Comments on: Simple Joomla Questions?

By: Medium Dave

Medium Dave — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:23:12 +0000

joomla’s all done server-end – you don’t do anything at your end, design-wise.

By: steviepe

steviepe — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:39:06 +0000

Yes, thats about it. Joomla is php so depending on what you mean by design it you will need some sort of editor like dreamweaver or you can even use notepad for php. If you mean just activating and moving modules, this is all done online via the admin interface.

By: epidavro

epidavro — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:00:56 +0000

Try to choose a host that specialises in Joomla. Joomla is not PHP optimised, and so if it is sharing its server with other, different PHP frameworks it can be slow.
The host needs to support PHP and MySQL, and ideally offer shell access. It is SLOW to upload unpacked Joomla to a host. It is better to copy the distribution archive to the host and then unpack it there.
Remember that the configuration files will be different on your local machine and the remote host – you cannot simply copy it over. The method above avoids this because you can run the install script on the host.
Also your Joomla content is NOT in files but in a database, so you cannot just post it to the host. You could stage your entire site and then export the SQL/import the SQL on the host. There are also Joomla tools/modules for running a staging server. The design templates can, however, be posted (but will need to be installed – their configuration information also goes in the database).

By: Daniel R

Daniel R — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:54:56 +0000

You probably know that Hostmonster and Bluehost are actually the same company, but they currently have a promotion with Hostmonster so it’s $1/month cheaper than Bluehost. http://www.hosttell.com/hostmonster
You could download Joomla to your PC, and upload it to your hosting but it’s not easy (and totally unnecessary), since you first have to install the Apache server, MySQL and PHP and set it all up. (you could use http://www.wampserver.com/en/ ).
There’s a lot easier way. You can just use Fantastico to automatically install and setup Joomla on your website. This is how it’s done by 99% of people for Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress, and other stuff. It works great.
(You can check it out. Go to Demo Login – Software/Services – Fantastico De Luxe.)