Site Map

By putting all of your content into nested categories you can give users and search engines access to everything using a menu.

What is Joomla!?

On December 6, 2011, I decided to rebuild my web site from the ground up.  I archived all my content, where it will likely remain for future archaeologists to dig up and scratch their heads about.  The only thing I did not change was the foundation on which my site is built - Joomla!  Actually, I archived Joomla! too, and then re-installed it from scratch, including all the sample material that comes with it, which is all about (drum roll please)... Joomla!  So, if you are one of the lucky people to visit my new site during the makeover, you are seeing a lot of references to Joomla!, and you''re probably wondering, "What the heck is Joomla!?"

Well, Joomla! is what is called a Content Management System, or CMS for short (you know us techies, we just love our acronyms).  And while I am excited about using Joomla!, that is not why I'm using so many exclamation points; it is because the exclamation point is actually part of the name - Joomla!  Your next question is probably "What on earth is a Content Management System?".  The short answer is that a CMS is a web site framework that allows users with little or no technical background to regularly add new content without the expense of hiring a programmer to do it for them.  But that''s the short answer; a CMS is much more than that; it is an extensible framework for building complex web sites.

In my last job, I used Joomla! as the glue that held together an extranet that included accounting, customer relationship management, communications and support components.  We accomplished all this by developing a number of custom components that we could add to Joomla!, as well as using several existing, publicly available Joomla! components.  I'm doing the same sort of thing here, just on a much smaller scale.  I needed to get some content up quickly, so I added a blogging component.  I want the site to have some useful tools, so I installed a unit conversion tool.  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so I added a Quote of the Day component.

Normally, you wouldn''t be able to see all this stuff taking place.  Development like this takes place behind the scenes in staging areas.  Once everything is completed and debugged, the developers launch it on a live site as a finished product.  That way everything looks professional and most people (we hope) do not get too confused by the new site.  But imagine if the real world were like that?  What would it be like if you drove to work one morning and out of the blue a new building just appeared on the city skyline? No tower cranes, no excavators; nothing to show how the building got there in the first place.  If you're anything like me, you would feel like you missed out on all the fun of watching the work in progress, from an empty lot to a giant hole in the ground to an ever climbing framework that ultimately turns into a sparkling glass tower.  Well, that's what you get to see here!

I have the luxury of doing this because this is not an enterprise mission-critical site.  So what you are seeing now is the framework of the new building reaching up into the sky.  Come with me on my journey, as I add each additional floor.  Along the way I will share my insights, because this is more of a journey of exploration for me than simply following a blueprint.  I am excited about using my creative side, as well as my structured, logical side.  Stick around and let's have some fun together!