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Joomla 1.6 Template Tutorial With 960 Grid
15.09.10
One of the most popular Joomla template tutorials on the web (over 1 million page views) is now updated for Joomla 1.6. The new version also features a new layout guide based on the 960 grid by Nathan Smith.
The Joomla 1.6 template tutorial is based on three increments.
- The first is a simple blank or skeleton Joomla template to understand how Joomla 1.6 uses a template.
- The second begins to use the 960 grid to produce a pure tableless CSS layout with collapsible columns.
- The third template uses a real world design and build a complete template, showing you how to use images in your design.
This has to be one of the best ways I have seen yet to explain web standards and usability to clients.
Next time you find your self in that situation, show this handy video.
World Usability Day is coming up on November 10, 2011. There's likely to be an event near you, or you could participate in an online event. If you're in New England, be sure to check out World Usability Day New England. There are great speakers attending, including Tom McCan, the director of retail usability research at Staples. For $30, you get a full day of great networking, interesting speakers, and new ideas you can apply to your own sites. Hope to see you there! From now through Thursday night, you'll save 20% on both of the Developer Template Clubs at Joomlashack, thats $119 off their Lifetime Dev Club Membership. For 3-Days-only, you can get..
If you've been following the developments lists (or even if you haven't), you've noticed a flurry of activity around Joomla 1.6 in recent months. While we haven't been very good about keeping our milestones, there are a few very good reasons for that.
The first and biggest reason is we've been trying to shoot at a moving target. The scope for Joomla 1.6 was pretty basic—adding ACL and nested categories. Had we stopped there, we could have theoretically had Joomla 1.6 out by now. But while working on it, we and others in the community have been constantly saying to ourselves "wouldn't it be really friggin' cool if Joomla had...?" This kind of scope creep happens all the time in the real world, and there's a propensity to go overboard when our hands aren't forced on a specific deadline. There's always that "one last thing" we can squeeze in.
Secondly, it's the fallacy that "this will only take a few minutes to implement." Many developers (and not just developers) often fall victim to the notion that a task will be short, only to discover that it's more complex under the surface than initially thought. Minutes quickly turn into days or even weeks. It's human nature.
Third of all, there's a feeling that if something doesn't go in now, it won't go into the Joomla core for years to come. We have a pretty progressive roadmap for the next versions of Joomla and we'll try to keep a regular pace of development. Since Joomla progress is primarily determined by its contributors, the pace will be commensurate with such. So while this isn't true, some have the feeling it is.
In the past, we've had some false starts and sometimes been unclear about direction or needs, but we hope to be better at it. The Joomla Project has taken a lot of criticism during it's relatively short existence, which, deserved or not, comes with the territory. But, all in all, we're all working towards a common goal of making the next version of Joomla as powerful, extensible, and compatible as it can be.
If you work with Joomla, you know full well that the community is pretty vocal about the things they like and don't like. Joomla events are prime occasions where we receive feedback on what's working for people and what isn't. There may not always be an answer to every issue, but we do listen.
Essentially, the process of working on Joomla 1.6 is where all of this activity comes together—all those emails, forum discussions, Joomla Days, and other random "ingredients" of information go into a giant bubbling cauldron and soon becomes (hopefully) the tastiest soup you've ever eaten. Decisions are made based on what ingredients we can combine and recommending against others that won't taste good (or even spoil the stew). All is done with a keen eye on the quality of the end-product—it has to look good and taste good.
At this time, the bubbling cauldron of Joomla 1.6 is getting near time for us all to get our first good taste. We've added the ACL, nested categories work, a new Article Manager is written, new core libraries like JForm have been added, and we're working on fresh new templates for both the front-end and the back-end. We're also working on a way to make upgrading from Joomla 1.5 as painless as possible. So, in order to get a round of solid feedback from the community, we're looking to release a second Alpha very soon and follow up with a quick Beta after that.
So please be patient.
 
About Joomla! and the GPL
The Joomla Project is a GPL community, which means not just that a particular Free and Open Source license is used for Joomla software, but also that we believe in the mission and values behind that license. These include collaboration, community, and freedom. The GPL license embodies these values.
