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the businessl Ten Steps to Puhlishing a Joomla! Website
Tgn,,;tFps Joodlal Website Storg bg Marilyn Jones
aving a professional looking website is as essential in I business nowadays as having a business card, email address, and a cell phone. When it comes to creating a great looking website that is easy to design, build and maintain, it's hard to beat Joomlal the most popular free and open source website content management system in the world. Without writing a single line of code or knowing anything about html. you can create a state-of the-art website that has all the bells and whistles you might ever need. Best of all Joomla! is free, and it is supported by a large community of web developers who continue to build Joomla!templates and extensions.There are plenty of resources online, both free and paid, that can guide you through the process of building your website in Joomla! from designing and building it to securing and backing it up, allwith the click of a mouse.The question is, where do you begin?
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Determine the Goals of your Website The first step to building your website is to determine the purpose of your website. Define the measurable results you would like to achieve. Write down your short-term, as well as your long-term goals for your website.You will want to arrive at a clear understanding of your website's purpose so that you can determine what it needs to do. as well as what it needs to look like in order to attract and serve your market.
Draft Your Website's Strategic Plan Once you have a clear idea of your website's
purpose, you'll want to develop a written strategic plan for building it.Your strategic plan needs to profile your ideal users. the information they are looking for, the keywords they might use to find you in a Google search and the available time and resources you can devote to your website project. At this step, you'll also want to identify the functionality you
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need to achieve the goals. lf the purpose of your website is to sell goods and services, you'll need an online store extension. lf the purpose of your website is for people to register and pay for events online, you'll need an events extension. A timeline or critical path/checklist will help you stay on schedule and focus on your priorities.
Register Your Domain & Secure a Web Host
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Next you'll want to determine the most appropriate domain name for your website and register it with a domain registration company such as www.netfirms.ca or www.host gator.com. After you have registered the domain name(s), you'll want to secure server space from a website hosting provider.You can also arrange for this service from the two registration companies listed above or a number of other hosts. Cost to register a domain: $10 to $15 a year. Cost to secure a decent web host: $200 to 9250 a year.
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Describe the Look and Feel of Your Website Now is the time to consider the appropriate Joomla! template you want to use.The look and feel of a Joomla! website -- elements such as font type, size and color, menu colours and styling, etc. - are all controlled by the template. There are four elements of a Joomla ! template you'll want to consider: 1. graphical design elements, 2. colors, typography and style, 3. module positions and 4. features and functionality.
You'll have three options for securing a Joomlal template. You can use a free or a commercial Joomla!template at www. rockettheme.com, o r www.yooth eme.com or you can build a custom one using a program such as www.artisteer.com or, if you're comfortable working in code, you
the businessl Ten Steps to Puhlishing a Joomla!
Website
can build a Joomla! template from scratch.The template you use for your website is a foundation on which you will build your site so you need to consider this decision carefully. However, you can easily change the template in the future with often little effort. Do a little sketch of the content you want on your home page to help you determine how you want your home page to look.
Define the Website Content and Navigation Now that you know what you want your Joomla I website to do, your ideal visitors, ==;= the actions you would like them to take and what you want the site to look like, you're ready to map out the sections, categories, content, and menus. If you plan to optimize your website for search engines you'll want to use tools such as Google Keywords Selection software to determine the words and phrases your ideal users will use to locate your website, before you start writing the content and preparing the images for the website.
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Decide Upon the Website Features and
Functionality With a clear understanding of the content you want to present and how you want to present it. you will have a better idea of the types of Joomla ! extensions that you might need to install in order to achieve the website goals. Off the shelf. Joomla! comes with six components and ten or more modules that offer the most popular functions of a typical website. lt does not come with some of the other popular features such as a photo gallery, online registration form or events calendar. lf you want additional functions beyond the core Joomla! files, you'll need to install additional software. lf SEO is an important aspect of your website. you'll also need to consider SEO activities and extensions. With over 4,000 extensions listed on the extensions di rectory at www.joom la.org, you're almost certain to find that someone has already built the extension that you're looking for. Most of the extensions are free.The commercial extensions range from $20 to $250 or so. Search the extension index to find the types of extensions you are looking for,Then make a list of the options each offers, compare the features, checkout the demos and read the reviews from other users before purchasing and/or installing additional extensions on your site. lf you find that there are no existing extensions that provide the features or functionality that your website project requires beyond the core Joomla! files, you'll might want to explore having a module custom built.You can find Joomlal developers by conducting a Google search or using a web-based service
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such as www.joomlancers.com or www.ela nce.co m.
lnstall and Configure the Website Files ..t,.,:'" ''
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Once you've completed steps one to six, you're ready to start the installation process. :,.;;,:1t;;;;i L,,1:;1,,:,:; :;1:.,;;;;- ,:.:;::::;:,,: lf you haven't secured a vendor to host your '':r:iir':t:::i:::r':j' website files such as www.netfirms.ca or www.hostgator.com, you'll need to do this first. Some web hosts have automated tools such as Fantastico for installing Joomla ! via the CPanel which is the method preferred by many.You can also install Joomla! manually on the server or install software on your computer that enables you to build the Joomla ! website offline and then upload the files when the website is completed. lf you prefer to manually install Joomla ! on your server or your computer, you'll need to go to the www.joomla. org site to download the latest version. As of this writing, Joomla 1.5.15 is the latest version on offer. Once Joomla! is installed you'll need to configure the site files specific to your needs.Then you'll need to install any additlonal extensions, and the site's template (unless you want to use one of the three templates that come with Joomla! by default). After you install the Joomla ! software package, additional extensions, and the site's template, you're ready to rough in the sections and categories as outlined in your site plan.
