Has anyone heard of Joomla?

biggumba

Has anyone used this content management tool Joomla? Apparently it does just about everything you could want to do in a CMS.

I'm hesitant to use something like this because it seems like just about anyone can use it and build a fairly high-end site without any web development skill sets what so ever.

Does this bother anyone else or is it just me. I'm bothered that simple graphic designer think they can claim to be web developers because they know how to choose a couple options in this Joomla CMS and whola! They've built a psuedo forum function or search feature for a site. Where does that leave us developers? How to compete with this CMS tools.

Any cheering up would be nice!

Horizon88

I've used Joomla, e107, PHP-Nuke, Mambo, and a few other content management systems, and the thing I've always found is it's too damn much. I had to customize blocks, learn a new templating engine system for each one, figure out all the code conventions, it was just a headache. I'm currently re-hauling my CMS from the ground up, which I plan to distribute as easy to use, but easy to modify. It'll have TinyMCE and simple menus for the non-technical to post pages and content, as well as a fairly straightforward drop-in templating system, so they can upload the template folder, and then make a selection the admin panel to enable it. That's the easy to use part, and the easy to modify part is that it's not a huge system. It's basic PHP, doing what needs to be done, not much more. The template system uses a single .php template file, using custom functions like getPageTitle() and displayAuthor() to show dynamic content, and it's got a straightforward file layout, unlike a lot of CMS' I've used.

But yeah, it bugs me when some CSS/XHTML designer calls themself a coder cause they tweaked a Joomla layout. :p

piersk

A windows mobile site I write for uses joomla (http://www.msmobilenews.com - cheap plug)

I personally don't like it. It seems very clunky to me. Give me wordpress anyday.

cheekymonk3y

I prefer Drupal CMS (http://www.drupal.org) to Joomla. Its got a serious and more developer focused community than Joomla, and imo, is just plain better. BTW, in the 2006 Open Source CMS awards, Joomla came first with drupal coming second. It came to a tie where Joomla got the popular vote (bigger install base) and Drupal got the Judges vote. And the tie breaker judge swung Joomla's way. Anyway, both are excellent CMS systems. If you're looking for one, and are more technically inclinded, go for drupal. Its got pretty decent documentation for those who know how to read technical stuff. Otherwise, if you're new to web dev etc, which most of you aren't...go for Joomla.

I'm biased 😛

Shrike

biggumba wrote:
I'm hesitant to use something like this because it seems like just about anyone can use it and build a fairly high-end site without any web development skill sets what so ever

I think this is a very elitist view. Just because something is easy to use, it should be discarded? I can't imagine many graphics designers taking programming jobs because they know Joomla. If they can, more power to them. But you should know theres usually more to development than that. I won't be getting a designer role just because I can make a GIF in Photoshop.

I've used Joomla a little bit, and like all other systems it wants you to build a website their way and as such it's restrictive.

Any developer worth his salt should realise that the quicker you can get something done, the better. If XYZ software helps me do that I'm all for it.

rodneykm

Personally, I've learned that CMS's are just too much of a pain to use. Too clunky and slow.

Weedpacket

Shrike wrote:
I've used Joomla a little bit, and like all other systems it wants you to build a website their way and as such it's restrictive.

It's getting to the point where you can look at a site and go "yeah, that's done with drupal, yeah, that blog's Wordpress-driven (oh, look. Kubrick.)" .... like you can spot the logos that were created with two minutes and an out-of-the-box script from the Gimp.

ManWithNoName

First, I must completely agree with Shrike.

And to answer the main point of this thread:

“Does this bother anyone else or is it just me. I'm bothered that simple graphic designer think they can claim to be web developers because they know how to choose a couple options in this Joomla CMS and whola!”

Well, people say the damnedest things. If it isn’t their “opinions” they want to express, it will surly be something else that will bug you, like – in your case -- their knowledge within a field that they have limited experience. You sure must be upset about a lot of things, no?

Personally I think it all falters because of the lack of terminology. The people that use these CMS and claim to code probably don’t know much about web-development to use the proper terminology. And is that more different from when somebody is talking about a subject where they are not experts, and where the experts have set up absolute defined expressions for certain rules and conditions? Talk to a lawyer about some recent case in your country, and see how long it will take before you’re being lashed out on.

To give a more concrete example: a couple of years ago when I started with web-development (not by me free will if I may add) I referred to HTML as coding (not knowing the difference). When I understood the difference between coding and formatting I made sure to use the correct terminology. And that is because I took (had) the time to learn something within a field I have really nothing to do in.

And as for your second concern:

“They've built a psuedo forum function or search feature for a site. Where does that leave us developers? How to compete with this CMS tools.”

Even the dinosaurs had their 15-minutes of fame.

Perhaps in the future the word programmer or PHP-guru will be used by those that edit their CMS, and new – geeky --words will be use for those that take care of the “real” code behind the CMS: like, perhaps, “Indians”, “Chinese”.

dougal85

I was helping out on a project that uses Joomla. It seems OK for a set-up and go website. However, as soon as you want to do something custom or make changes it becomes a pain in the ass.

dougal85

oops, double posted. sorry.