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Alaska Joomla Nut | Tips and Secrets

Welcome to Alaska Joomla Nut, your Alaskan resource for everything Joomla. We feature Joomla tips and secrets, video tutorials, extension reviews and much more..
  • Finding the Best Joomla Host

    Determining your server requirements can be a very intimidating thing, because of all the technical jargon associated with it.

    Joomla runs on roughly 3-4 major softwares. The three most important are PHP, SQL, and Apache.

    We need to find a host that supports all of these softwares, and we need to check for the correct versions...

    Joomla's Minimum System Requirements

    This table illustrates the three most important programming softwares that are required to run Joomla along with minimum requirements. It also illustrates three options that must be enabled on the server. These options, do not show any type of minimum requirements, it just needs to be enabled on the apache server. (Last three options on the table)

    Software Min Requirement Recommended Web Site PHP 4.3.10 4.4.7 http//php.net MySQL 3.23.x or above http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/5.0.html Apache 1.3 or above http://httpd.apache.org mod_mysql mod_xml mod_zlib

     

    Now, just because Joomla is going to meet the minimum system requirements, doesn't mean the extensions are going to meet the minimum...

  • Covering Basic Security

    Planning your site needs to cover how you are going to secure your Joomla site. Joomla is well known for being secure, but we can't just assume that there is a perfect solution right out of the box.

    Strong Joomla sites have a solid backup plan in place, and a basic security plan. With this article, we will help you learn how to cover some basics in securing your Joomla site!

    First Things First

    The easiest way to access your Joomla site, is right through the Joomla Administration Panel. If someone were to access this control panel, they have access to your entire site. All the person has to do is install new extensions and they can have your database as well!

    Malicious users have also been known to delete admin accounts, pertinent files, and even install scripting that is malicious to your site and viewers.

    We need to make sure this never happens and we need to make sure we have some basic security measures in place.

    The best way to do this is by following these suggestions..

    Have a Solid Backup Plan

    Having a solid backup plan in place is usually the first step. We need to cover how often we are going to execute a...

  • Selecting Appropriate Joomla Extensions

    Now that you have created a good list of functions and basic settings for each, we can begin to pick and choose which extensions we would like to use in the development of your Joomla site.

    Bear in mind, you may come up with a good list of extensions you are going to be using, but we need to do some follow up and testing on these extensions. We also need to know what other people are saying about the extension, and what types of support is offered for each...


    Extension Basics

    Extensions come in a variety of different forms. Some extensions are further along in development, while some are still in "beta" (testing). Each extension usually has a version attached to it, and each extension does something differently. You can find Open Source (Free to Use) and Commercial extensions at a variety of different outlets.

    Extensions are currently written for Joomla Version 1.0, Joomla 1.5 Legacy Mode, and Joomla 1.5 Native. We suggest that you steer clear of all Joomla Version 1.0, and 1.5 Legacy Mode extensions, due to the upcoming release of Joomla 1.6.

    You can see the version icon usually right on the extension download page. Here is what those icons...

  • Pre-Planning Your Joomla Site

    To successfully build a Joomla site, we need to do an extensive amount of pre-planning before we even start programming Joomla on our server. Without proper planning, we are surely setting ourselves up for disappointments and possible loss of monies in the future. We also need to make sure that Joomla is going to be able to do the job, based on any limitations.

    This article addresses some recommendations for pre-planning, which will help you to flush out any obstacles, or unthought ideas and lay out a solid programming plan for your website...

    Step One- Determine Your Site's Main Objective

    What is the primary objective for your site?

    Were going to refer to a scenario, involving George. George has a business selling Alaskan Ulu Knives to small tourist shops all throughout Alaska. George has a store and a listing in the paper, people know him well, and George feels like expanding some. George decides that he would like to try his chances via the internet, and wants to sell more knives to local distributors throughout the state. George would also need to be able to sell individual products to anyone who is legally eligible to purchase them.

    So, based on this determination, our site's main...