos)

Your website’s media resources majorly affect the page load time. If you don't optimize your media resources (images, audio, and video), your site will take a bit longer to load. In these modern days, your website speed is directly related to Google search ranking. Your media sizes and file types have an impact on page loading time.

There are different types of files for images. You can go with JPEG, PNG, WEBP, and SV. You have to know which one takes less space and loads faster. You should compress images. There are some online tools like TinyPNG to compress images without the chance of losing image quality. You could try that out. For other types of media files, you should also go with the lighter ones.

Live up to the Reputation with Updated Content

Visitors will turn their back on your website if they find outdated content on your site. There are some types of content that require constant upgrading especially if they contain information. In that case, you have to update your content in order to live up to your reputation.

Optimize Your Website to Make SEO Friendly

There’s no point in having a website that doesn’t bring organic traffic from Google (or any other search engines). It’s what every website owner wants. If you want your website to be found by the people who search for the services, products, or content you provide, then optimize your website for better Google search ranking. You can make your Joomla website SEO friendly in various ways. Some of the most common SEO practices are given below:

Conduct keyword research and use the best betting keywords for the website.
Make sure the title tags get the relevant keywords
Speed up your website because Google loves fast loading websites
Write unique titles, descriptions, content and be relevant
Manage your metadata
Use internal links and be consistent with them

There are also some Joomla extensions that could take care of your site SEO. You can use the JSitemap extension in this case. It is an award-winning SEO solution for Joomla! With almost 20,000 users and 200,000 installations, JSitemap is the most popular tool to manage SEO and sitemaps.

Protect Your Joomla Site by Improving Security

Security is always a big issue. You have to protect your website from potential threats. Hackers may get into your website in various ways and take control of everything from you. You can take the necessary security measures to prevent those attempts. There are some security extensions that can help you with this. You can go with Admin Tools, AdminExile, jHackGuard, JomDefender to protect your site.

Remove Unused and Unoptimized Joomla Extensions

Joomla extensions require system resources, databases, and disk space to operate. Having many extensions will increase the overall size of your website and make the website slower eventually. For that particular reason, you have to make sure that you only have extensions that are in use on your Joomla site.

You should not test plugins on a staging site. In case you do so, you should remove the plugin once you are done with it. It’s wise to clean up extensions to make sure there aren’t any unused or unoptimized extensions inside.

Be extra careful while installing an extension. Choose extensions wisely. Go through features, functionalities, and user reviews before deciding to install an extension.

Whatever the website you have, make sure you take care of that regularly unless you will end up losing traffic to your site. Your website will fall flat and perform poorly. Just by taking the above issues into consideration, you can maintain your site properly and ensure the maximum experience for your site visitors. At JoomShaper, we not only help you create beautiful, feature-rich, and functional websites but also, we make sure to fully equip your website to perform well. Thanks for staying with us.

7 secret Joomla features everyone should try

2019-02-12T09:55:12+00:00

What makes you most surprised about Joomla? To me, the extensive customization capability of Joomla is the most interesting thing in this powerful CMS. Every time I explore the inner settings of Joomla, I learn new things. Today I’ve accumulated 7 useful Joomla features that many of you might not be aware of. Let’s see what are these!

What’s new in Joomla 3.9?

2018-10-31T06:25:49+00:00

Hey Joomlers! A big news is here. I cannot wait to share my excitement about it. Joomla 3.9 has been released. It’s largely about privacy and user data management. There are many other good stuff inside Joomla 3.9. In numbers, your favorite CMS brings over 250 improvements. On top of that, Joomla 3.9 gets you a big step closer to the grand Joomla 4.

Opus review: The creative agency template you’ve been looking for

2018-09-13T11:59:13+00:00

From your experience, you would know that we release a template on the very first day of every month. That’s our tradition. But this time it was delayed. We released Opus on the 10th day of the month. This was not an ordinary delay and certainly was not intentional. I have used the template and investigated all the possible reasons behind the delay. Today, here I’m to share the outcomes with you.

Joomla 4 Cassiopeia template customization tips

2018-03-05T14:12:57+00:00

Joomla 4 Cassiopeia frontend template is the new default Joomla template specially designed and developed for Joomla 4. Already in the latest alpha releases of Joomla 4, we have experienced Cassiopeia template. Lots of amazing features and awesome functionalities have been introduced in Joomla 4. Among them is the Cassiopeia template. Today we are going see how we can do basic customizations in the Cassiopeia template.

Joomla 4, Joomla 3, and Joomla 2.5 comparison: The evolution of Joomla

2018-02-09T11:02:52+00:00

Joomla 4 alpha 2 has already arrived. Users are peeking at the amazing core functionalities and features introduced with Joomla 4. Joomla is gradually evolving from version 2, and now Joomla 4 is on its way with improved quality and features. So, let’s have a feature comparison among Joomla 4, Joomla 3.x, and Joomla 2.5 (both released in 2012).