The Joomla Extensions Directory  and the GPL
The Joomla Extensions Directory (JED) is important for many reasons: it makes it easier for users to find extensions, and it helps support the development of a vibrant and healthy commercial and non-commercial development community around Joomla. However, it may also be unintentionally undermining our support of the GPL by including extensions and other applications that run counter to it.
After careful thought and reflection, the Joomla Project has determined that the Joomla! Extensions Directory should be a community resource that fully embodies the project's values.
What Change Are We Making?
Starting on 1 March 2009 only Joomla! extensions licensed under the GNU GPL will be accepted into the JED.  After another three months, from 1 July 2009, such extensions will no longer be listed in the JED.  Under the same schedule, all encrypted or encoded extensions, whether or not they are GPL licensed, will also be excluded. Third party developers are a valued part of our community and in order to make this transition as easy as possible for them we selected a long notification period. This change is designed to strengthen the project's active commitment to its core mission, vision and values as articulated in September 2008.
Timeline
- June 15th 2007: Joomla! confirmed that both Joomla! 1.0 and Joomla! 1.5 are released under the pure GNU GPL.
- March 1st 2009: Only Joomla! extensions licensed under the GNU GPL will be accepted into the JED.
- July 1st: 2009: Only Joomla! extensions licensed under the GNU GPL will be listed in the JED.
Why Wait Six Months?
We understand this will be a difficult process for some developers, and we feel a responsibility to give ample notice. We want to make sure our developers have enough time to make adjustments to their product marketing and business structure, if necessary, in order to maintain their listing in the directory.
The GPL and Commercial Developers
Does this mean there will be no more commercial extensions in the JED? No.
Prohibiting commercial distribution would violate the GNU GPL and the Joomla community values of equality and freedom. Commercial extensions with the GNU GPL license and that are not encrypted are welcomed and encouraged in the JED. Today 17% of the extensions in the JED (22% of 1.5 Native extensions) are commercial, and many of those are already licensed using the GNU GPL. Among 1.5 native commercial extensions 35% are licensed using GNU GPL.
The JED Supports Developers
The Joomla team is strongly committed to supporting both commercial and non-commercial Joomla developers. We have implemented some policy changes to enhance our support for developers. We think that the best place to get an extension is from the original developer of that extension.  Therefore we will not link to collections of GPL extensions that are not submitted by the original developer. These are not requirements of the GPL license but rather fall in line with our "forking" guidelines that no direct copies or minor-changed copies of JED-listed projects will be listed.  We support the original project developer whenever possible to maintain the integrity of the listings and support developers who are building and innovating on the Joomla platform.
To have a forked project listed in the JED it must meet our requirements:
- Significant change
Forked project must represent a significant code improvement, either in features or security and structure.
- Intent to develop and support
Forked project must exhibit an intent to develop and support the new product.
- Unique name
We do not allow forked projects by new developers to build on the name of the original developer without permission.
- Unique version structure
Version numbering must clearly indicate a new project.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What Options Do Developers Have?
The project supports developers who are building and innovating on the Joomla platform. We are committed to providing the information and help that developers need in order to relicense (or to license for the first time, if there is no current license). The JED editors and members of the Core Team and Open Source Matters board are ready to advise or assist any developer who would like this help.If you have any questions about licensing or want help, then you can contact OSM with the following email address license@opensourcematters.org or the JED editors at team@extensions.joomla.org. Developers not currently using the GNU GPL may choose to switch from their current licensing to the GNU GPL or to no longer participate in the JED.
- What if I have some GPL and some non-GPL extensions?
This policy refers only to those extensions listed in the JED. Your GPL extensions are permitted to be listed on the JED but your non-GPL extensions are not.
- Where can I get information about how to license my product using the GNU GPL?
Every copy of Joomla includes a copy of the GNU GPL with instructions for licensing in the license.php file. Instructions are also available from the Free Software Foundation.
All you need to do is add two elements to each source file of your program: a copyright notice (such as “Copyright 1999 Terry Jones”), and a statement of copying permission, saying that the program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. (Free Software Foundation)
- Can I use GPL v3 to license my extension?
