Joomla is a completely free open source solution available to anyone and everyone with a desire to build dynamic and robust sites for a variety of purposes. Joomla has been utilized by some of the Web’s most recognizable brands including Harvard, iHop, and MTV. It is capable of carrying out tasks ranging from corporate websites and blogs to social networks and e-commerce. Joomla is among the most popular of content management systems. Using its framework, you can put together a website that is engaging and unique. It also helps that the system has a large following to provide support and upgrades.
Joomla hosting has been around for quite some time and is among some of the oldest of management systems. It’s undergone several enhancements and is, in many ways, an excellent system to drive your website.
With that being said, what are some key points to consider when building a top Joomla website?
Decide on a Purpose
First, you need to decide what kind of site you want to build. Is it for a company, a personal blog or do you plan on selling goods? These questions will shape how you put the site together ranging from its domain name to the extensions you install.
For example, implementing eCommerce requires the use of various extensions to sell products. You can then install other modifications to help with social marketing, email marketing and payment acceptance.
It’s a good idea to write your plan for future reference. Think of it like a “to-do” list to help guide how you put the site together. In fact, make a checklist of everything you need the site to accommodate once it goes live.
Using a Good Web Host
A good web host is pivotal if you want to succeed. Not all hosts are created equal, and choosing the best Joomla hosting platform is instrumental when it comes to things like security, backups, updates and even growth.
A few things you should look out for include:
- The use of a Content Delivery Network, or CDN. This helps in site speed.
- Whether the host uses SSD server drives. Solid State Drives vastly improve speed and performance.
- If you’ll be charged extra if your site grows too large. Ideally, you want a service that is capable of scaling with your success.
- If there is 24/7 tech support. Every second your website is down because of server issues is another moment you’re losing traffic and possible income.
Deciding on a Spectacular Domain Name
Domain names should be succinct and easy to read or identify. You don’t want to use something that is too long to type in an address bar. Sometimes the smallest names are the most efficient.
The name of your site should also link to what it’s about in some form. For example, something like “ModernDress.com” would be ideal for a business that sold dress.
In reality, it’s all about being memorable. People need to remember your website is in reference to a certain industry, topic or niche. And that is usually the primary focus behind many domain names.
When you, “Google It,” what site do you go to?
Spend Time Customizing Settings
Joomla has a very wide range of settings to customize after the initial install. Use these to make your website stand out among the millions of locations on the Internet. It may seem overwhelming, but most are quite simplistic.
Joomla has a decent interface when it comes to user-friendliness. Most tools use plain language regarding what they do and Joomla.org’s website is full of valuable information if you need help with a specific function.
For instance, one of the first things you should do is make sure caching is enabled. This helps keep your website fast and efficient for visitors, which also improves SEO as engines like Google rank fast sites higher in results pages.
Caching is located in the Global Configuration screen of Joomla.
Choosing the Best Templates
One of the most important elements to building a top Joomla website is finding the best template to fit your needs. Speed, functionality, appearance and responsiveness are all vital to keeping guests happy and browsing your content.
Choose a template that will visually suit your needs as well as provide a clean flow for your content. For instance, some templates offer a full screen video background to give the site a sense of interactivity.
While most templates are customizable, you might save time by finding a layout that is “almost” perfect. Then, you can make your adjustments to present a great looking website.
Use Categories for Articles Wisely
When creating content, make use of the “category” taxonomy. Keeping your material organized makes it easier for visitors to find particular articles while making it easy on yourself when doing edits or tracking popular sections of your site.
Let’s say you create a website around computer supplies. Each category can represent a specific item. For instance, you can have separate categories for keyboards, mice and monitors. It’s a way to keep the site efficient and easier to operate from a guest’s perspective.
Don’t be afraid to create subcategories to complement your content. Using the computer supply example above, you can create the category of monitors and then break it down even further using brand names as subcategories.
Expand With Extensions, but Not too Much
One of the biggest reasons many people choose Joomla hosting is because of the available extensions. Think of these as ways to provide additional tools for yourself or guests.
Joomla has thousands of extensions to choose from with a variety of purposes. You can install social sharing tools, photo galleries or SEO tools to help score your site better in Google.
Extensions are great, but they have potential to hurt site performance if you install too many. This also depends on what kind of extensions you install and if any use JavaScript to access external information, such as using things like Google AdSense.
Only stick to tools that you absolutely want or need on your site.
Get More Out of Joomla Hosting
Joomla is a flexible and manageable system. It comes with a great user interface to help you create something unique and amazing. All it takes is a bit of time learning what each tool will give you. Explore Joomla hosting yourself and discover what this free CMS can do to help you create a stunning website.
