Part 10: Joomla Extensions

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Part 10: Joomla Extensions

Written by Ray Shore

Sunday, 28 September 2008 00:00

Here I describe three important additions to Joomla websites. They are:

Components
Modules
Plugins

All three of these items are referred to as "extensions" in Joomla. There are numerous Joomla extensions at the main Joomla website. Many of these programs are open source (i.e., licensed to the public for free) and others are commercial products. The functionality, quality, and features can vary considerably with each type of extension. Thus, it is highly recommended that you review any extension that is of interest to you. Fortunately, there is a rating system for each extension on the Joomla website.

Joomla extensions are downloaded from the Joomla site to your computer. Then, they are easily uploaded from the backend of your website as a zip file and normally require some amount of configuration. Most extensions (although, not all) have instructions for installation and configuration. Many extensions have a user forum for technical help on the developers website.

Here is a breakdown of each of the three types of Joomla extensions:

Components

Joomla components include a number of special programs such as shopping cart systems, photo galleries, submission forms, blogs, newsletters, forums, and many, many more. A good example of a component is the submission form on my contact page. This allows visitors on my site to submit an inquiry by email. See screenshot below:

Joomla Form Component

Modules

Joomla Modules are special areas arranged within each page of your website. They contain a wide variety of features such as menus, advertisements, information, news story lists, login forms, latest news headlines, latest blog comments, and much more. Each module can be positioned in several locations on each page including the right column, left column, advert 1, user1, footer, etc. There are many module locations and they are positioned around the main content on each page.

Joomla Module Positions To the left is an example of the module positions for a specific template. Note that the module positions vary for each template used for a website (more on templates later).

Also, my menu on the right column of this page is a module. I could have located it in numerous areas within my web page such as the left column.

Plugins

Joomla plugins allow you to operate certain programs or features within your website. For instance, you can embed an interactive Google map or a YouTube video within the content of your site. Normally, the plugin must be activated before it can be used. Furthermore, there is a small script that must be incorporated within the content of your site.

Summary

These are the three Joomla extensions available. You can really bring your website to life by incorporating a variety of Joomla extensions.

Again, go to the Joomla website and look for extensions that interest you. Note how each extension may be a component, module, or plugin. I will show you in a later posting how to implement an extension on your website.

Part 11: Adding a Theme to Your Joomla Website

Table of Contents for this Series

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