Populate Your Website with Articles, Images & Other Assets Now you're finally ready to upload the articles and images to the website. Arlicles and other content can be placed in the body area of the website or in any of your template's module positions. lf you used dummy text as placeholders for the articles, you can simply replace the dummy text with the actual text and insert graphics to illustrate the articles. Configure and populate any additional com continued on page 22
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the individual I You Are What You Eat continued from page 20 Dena Ferretti, Dietitian for Revive Wellness explains some challenges people face in maintaining a healthy diet, "People are unique. Which is why their nutrition prescription needs to be personalized. ln order to live with energy, vitality and health, Canadians need to find the right balance between nutrition and exercise for their body." ?lternatively, if you are an emotional eater, research has shown that addressing the emotional reasons can be as important for health, weight loss success and maintenance, as nutrition and exercise combined." Brad King author of Action Plannerwrites, "No government would dream of passing laws restricting your rights to eat whatever you choose. Can you imagine the outcry that would follow a ban on junk food? What this means is that if you want to win back your health you are going to have to monitor your own food and lifestyle choices; you have to arm yourself with the right information and make decisions that will repair your body!'4
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Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans{at) -Trans-fats increase the LDL "lousy" cholesterol a: decrease the HDL "healthy" cholesterol in your bl: - i at the same time. This is why it is important to lin . the processed Trans-fats in your diet. Food additives that require a scientist to explaln pr0n0unce.
lnformation provided by Bevive Fiealth and Wellness
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ponents and extensions and you're done.
Secure and Update Your Wehsite
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Eating out. Dining in fast food or "sit-down" restaurants 0n a regular basis can sabotage your best efforts to follow a healthy meal plan. A normal dinner should Iook like 3-4oz meat, 1 1% cups of
pasta/rice, % cup cooked or raw vegetables (eg. Carrots, broccoli, etc.), and 2 cups salad with 1 tbsp dressing. However a typical restaurant meal can be 2x to 8x larger than this. TlP. 0nly order what y0u are hungry for (avoid the temptati0n for the better deal for just 2Scents more) or share the main course with your dinner guest (your wallet and waistline will thank youl)
2. Mindlesseating.
Besearch hasshownthatthe largerthe dish, be it the bowl holding your candies or popcorn, 0r the plate y0u serve your dinner on, the more an individual will eat. Pair this will sitting in front of the television and by the first commerciai y0u can't
recall finishing the bowl or plate of food you sat down with. TIP. Dish-up on a smaller plate (or bowl), turn off the television and enloy the food you are eating. ln today's hectic world, taking a few m0ments for your health will lead to your overallwellness.
3. Drinking your calories. We
have heard this time and time agaln,
but it is worth mentioning especially heading into the summer months. Alcoholic beverages are n0t water and they do contain calories - a lot in fact. Having just 2-3 drinks in an evening can equal the same amount of calories in a large burger or 2 3 chocolate bars! Here is a breakdown of the top offenders.
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0ne bottle of beer can contribute up t0 200 cal0ries 0ne 5oz glass of wine (m0st restaurants serve 7oz) can contribute up to 150 calories iup to 200 at the restaurant) 0ne 1.502 of distilled spirits alone can c0ntribute upto 125cal0ries. paired with a cola, tonic or sprite and your drink takes you over 250 calories.
TIP: lf it is hot outside. be sure to hydrate with water, not beer. 0r
order sparkling water with lemon, or club soda with a splash of cranberry iuice instead of that second alcoholic drink.
',.l.,:::,..i..1:,, Back up your site files on a daily or weekly basis and check for any updates to Joomla! as well as any of the extensions you in'':i']:la:J:nr' stalled, on a monthly basis. Many developers use Akeebabackup (formerly JoomlaPack) to backup and restore their site files.You can find out more about this free and open source extension at www.akeebabackup. com. Your web host might also offer a one-click backup of your site files.You can find out more about how to secure your Joomla! website by conducting a Google search
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Promote Your New Website
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Now that you've built a website with great content. you'll want to spend some time promoting your site. lf you've written keyword rich articles, optimized your images
and other assets for search engines, created anchor links to your most important articles. and enabled SEF URLs, you're well on your way. Other fast and easy things you can do to promote your site are 1)create a site map by submitting it to Google andYahoo, and 2l install modules to link your social media accounts likeTwifier, Facebook andYouTube to your website.The high page rank of these popular sites linking to your website will increase your website's visibility while offering your ideal visitors even more opportunities to communicate with you. See more about Joomlal at www.joomla.org. Marilyn Jones is an Edmonton based corporate and social media evangelist with a passion for publishing and communications. See more at mediamag.ca. Z!
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