Joomla Distros

The example of IdealJoomla

Brendon HatcherTechnical Director: BrilliantWeb

Introduction

What is a distro?Why use one?

What is a distro?

A pre-packaged combination of the following:

The Joomla core (and configuration settings) A set of extensions (and configuration settings) A template framework (and configuration

settings) A default set of content (e.g. Newsletter

unsubscribe page, news items) A default menu, with default items

Why use one?

Speed of development Manually install and configure each item Install and configure the whole lot at once

Saves about 10 hours of installation work for each site

Consistency– The base install of the distro is always identical

Good business practice– A standardised web site package, contractual elements

and costing model

Building

a distro

What’s in, what’s out, and why?Building the distroJ1.6 and beyond

What’s in, what’s out, and why? The extensions & settings are conservatively

selected We think long and hard before adding something

Avoid bloat, and flavour-of-the-month– Maintenance

The more extensions, the more we need to monitor and upgrade

– SecurityIf a site isn’t using a particular extension, there is a tendency to ignore it and it is unlikely to be upgraded

Criteria for inclusion

Important feature– Improves upon the core Joomla features– Adds a feature that every site needs/should have– Improves site security

Stable release Reasonable update cycles Isn’t “dead” (abandoned by developer) Upsell extensions

– Time-consuming to install and configure– Installed, but “invisible” activate, rather than install

Must not introduce “weirdness”– e.g. a completely different admin interface

Building the distro

Maintain an “ideal” site– Install, configure and upgrade the distro elements

Use Akeeba Backup – Create a custom installer of the whole distro site (a .jpa)

file

Protect the distro site

Document all settings ss you build the distro– Resolve support issues– Rebuild the distro in a new Joomla version

Licencing issues

Mainly free GPL extensions - no licencing issues–

2 commercial GPL extensions (JCE and sh404SEF) – Commercial fee is for access to the downloads, and for

support, and does not restrict the distribution of the files

– We don’t share the username and password, so non-BrilliantWeb users of the distro have to independently subscribe for support and upgrades

J1.6 and beyond

Challenge of the new development cycle - maintaining parallel distros for each Joomla version

Some extensions in the distro are not compatible with Joomla 1.6 and beyond

Some 1.5 extensions have been frozen, and all new features are being added to the 1.6/1.7 versions

Some new extensions are only available for 1.6

I am still scratching my head about this…

Using

the distro

InstallationCustomisationActivation

Installation

Create the new hosting account

Transfer file to new account– Use wget– FTP file

Use kickstart to unpack, install and modify the IdealJoomla distro on the new hosting account

Total installation time: 6 minutes!

Create hosting account

Transfer file

Kickstart

Customisation

Login to the new site and begin customising to the client’s specifications:

– Install additional extensions– Skin the template framework– Add content, menu items etc

Activation

Tweaking the core settings and the settings of the extensions that are included in the distro

Examples:– Add the site owner’s email address– Add the site name– Add the site’s Google Analytics code– Etc

What’s in

IdealJoomla?

Site management and interface improvements A file manager

– Online editing of files, file uploads etc

NoNumber extensions– A set of extensions to make Joomla site administration

easier

Akeeba Site backup AJAXify plugin

– Saves on page reloads some of the backend functions

Joomla core updater– Update to latest Joomla with a few clicks

Faster loading admin template

Site management and interface improvements Session monitor

– Tells you how long until you are logged off

Display the non-SEF URL of the currently loaded page– Essential for building links on sites that use SEF URLs

IE compatibility switcher– Causes IE8 and 9 to behave

Caching tools– Speed up site loading

Captcha system– For core Joomla forms and for extensions

Content editing and presentation Advanced content editor

– JCE WYSIWYG editor with subscription extensions

A basic image gallery A typography plugin

– Adds fancy content styling to pages

Fancier Tables of Contents– For pages that have page breaks

Google Maps plugin– Add Google map to contacts, articles, modules etc

Automated site footer– Adds an automated copyright footer

Web site marketing and SEO Testimonials system *

– Collect and display client/site visitor testimonials

Newsletter system *– Share and social media buttons *

Content slider– Slide featured content on home page

Home page article summary– Mini-blog on frontpage to showcase news (title,

thumbnail, intro with more control than core feature)

* These are examples of dormant extensions ready for upsell and activation

Web site marketing and SEO News blog and sidebar list sh404SEF

– SEF URLs, additional security and Google Analytics

Google Site Verification tool– Verifies site ownership to Google, so that we can access

Google Webmaster Tools for the site

Design

Template framework Header bar rotators

– Static header– Random header– Header slideshow– Specific header images per page

Distro

commercial models

Outsourcing distro managementBrilliantWeb’s distro offeringsWeb site in a box

Outsourcing distro management The concept

– A third party builds and maintains the distro– You pay a subscription fee to download and use the

distro

Why outsource?

Distro developer’s Joomla expertise– Monitors new extensions– Monitors growth (or demise) of extensions– Applies their understanding of client needs to shaping

and building the distro

Saves lots of research time– If you don’t know Joomla well, and don’t want to spend

ages learning about the various extensions and installation steps

Why outsource?

Saves distro maintenance time– The system updates are managed by the distro

developer– You just download the latest version whenever you build

a new site

BrilliantWeb’s distro offerings IdealJoomla

– Monthly subscription and a per-use pricing model– Installation and activation guide

Your IdealJoomla– We create and maintain a distro for your company

Contact Ingrid Jordan at sales@brilliantweb.co.za

Business idea for you

Web site in a box– Reduce the cost of serving vertical markets– create a full-featured standard package for specific

markets

JoomlaShack created a distro for schools:http://demotemplates.joomlashack.com/school/about-joomlashack-school-shack-pack

Next steps

Please answer our market research survey to help us build an appropriate product offering

Visit our site to download this presentationwww.brilliantweb.co.za/resources.html

…

Credits

Brendon Hatcher is the compiler of this presentation

The presentation is released under the Creative Commons Licence – Attribution, Non-commercial, No derivatives

If you don’t know what this licence means, find out about it at creativecommons.org