Yes. In particular, you may need to use GPLv3 if you rely on certain third party libraries or APIs for your extension.
- What GPL version is Joomla! licensed under?
Joomla! is licensed under GPL version 2 or later.
- What does this mean for enforcement of the Joomla! license more generally?
Enforcement of the Joomla! license is a separate issue from the policies of the JED.
- Isn't the JED itself built on a non-GPL extension?
The current version of the JED built on Joomla 1.5 uses a GNU GPL extension, Mosets Tree for Joomla! 1.5.
- What if I think my extension doesn't violate the Joomla! license?
This is a policy in favor of software freedom and the mission, vision and values of the Joomla! Project, not one about technical issues in licensing.
- Can I use a GPL compatible license?
The JED will only list extensions licensed using the GNU GPL.
- Why are only GNU GPL licensed extensions being listed?
The simple answer is, making the JED a GPL only resource is the easiest and most practical solution. It frees the JED team from having to investigate or worry about licensing issues. It frees OSM from having to create and maintain a list of one or more acceptable licenses. When you break it down, other licenses were created because they opposed one or more parts of the GPL. The only license that truly embodies the spirit of the GPL is the GPL. Throughout the Open Source world, there is plenty of disagreement over what that spirit is and there is even more disagreement over what licenses are compatible and incompatible. In the end, our list of compatible licenses might be very different from yours. Our list of licenses that share the spirit of the GPL will most certainly be different than yours. So, we could waste months of time researching a list and debating which licenses should be included and excluded or we can make it simple and easy to understand for the community, the developers, and the JED team so that we can use those precious months to focus on the real point of this project: making great software.
- Can I use libraries in my GPL extension that are GPL compatible?
Yes.
___
Update 29-Dec-08 22:00 CET - We have added 2 new questions to the FAQ and simplified the answer for "Can I use a GPL compatible license?", this since we follow up this answer with new questions.
 
I received a review copy of Joomla! 1.5 Multimedia from Packt Publishers and was expecting to read a lot that I already know about Images and the image manager in Joomla!. But instead it was an eye-opener about the possibilities that Joomla! and some special extensions gives you to create a complete multimedia experience for your visitors. This [...]
You are reading a post from: Joomla SEO Blog by PathosSeoBlog.com
Joomla! Multimedia – A Book Review about Images, Video and More… | Joomla Mulitimedia
A few weeks ago we announced our New 2009 Joomla Training Dates. The first session is in Manchester, NH on May 28th
I am extending the early bird discount to this Friday 8th May. Get $50 off by booking your place now!
Beginner Joomla Training May 28th Manchester, NH
The Joomla project is requesting comment and feedback for a proposed new site that is planned to be deployed in 2009.  The working name for the site is the "Joomla Services Directory".  This site is to be a directory along similar lines to the Joomla Extensions Directory but with the purpose of connecting people or companies that provide Joomla related services, whether they be free or commercial, to people who need those services.  It has been identified that providing a centralised directory will have a significant positive impact on Joomla user and business community.  The scope of the site is yet to be decided but it is envisaged it may include services such as consulting, free-lancing, training, professional advice, legal advice (pertaining to Open Source or operating a software business), Joomla-ready hosting, and so on.
I love iContact because I believe it's the best email newsletter and marketing service
out there. I use it myself, and even built into Simplweb several
tools that make it easy to integrate a Joomla site with an iContact list.
We love to promote iContact as the perfect companion service to a Si [...]
Its amazing to look back on some of the most 'recent' posts here on WhyJoomla and see that they were infrequent and published so very long ago. 
There are many reasons for my neglect of this blog - mainly these are related to our not having worked with Joomla much at Design Guru studio (my web design/development firm) lately, but also because every time I would look at the site these past months I would shudder at the thought of cleaning out all of the spammy comments which had accumulated in the Compojoom commenting plugin were using.
