Simple Joomla Questions?
February 3, 2010 under FAQ
I wish to design a site a site using Joomla and have done some research but am still a bit unsure as to where to start.
Basically I think I have to Download Joomla to my PC and also sign up with a hosting company (hostmonster/bluehost?). Once I have designed my site through Joomla I then upload it to the hosting site using FTP.
Is that basically it - or am I way off track?
Search more about Simple Joomla Questions?:
Simple Joomla Questions?
February 3, 2010 under FAQ
I wish to design a site a site using Joomla and have done some research but am still a bit unsure as to where to start.
Basically I think I have to Download Joomla to my PC and also sign up with a hosting company (hostmonster/bluehost?). Once I have designed my site through Joomla I then upload it to the hosting site using FTP.
Is that basically it - or am I way off track?
Search more about Simple Joomla Questions?:
joomla’s all done server-end - you don’t do anything at your end, design-wise.
Yes, thats about it. Joomla is php so depending on what you mean by design it you will need some sort of editor like dreamweaver or you can even use notepad for php. If you mean just activating and moving modules, this is all done online via the admin interface.
Try to choose a host that specialises in Joomla. Joomla is not PHP optimised, and so if it is sharing its server with other, different PHP frameworks it can be slow.
The host needs to support PHP and MySQL, and ideally offer shell access. It is SLOW to upload unpacked Joomla to a host. It is better to copy the distribution archive to the host and then unpack it there.
Remember that the configuration files will be different on your local machine and the remote host - you cannot simply copy it over. The method above avoids this because you can run the install script on the host.
Also your Joomla content is NOT in files but in a database, so you cannot just post it to the host. You could stage your entire site and then export the SQL/import the SQL on the host. There are also Joomla tools/modules for running a staging server. The design templates can, however, be posted (but will need to be installed - their configuration information also goes in the database).
You probably know that Hostmonster and Bluehost are actually the same company, but they currently have a promotion with Hostmonster so it’s $1/month cheaper than Bluehost. http://www.hosttell.com/hostmonster
You could download Joomla to your PC, and upload it to your hosting but it’s not easy (and totally unnecessary), since you first have to install the Apache server, MySQL and PHP and set it all up. (you could use http://www.wampserver.com/en/ ).
There’s a lot easier way. You can just use Fantastico to automatically install and setup Joomla on your website. This is how it’s done by 99% of people for Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress, and other stuff. It works great.
(You can check it out. Go to Demo Login - Software/Services - Fantastico De Luxe.)