Joomla! Documentation™

Purpose

to be included in all the backround docs - and written to work for versions 1.5 and 1.6

There are four aspects to designing a new Joomla! web site. These also apply to planning to make alterations to an existing site or planning for transferring a site that already exists into Joomla!

1. The content hierarchy of Sections, Categories and Articles
2. Who you expect to use the site and what you want them to be able to do
3. The layout of the menus and the position of some functionality on the page
4. The graphical design of the whole site

These should all be based on the purpose and expected content of the site, so you do need a clear idea of what you are trying to communicate and plan accordingly. Easier said than done!