Joomla For Personal Sites – Using Joomla to Build Personal Sites

By Jared Runcorn

Yes, you can use Joomla to build your personal website. This is the most popular open source content management system available on the web today. It is designed with every person in mind. You don't have to be an IT expert or even have average knowledge of the programming; any everyday Joe can operate the Joomla software.

Joomla has already been used to develop websites that are located across the web. It has helped to develop business sites, large corporate sites, personal sites, clan sites and many, many more. That's the great thing about this open source software program. Because it is open source software, any third party can develop an extension to the initial core components and they will all work together. This has made the possibilities and the capabilities of the software absolutely limitless.

Many people have already used this program to develop their personal websites. If they can do it, then so can you. This software is free for you to download. There are two different versions of the software available on the market. Your best choice would be the 1.5 version. Even though version 1.0 is still available, people are focusing more on v. 1.5 and there are very few extensions being developed for v. 1.0 today. This will make the long term use of v. 1.0 less than that of the Joomla 1.5 version. So, if you don't want to have to completely upgrade your website in the near future, you will want to download and install Joomla 1.5.

Templates are what will give your website its overall feel, layout and design. Templates come in two different formats and they are: back end templates and front end templates. You will need to acquire a front end template, (although the initial download of the software will come with two) this type will be what the visitor sees whenever they visit your website. A back end template is what you will see whenever you log in to make changes to the website. This is essentially the control panel layout. By changing the layout on the front end side of the website, you can begin to customize and gain that special “feel” that you are trying to achieve.

Templates are essentially available anywhere that you look on the web. Just make sure that you are looking at templates that will match the version of the software that you downloaded. If you have had a certain theme, design, or layout in mind, you will probably be able to find it. Templates have been created that reflects any interest that one could have, whether it is sports, World of Warcraft, fashion and much more. Your options are endless, literally. Also, even though you may choose a certain template, don't forget that you can customize it to make it even more unique and to make it more entertaining and useful for what you have in mind. You can add chat features and so much more by using the various extensions that are available on the market.Go ahead and have fun; become creative and enjoy your Joomla personal website!

Go to Joomla Template Zone to get your free ebook about joomla templates at Joomla Templates. Joomla Template also has information on Joomla for Personal Sites along with a lot of other free information. Come by Joomla Template today for free ebooks and other free information that can help you today.

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