Well, client work or not, I've decided to tap myself into the Joomla community again and fire up this blog - unfortunately this means that I had to do away with the old commenting system and delete hundreds of valid comments in the process to shift over to using Disqus (thanks to JoomlaWorks' plugin), but I think it will make for a more enjoyable blogging, and reading, experience for us from now on.
Its good to be back - expect regular posts at least weekly from me!
 
We are really excited to release our latest template from Joomlashack - eBusiness.
We have been blogging about some of the underlying features of this new template at Joomlashack, its powerful and flexible 960 grid framework and its super fast loading times.
If you need a rock solid SEO platform for your Joomla website, ou need the latest Joomla template from Joomlashack - JS eBusiness
JS eBusiness is a web 2.0 template with lots of white space, bold fonts and raw SEO power, JS eBusiness makes a perfect template for business and organizations launching themselves into the web 2.0 world.
Check out the eBusiness Features
- Joomla! 1.5 Native
- Valid XHTML & CSS
- 4 Bundled Color Themes
- SEO-ready Template
- Multiple Layouts - Middle column flexible
- 960 Grid Powered
- W3C Valid Overrides
- EZ SEO optimized header
- Graphic Source Files
- Super Fast Loading
- SEO Source Ordered
- Over 30 Module Positions in 4 Variations
- Pure CSS Suckerfish Dropdown Menu System
On Thursday November 11, 2010, the New England Joomla User Group gathering some of the sharpest thinkers in Internet Marketing at one event to share their Social Media vision, strategies and discuss ways to help businesses feel 'in command' of their marketing while keeping pace with today's agile Internet marketing environment. The event is World Usability Day New England, it’s happening at the Marlboro College Graduate School from 8:15am – 12:00 noon and you're invited to attend!
We will be having live streaming of the Joomla Roadmap Meeting happening in New York City this Friday, October 21. The meeting is scheduled to start at 10 am EDT. See this link for the time in your area: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Joomla+Roadmap+Meeting&iso=20111021T10&p1=12&ah=7
The link to the stream is http://www.ustream.tv/channel/joomla-roadmap. During the breakout sessions in the afternoon, we will be adding a second stream at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/joomla-roadmap-ch2 if needed. (Edited to change the second link)
The suggested twitter hash for this meeting is #jroadmap.
Hi everyone. Now that version 1.6.3 is released, the development focus for Joomla can shift gears and we can focus on new features for version 1.7. This is a very exciting time for the project, and the Production Leadership Team (PLT) thought it would be helpful to outline our ideas about the process for adding new features.
Source
An open letter to the new OSM president
22.02.12
Hi Paul,
Congratulations! You’ve been elected to a key leadership role in one of the world’s most successful open source projects. This is going to be a fun ride, I promise. Okay, it might not always be “fun”, but I can promise you that it will be one of the most memorable jobs you’ll ever take. And yes, I did label it a “job”.
As you get started, I thought I’d share some lessons I’ve learned from my two years as President, and five years as an OSM board member. Take the advice as you see fit. Ignore some of it, absorb some of it. Heck, many times, I didn’t follow my own advice, and I can assure you that it often lead to less-than-successful conclusions. Don’t be me. Be better than me by learning from my challenges.
Just know that each of these morsels of advice has an hour-long background story to it, so if you’re looking for more details, grab me a drink and we can chat. I’ll take a Pacifico, if you’re asking.
- This leads me to my first point, and a critical one at that for any OSM President: be prepared to drink quite a bit. As you know, the Joomla community likes to have a good time, and when they’re having a good time, they’d like to sit down and share ideas with you. This is awesome. I remember going to the first J and Beyond and running a marathon of meetings. Of course, this also means they’ll likely want to grab a drink with you. This will continue many times during each Joomla event you attend, so start training now.
- While it’s not appropriate to sleep during a presentation at an event, it’s perfectly reasonable to sleep between sessions, outside on lawns, in taxis, and anywhere else you can get some shut-eye between chats. I’ve found using empty plastic water bottles can make exceptional pillows. Feel free to ask me for more travel advice as needed.
- After taking in all the information you think is appropriate to make a decision, do what you believe is right and move forward. You’ve been selected for this position by your peers to lead them, and more often than not, you’ll be walking into new or unknown territory. It’s okay if not everyone is happy with your decision, but making a decision is more important than making everyone happy.
