Elevate Your Skills: 10 Expert Joomla Techniques for Success

Joomla is an intricate platform, presenting a myriad of built-in functionalities that cater to the diverse needs of developers. Yet, many of these functionalities often get overlooked, primarily because the vastness of Joomla can sometimes be a tad overwhelming. For those striving to reach the pinnacle of Joomla expertise, understanding these overlooked features is imperative.

Today, we'll delve into a curated list of ten invaluable Joomla tips that seasoned developers swear by. Let's embark on this journey of refinement and mastery.

1. Customize Your Browser Tab with Your Site's Name

Having your website's name grace the browser tab can amplify brand recognition. Fortunately, Joomla has integrated this feature seamlessly:

• Navigate to “System” and select “Global Configuration”.
• Within “SEO Settings”, spot “Site Name in Page Titles”.
• It is initially set to “No”. You can opt for either “Before” or “After”, depending on your preference. This determines the placement of your site name relative to the page title.
• Commit the changes.

Upon revisiting your site, your browser bar should now proudly showcase your site name.

2. Optimize Loading Speeds for Enhanced User Experience

An optimized website loading time is not just a luxury; it's a necessity. Here’s a systematic way to achieve it:

• Under “System”, choose “Global Configuration”.
• Proceed to the “System” tab and locate the “Cache Settings” segment.
• For “System Cache”, pick “ON - Conservative caching”.
• Shift to the “Server” tab and within “Server Settings”, activate “Gzip Page Compression”.
• Seal the settings with a save.

3. Leverage the Global Check-in Functionality

When a specific user edits an article, other fellow users of that site lose the access to edit that article at the same time. Enabling global check-in will unlock the editing feature for all the users. This option will come in handy when someone forgets to finish editing their articles.

A screenshot of locked articles (list view):

• Select “Global Check-in” under the “System”.
• Highlight all items in the “Database Table” row.
• Hit the “Check-in” button to effectuate the change.

4. Simplify Navigation Adjustments from the Frontend

Joomla offers the convenience of tweaking your navigation menu directly from the website's frontend:

• Access “Global Configuration” from the “System”.
• Under the “Site Settings” tab, locate and modify “Mouse-over Edit Icons for” to “Modules & Menus”.
• Finalize by saving.

For this modification to be visible, ensure you're logged into the frontend.

5. Replicate Modules with Ease

This trick will come in handy when you want to use the same module multiple times. You can duplicate a module by following the process below:

• Head to “Extensions”, then “Modules”.
• Highlight the desired module and opt for “Duplicate”.
• Implement changes by saving.

6. Harness Article Versioning for Efficient Editing

At times, reverting to an article's prior version might be necessary. Joomla caters to this need intuitively:

• Open the intended article in edit mode.
• Click “Version” situated at the top.
• Choose your desired version and revert using the “restore” button.
• Ensure you save the edits.

Please note, the article versioning option is turned on by default. If you have disabled it, then you need to enable it again for using this functionality.

7. Empower Users with Rating Capabilities

You will always want to know your users' feedback, how much they are liking the content you are providing. In order to give your users access to this awesome feature do the following.

 

• Access “Global Configuration” from “System”.
• Navigate to “Articles” on the left panel.
• Toggle “Show Voting” to “Show”.
• Implement by saving.

8. Master Module Positioning

Knowing module positions can significantly ease website development:

 

• Click “Templates” under “Extensions”.
• From the upper-right, choose “Options”.
• Activate “Preview Module Positions”.
• Register the changes.

In order to see the position of your module, go to the page of which you want to see the module position and add “/?tp=1” at the end of the URL. For instance: www.yoursite.com/any-page/?tp=1

9. Fortify Your Site with HTTPS

Security and privacy should be the most important concern when you publish your site on the internet. You must have a valid SSL certificate installed on your site. Then do the following to activate HTTPS on your whole site. If you don’t have any SSL certificate installed on your server, please contact your hosting provider for support.

• Under “System”, select “Global Configuration”.
• Venture into the “Server” tab.
• Within “Server Settings”, locate and activate “Force HTTPS” to “Entire Site”.
• Remember to save.

10. Employ Language Overrides for Customization

When you need to customize the text of a button or a label, this tip will come in handy.

• Under “Extensions”, find and click on “Language(s)” then opt for “Overrides”.
• Initiate a new override from the top left.
• Search for the text you aim to modify, select the string, and make your desired adjustments on the left.
• Save the modifications.

Equipping yourself with these ten tips will undeniably refine your Joomla developmental skills. Remain engaged with us for further insights, tips, and guidance. Your feedback enriches us - so do share your thoughts in the comments.

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