Check Out Joomla! for Your Website

Starting On a Website?
So you want to get going on a new website, but hardly know where to start? It's hard to sort through the options available. I've been there. Web designers are using dozens of different software packages and systems to offer their clients a classy and easy-to-navigate space on the web. Here at GMedia we've settled in on one system for developing websites - an innovative content management system called Joomla!

What's a Content Management System?
In case you're wondering, a Content Management System or CMS separates a website’s data from the website’s design. The data is stored in an online database and flows into a design template as users request it. This core feature of CMS design allows the look & feel of a website to be maintained even as content of various kinds is added.

Though there are many CMS programs, I’m suggesting the Joomla! CMS because it is very versatile, known world-wide, stable and yet, continually being refined. In fact, you are reading this on a Joomla-based system.

Joomla is also an OpenSource program. It’s capabilities are free and many of the hundreds of design templates and extensions written for it are also free or relatively inexpensive.

1. A CMS will help future-proof the site since its structure and design will be clear to any web designer. One-off websites tend to have idiosyncratic code which may be difficult for subsequent developers/designers to interpret and modify in order to change the site.
2. Trained staff can easily make changes in the content of your site, eliminating the need to rely on a third party to keep the site current. These changes are made through a browser-based control panel. No additional software is needed.
3. The design of your website can be changed much more easily than that of websites in which data and design are integrated. Changing the design involves primarily switching to a different Joomla template & adjusting your graphics.
4. Navigation of the site can be easily changed after the site is working as you observe how the site is actually used and absorb user preferences. Wording, order and content of all menu items can be easily adjusted.
5. New features (video, response forms, photo galleries, etc.) can be added to a Joomla site as they are desired at minimal cost. Developers are constantly adding to the base of add-on extensions available to the Joomla user.

So I hope you'll take the time to call me about the advantages of using Joomla! for your site. I'll try to be calm, 'cuz I'm kind of an evangelist on the subject of Joomla!

Take A Tour of Joomla
If you are interested in the concept of a Joomla website, but have some questions about its capabilities, how about taking a tour of Joomla?  Please call (847-477-4266) or email me (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).  I can, at very short notice, set up an online demo and walk you through many of the features of a Joomla website.  That's also a good way of getting your questions answered about the advantages of a content management system.