- Support the continued internationalization of the project, in every way possible.
- Delegate as much as possible by empowering those around you, but when you do, make sure to ask the delegates if they have time for the role. Nothing is worse than the fun of reading an email from someone you just volunteered for a position they didn’t want.
- The clearer the role, the more likely its outputs will meet your goals and lead to higher levels of satisfaction by volunteers. More satisfied volunteers mean a more productive project. A more productive project means you’ve accomplished a slice of your job. Quickly smile to yourself, and move on to your hundred other things to tackle.
- Setting measurements and metrics before assigning responsibilities and tasks are critical components to volunteers’ success. Remembering that everyone supporting Joomla is doing so voluntarily will help you in setting appropriate measures of success.
- There’s only so far we’re going to be able to take OSM and Joomla leadership without hiring staff. I think we’re actually already beyond a point of volunteer comfort for some roles office roles within OSM. Push forward a discussion on deciding the best route forward for OSM and Joomla that recognizes the limits of a purely volunteer team and balancing that against a focus on effectiveness. I believe Joomla’s leadership can be more effective if certain office roles have paid-staff to support them.
- Remember that all of this is supposed to be fun. If you’re not having fun, find ways to make it fun. Start by realizing your predecessor took the stage at every Joomla event with a three-foot tall inflatable penguin. The bar has been set very low, so I suspect you’ll have no problem bringing your own sense of fun to keep everyone on their toes.
- Within your first few weeks, have a one-on-one voice conversation with every member of the Leadership Team. Spend the time listening to their ideas and opinions, and open a line of communication. Their views on the project’s next steps should help you craft your own direction for OSM. Plus, they all have great personal stories that will give you insight on the pure awesome opportunity we have to bring all these talents together to better the community.
- The President serves the community. This role is different than other volunteer opportunities within the project. You’re both a leader and a servant of the greatest open source community. Be vigilant of the needs of the community, while recognizing you serve at the pleasure of the COC.
- Spend the majority of your communication time listening. Go out of your way at Joomla events to have as many one-on-one discussions as possible, and while there, ask as many questions as possible. Not only will this enable you to make more informed leadership decisions, but it will also save your voice.
- During OSM board meetings, lead by getting out of the way. Consider your opinion to be the least important during discussions. Start discussions by encouraging others to share their thoughts before sharing yours.
- Set the level of decorum you wish to maintain in meetings early. It will serve you well when times are tough, especially during passionate and difficult conversations.
- We’ve spent the last two years saving money and building a strong reserve. Now it’s time to spend it wisely. Gain consensus and move forward building the next generation of leadership structures.
- Fill roles that are well-defined. Don’t create positions just so people can have titles. Aim to build task lists not teams. All the above will help avoid the politics that too often troubles open source projects.
- Push forward the discussion on the critical leadership changes needed for the project to reach its next level of success. See it through to either success or failure, but don’t let the discussion end without aiming for a decisive decision.
- Burritos. Eat lots of burritos. That’s obvious.
- Have the team start working on next year’s budget now (February). While you’re at it, start working on the following year’s budget now too. It’s going to take a while, trust me. Wait, you already know that.
- Support an increased of investment in Joomla events, especially in countries that have not already hosted a Joomla!Day.
- Aim to increase regional diversity on the OSM board by including a member of the board from South America. Aim to increase gender diversity on the OSM board and encourage more women to apply for board positions. Both efforts can help the board better reflect the needs of the community.
- Lead the effort to continue making it easier for the community to leverage our brand to spread the word about this terrific project.
- Keep legal costs as low as possible, but not at the determent of the project’s assets. We have terrific lawyers that provide great advice, but at the end of the day, OSM’s mandate is to make the appropriate legal decisions taking in a number of factors. A balanced approach is useful.
- Use legal tools as necessary, but aim to use diplomatic channels before legal routes. Every dollar spent on legal procedures is a dollar that could have otherwise be spent on a community event, evangelism, etc. Keep the opportunity cost in mind.
