Portal:Beginners

<translate> As someone who has not used Joomla! before, you need to know how to get started. Maybe you have a friend or a neighbour who uses Joomla! and you want a Joomla! web site of your very own. Maybe you have a small business or a club or a community that needs a web presence, and you want to use Joomla! for that purpose. Maybe you are a seasoned Information Technology professional, but you have never used Joomla! before. If so, you are just starting a very enjoyable journey and we warmly welcome you to Joomla! </translate>

What is Joomla?

Joomla! is a CMS(Content Management System) that lets you...

...make and update web pages easily.

As a simplified explanation, think of a Joomla! website dynamically bringing together three elements.

• Your content, which is stored in a database and called articles.
• Modules, additional pieces of special content which is also stored in a database.
• Your template, which controls the design and presentation(fonts, colors and layout) of your content and modules.

Joomla! is the software that brings together the content and modules using the template to produce webpages dynamically. No more HTML pages to store, update, link together and then upload to your server.

 

Absolute Beginners Guide to Joomla!

<translate> Although you could spend a lifetime learning Joomla!, if you master the basics you will be able to make a very attractive and useful basic website in a very short time with no special technical skills. </translate> <translate> Do you want to get started with Joomla!, but you have no idea where to begin? If so, you have come to the right place. </translate>

<translate> Installing Joomla!</translate>

{{:Portal:Beginners/Installing Joomla/<translate>

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<translate> Learn to Use Joomla!</translate>

<translate>=== Getting Support ===

• For support with installation, you can ask questions in the Joomla! installation forum.
• For support as you are learning Joomla! you can ask questions in the NewJoomla! forums. Use the New to Joomla! 3.x Forum.

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Before You Start Creating Your Joomla! Site

<translate> Before you jump into making your own articles, categories, tags, web links, contacts, banners, and news feeds, you may want to review Planning Your Web site. There are many aspects of creating a web site to consider. For example, deciding if you want to enable Search Engine Friendly URLs and how enabling or disabling Search Engine Friendly URLs later will destroy the rankings your pages acquired with search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. </translate>

<translate> Perhaps you already have a website. Then you should read Converting an existing website to a Joomla! website and learn more about converting your static website.</translate>

<translate> One of the first tasks you may want to do is to modify one of the templates that comes with Joomla! so that it displays your site name and logo.</translate>

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• How to change the image(s) in your template. </translate>

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• How to modify a Joomla! template.</translate>

<translate> Finally, you may want to install one or more of the thousands of extensions to Joomla!. Most Joomla! extensions are listed in the official Joomla! Extensions Directory (JED). Once you've found an extension to install, you'll have to follow the procedure for installing a Joomla! Extension. </translate>

<translate> Please remember that all extensions are developed by independent developers. If you need help with a specific extension the best source will be that developer. </translate>

<translate>===Getting Help in the Joomla! Forums=== </translate> {{Portal:Beginners/Getting Help/<translate> en</translate>}} <translate> Here are some quick links to specific forums commonly used.

• General/New to Joomla! Questions,
• Joomla! Template Questions,
• Joomla! Extension Questions</translate>

 

Keep Your Joomla! Site Secure

<translate> Security is always a big concern on the web. Make sure you are using best security practices. The basic techniques on the Security Check List will get your site off to a good start in terms of security. Here is a list of more information you should read. </translate> {{:Security/Guide/<translate> en</translate>}}

 

Understand How Joomla! Works

<translate> You might want to learn how Joomla! is built and how its features work together. </translate>

<translate> In short, Joomla! is composed of a Framework and extensions. There are several types of extensions, each capable of performing specific tasks. Some extensions are developed as part of the Joomla! project and come with your installation. If you want to add features to your site, you can install more extensions. </translate>

<translate> You can compare this to a computer operating system, like Microsoft Windows or Linux. You don't directly use the operating system (Joomla!); you use applications (extensions) to carry out tasks. Some applications (extensions) are immediately available on your system, but additional applications (extensions) can be installed and removed at any time. </translate>

<translate> The Joomla! Core Features Guide scribd, written by James Ramsay describes the features (mostly the extensions) available in each download of Joomla!.</translate>