Joomla 4 tutorial: Simplified installation on localhost

2018-01-22T09:30:51+00:00

Joomla 4 is on the run to be live as soon as possible. The alpha version of Joomla 4 is live now with lots of amazing features and new technologies. So, you must be in ‘can’t wait’ mode to check out the new features that are going to be launched with Joomla 4. To introduce you to a more exciting and smoother journey with Joomla 4, we are going to publish a series of first hand Joomla 4 tutorials. Today we will go through a simplified Joomla 4 installation process. Gradually, we will introduce more tutorials on various Joomla 4 features.

Step one: Download Joomla 4

Open the Joomla 4 GitHub link (pre-release version for now, because the stable version is yet to be arrived). You will find Joomla 4 installation packages. Click to download a file in you preferred format.

Figure: GitHub page for downloading Joomla 4 pre-release versions.

Step two: Install a web server

For localhost installation, you have to install a local web server. You can use a server environment like XAMPP, MAMP, WAMP, JAMP or any other you prefer. Download the software and install it. Now put the installation zip file of Joomla 4 into the document root folder, if you are using XAMPP or MAMP, it is the ‘htdocs’ folder. Unzip the Joomla 4 installation zip file into the htdocs folder. You are now ready to start the CMS installation.

Step three: Run the installation wizard

Type the URL of your Joomla 4 localhost site in the browser address bar. Example: http://localhost/joomla-4.0.0-alpha2/. The installation screen will pop up. Now follow the below steps to install it on your localhost.

Step four: Enter the language and site name

On the first screen, enter the language of your Joomla site in the first field. Use the drop down menu to choose a language. In the second field, you have to add the site name. Example: example.com.

Figure: Site language and site name selection stage.

Step five: Setup user data

After clicking the button “Enter Login Data”, a new page will open. Here you have to enter your login details. In the first field, you have to add the super admin username. In the second field, you have to add the email address of your superuser. In the last field, add a password for your superuser.

Figure: Setting up user data.

Step six: Database configuration

Now you have to configure the database for your Joomla website. Select the database type of your site in the first input field. In the second field, you need to specify the host name. For localhost, add the host name as “localhost”. In the third field, add the database username. For localhost installation, add ‘root’ as username. In the fourth field, add the password for the database. For localhost installation, it is better to add "root" as the password. In the fifth input field, insert the database table name. It is a very crucial field. It is better to use the site prefix to distinguish the table for later customizations. Now at the last input field, add a table prefix or you can use the randomly generated one.

Figure: Configuring the database.

Step seven: Install Joomla 4

After clicking the "Install Joomla" button, Joomla 4 will be installed. And then the completion page will open. From two options, you can use any. You can open the site or go to the admin backend. If you choose the Open Admin option, it will take you to the administrator login page.

Figure: Joomla 4 installation complete.

If you choose the "Open Site" option, it will open your site’s frontend.

Figure: Joomla 4 frontend.

So, this is another cool thing achieved with Joomla 4, the simplified installation. We will publish more tutorials regarding Joomla 4 in future. Please stay with us, and meanwhile, if you have any thoughts and suggestions please use our comment section below.

Joomla 4 accessibility support: Tech for the humanity

2018-01-02T07:53:06+00:00

Joomla 4 is the next most awaited revolution in the Joomla world. This flagship release will be supported for a longer period of time. That's the very reason Joomla 4 bears excellence in every aspect of the Joomla CMS. Joomla 4 is developed using all the latest technologies and usability in mind. Recently we have introduced you to the Joomla 4 admin UI design, released in its alpha version. As Joomla 4 is going to be the best Joomla version to date, the release team is continuously adding newer and newer stuff for its millions of user base. One of the best that Joomla 4 is going to have is the accessibility support.

Which one is the best template of the year 2017 from JoomShaper?

2017-12-11T06:26:55+00:00

The year 2017 is coming to an end for all of us and for JoomShaper as well. This year we have released 12 Joomla templates in different categories, SP Page Builder 3 and extensions like SP Easy Image Gallery. From the beginning of the next year, we will continuously surprise you with some really exciting products, starting with the release of much awaited Helix Ultimate. And you will definitely be triple times proud for choosing JoomShaper.

Joomla 4 backend admin dashboard UI revealed!

2017-12-06T11:19:04+00:00

Do you love getting exciting latest information on Joomla 4? I know you do, who doesn’t? Joomla 4 is proving to be really promising. We are getting exciting features and updates from the Joomla 4 development team. This time the user interface team of Joomla 4 has brought us the nicest gift ahead of this Christmas. The team introduced the new user interface for the Joomla 4 backend admin dashboard. The challenge was to fit the design according to the technical details of Joomla 4. So, why wait. Let's explore the designs and feel the awesomeness.