- The Joomla project has a few very valuable assets. One of those is the trademark. Protect it. Like legal advice, however, there is a realm of diminishing returns on investment and opportunity cost. Keep both in mind when deciding where to invest the project’s money.
- As tempting (and fun) as they might be, drop your other Joomla responsibilities. Being OSM President is going to take focus, and buckets of it. You won’t be able to achieve all that you want as President without giving it all your energy.
- Set your term’s vision and values early, and be as consistent as possible in communicating it to the community and the Leadership Team. Simpler the better. You get to lead in setting the tone for OSM, so do so wisely and clearly.
- Talking about communicating your values, I still think a focus on transparency, empowerment, and accountability are key items that can use improvement across OSM. It’s a never-ending job, so I’d appreciate it if you kept pushing that forward.
- If re-elected, serve only two years. Always keep your eyes opened for potential successors, and be inclusive in your decision making processes to help spread the knowledge for the next potential President.
- People outside the community will try to force you into taking opinions about how Joomla stacks up against other open source projects in an effort to have you say something derogatory about another project. Don’t fall for the trap. Take the high road.
- Attend as many Joomla events as possible, but don’t believe that you need to be a road warrior to make an impact.
- Don’t sacrifice your personal and work life for Joomla.
- Don’t try to fill anyone else’s shoes, especially mine. They’re size 12.5 narrow, they stink, and they’re likely not going to fit you anyway. Fill your own shoes and lead with your own style.
- Work to build stronger relationships with our Joomla communities in Africa and Asia. Amazing work is being done in these regions, and their involvement in our community is critical to our success moving forward.
- Take a lesson from tai chi: deflect negative energy, don’t fight it head on. The people sending you negative energy likely have more time on their hands than you, so you’ll never get ahead...and likely never please them. Take the morsels of lessons learned from the criticism and move on. Sending positive energy is what you’re all about now.
- That said, don’t ignore constructive criticism. Don't let it get personal.  Every critical comment on your work is free focus group feedback. Consider it an opportunity for you to set the bar higher.
- Family, friends, and work all come before Joomla. Repeat that over and over in your head.
- When you’re having a tough day, remember this: you’re serving one the greatest open source projects ever created.  You’re an integral part of the best success story for collaborative leadership in the software world...possibly the technology world as a whole. Your work is making Joomla a better community.
- I’m here to help whenever you need it. Put me on your speed-dial. Sometimes it might feel lonley, but you're not alone.
You’re going to do a great job. The community and your teammates are here to help you be successful.  Blaze a new trail!  I've got your back.
In Joomla! we rock,
Ryan Ozimek
OSM President, 2010-2012
FlexLists - A Free Online Database App
25.08.11
Need a web app to serve your databases online? Look no further than FlexLists from MovingLabs. One of our Simplweb customers, the Upper Valley Educators Institute, needed to make their library database available to all their student interns online. Help with these non-hosting questions is all part of the service at Simplweb, so we took some time to find FlexLists.
SourceHide areas of content from the public
09.05.09
I've had my eye on Dioscouri for a little while - they're the Joomla services guys that released JUGA, or Joomla User Group Access - an extension which gives you control over registered user groups and the power to define content access per group & category/section.
Well, they've obviously given a lot of thought to this whole idea of ACL and I like the most recent little extension they've released; called Hider . As you might imagine, it lets you simply hide certain areas of content from public site viewers.
Ultimately, this might get messy if you have a lot of content with embedded tags all over the place to display certain info to certain user types, but for simple uses I could really see it being handy.
Differences between Joomla 1.5 and 1.6 templates
03.02.11
When porting sites from Joomla 1.0 to Joomla 1.5, there were some fairly major code changes that had to be made to make templates functional. The change from Joomla 1.5 to 1.6 is less drastic, but there are still a few notable differences.
SourceSimplweb is Hiring
25.03.11
Simplweb is looking to add to its support team to meet its growing customer needs. You would be part of a collaborative team working to help Simplweb customers create successful Joomla powered websites. This is a part time position that is a gateway to full time work with Simplweb.
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