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Richard Pearce

When I met Joomla, I had no idea how much it would impact my future. The relationship was frosty at first. Hostile in fact. I was happy the way things were, but Joomla insisted that life could be even better, if I was prepared to make some changes. The problem was, the path to our ultimate happiness required a solution that had not yet been built. And it was up to me to produce the solution. Okay - sure, Joomla did provide the materials, but no cohesive way of moulding it all together.



I made a tentative approach, but was sternly rebuked. Something about having inadequate permissions. I tried again but couldn't find a way to have even the most simple of conversations. Sadly we parted and I went back to my long-term partner, Dreamweaver.



But I knew I was missing out on something. It nagged me day and night until I decided to try again. It was easier this time. Things started to look bright and I was optimistic that I had found my lifelong partner. But alas we fell at the final hurdle. We had come so far, surely something seemingly so small as a menu item couldn't come between us. But is was so. And so tragically we separated again.



This time my reunion with my previous HTML editor was not so pleasant. We were never right for each other. So I knuckled down with a new determination to use the few resources I had to build a Joomla website. The details aren't important. All you need to know is that everything finally came together and now Joomla and I are best of friends.



I want you to enjoy this friendship too, so I have produced a methodical step-by-step solution to learning Joomla. Start with our free course The Basics. Then move on to our advanced courses. I also publish hints and tips via this blog. Your first steps might also be tentative, but with my help, you are guaranteed to save a lot of time and frustration.



Connect with Richard: Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | LinkedIn

Owner of Build a Joomla Website. Responsible for 1 wife, 4 kids and 17 fish.

How to wrap text around an image

Here is a quick walk through of how to wrap your text around an image in an article. This assumes you are using the default editor that comes with Joomla.

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Richard Pearce
You can do this with JCE. Look for the margin settings.
Monday, 26 November 2012 10:36
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Solving Joomla permission problems

This article is somewhat more technical than usual but it addresses what is probably the most common problem that people experience with Joomla. Joomla can be successfully used with a number of hosts all of whom have different setups. But once you start installing extensions, you may encounter difficulties with file permissions. If you're not technically minded, you don't know where to begin to solve these problems and spend hours tearing your hair out trying things that don't work or even wrecking the rest of your site.
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Get your navigation right

There are no rules with web development but there certainly are some principles that most sites should follow. Last week I discussed the importance of capturing your visitor's attention quickly. Let's follow on from that by discussing your site navigation.
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Creating a blog using Joomla

It is really easy to configure Joomla as a blog but there are a few extensions you should consider to get full blogging functionality. A blog is simply a collection of articles. I demonstrate how to do this in the free Joomla video tutorials.

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5 important questions for your home page

The term bounce rate is the percentage of people who arrive at a page on your site but don't view any other pages. This is a great metric to measure using Google Analytics because it shows if you are attracting the right people and most importantly, if you are doing a good job convincing them to look at your site.
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Put a Google map on your website

Before Google maps came along, creating a map for a website was tedious. We used to have to source an original map, trace the required roads onto paper, scan it, add color and then hope that the client liked it. Even a simple map would take a couple of hours.

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Joomla Job Boards

Several people have asked me what is available to create job listings on a Joomla site. You can view these at the Joomla Extensions Directory. The latest Job Board release is JA Job Board by JoomlArt. With a starting price of $290, this is one of the more expensive Joomla extensions around. However if you're making money from your job listings, you will quickly recover this investment and end up with a full featured application.

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Robert Wilson
Thanks for the comment and the info. We like to hear people's feedback on third party extensions...both good and bad.
Friday, 29 March 2013 17:20
Kris
I agree with Zorro, I have spent 3 months working on JA Job Board, the stress, late nights and frustration and still no result!! J... Read More
Monday, 01 April 2013 16:58
Richard Pearce
No one is going to contact you if you post here. Have you tried asking for support from the developer?
Monday, 01 April 2013 17:10
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Joomla content is a S.C.A.M.

Here's a really easy way to remember how to add content to your Joomla site.

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Joomla Resource Directory

One aspect that was lacking in the Joomla community was an easy way to find people to help you with your Joomla project. The Joomla Resource Directory has now been released with listings such as hosting, support and development. If you are involved in supporting Joomla in any way, you should get yourself listed now.
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Joe Podcast
great! super!... Read More
Saturday, 16 February 2013 04:56
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Free Joomla templates by TemplateWorks

The latest player on the Joomla template scene is TemplateWorks, the same folks who develop some neat Joomla extensions at JoomlaWorks. Their initial template lineup includes seven free templates with the promise of some commercial ones to follow.

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