Creating web pages, maintaining your intranet site and providing access to applications has never been easier. No more the requirements for understanding HTML, JavaScript or the multitude of scripting and programming languages available. This day and age sees that we can confidently rely on Content Management Systems (CMS) to do a lot of the technical and behind-the-scenes work for us. Joomla is one example of these CMS’s – and the latest version 1.6 has just been released, offering more power, control, and options than ever before.
Joomla is FREE, expanding at a sound rate and offering some powerful features that allow you to get on with what you do best – running the day-to-day operations of your business.
With new features found across the board for designers, developers, administrators, and webmasters, your business can benefit in a number of domains.
If we break it down, you’ll get a better idea of what’s in it for you.
What’s New in Joomla 1.6?
Nested categories
User defined categories are available in both single and multiple level structures for article and content placement at almost any depth. This alleviates the requirement to source a third party extension that offers the same.
Access control system
Administrators can control what end-users view and manage in terms of site content. With viewing levels and configurable user groups, there is improved control and access offering more flexibility.
Manual user approval
Avoid ghost users and spam account creations by allowing administrators to manually check, approve or reject new user registrations. No more spam accounts!
Improved language support & SEO
Enjoy increased support when creating multi-lingual sites while further optimisation improvements are available for attracting search engines.
Built-in redirects
Administrators can exhale a sigh of relief knowing that users are automatically redirected from old to new pages, avoiding the 404 Page Not Found error message.
Template styles & Semantic XHTML Layouts
Increase the aesthetic appeal of your web pages and improve presentation of content through flexible templates that allow further creative control.
Extension updates
The process of updating extensions has been greatly simplified. Install multiple extensions in one package with one click!
Migration from 1.5 to 1.6
For compatibility, 1.5 components will need to be upgraded to the new version by developers in order to work. (This can be simplified by using certain coding platforms to automate a fair portion of the conversion process). Note: You will need to ensure the extensions that you use in 1.5 are currently available in 1.6 to guarantee the continued performance of their functionality.
Other benefits — A multitude of new and expanded features in Joomla 1.6 will free up your (and others) time, allowing for more efficient use of resources.
Joomla 1.6 Requirements
Decided that it may be the CMS for you? Time to upgrade? Before making a move, cast an eye over the below details.
Courtesy of the official Joomla site, you’ll find that version 1 .6 requirements are as follows:
Apache: v2.x recommended +
PHP: v5.2.4 +
MySQL: v5.0.4+
For those operating on the ever successful Joomla 1.5, you need to (as always) weigh up the benefits and sacrifices of an upgrade. Yes, a new version offers increased functionality. However, it can also come with the ‘price tag’ of unsupported (incompatible) components, regular patch updates and bug fixes.
If you are new to Joomla or CMSs in general, grab a hosting plan and feel free to download and give it a whirl. You may well be pleasantly surprised.
