The beauty of Joomla! Is that its open source which means anyone and everyone can develop components and extensions for it. So if you want to enhance your website, 9 times out of 10 you can find a component that does what you want to do off the bat, without having to reinvent the wheel.
These extensions save Joomla! Developers time, reduce development costs and are usually already tried and tested. All your Joomla! Developer needs to do is modify and reskin the extension to tailor it to requirements.
Let's have a look at the Joomla! Developer’s essential extensions.
Akeeba Backup/Akeeba Kickstart (Joomla! 2.5, Joomla! 3.x)
Probably one of the most important extensions a developer needs. This is essential for 2 reasons.
- Always keep regular updates of your Joomla! installation
Akeeba Backup helps you backing up your file system as well as your entire database. No need to create seperate manual backups and hence a big timesaver. - Moving your site from "Development" to "Live"
It is always a good idea to have a "Development" as well as a "Live" site. Therefore you'd need two installations of the Joomla! site in different areas/directories or on different domains/sub-domains. Akeeba Backup and Akeeba Kickstart can be of big help. The problem when moving a developed site to another location is that you'd have to backup the filesystem as well as the database. If you develop in a subdirectory you would have to go into the configuration file and change settings so Joomla! knows for example where your root directory is. You'd also have to make sure to use the same database name and table prefix or at least change them in the configuaration file.
With Akeeba Backup and Akeeba Kickstart you don't have to worry about these things anymore.
Download Akeeba Backup here
Download Akeeba Kickstart here
Chronoforms (Joomla! 2.5, Joomla! 3.x)
Probably one of the most sophisticated form development extensions for Joomla!. Chronoforms allows dynamic form building per drag & drop giving you countless field types. For security reasons CAPTCHA and Re-CAPTCHA is included and you can choose if you would like to save the data entered into the database and/or send it to an admin email address. Chronoforms is essential if complex contact or registration forms are required.
Download Chronoforms here
Joomla Content Editor (JCE) (Joomla! 2.5, Joomla! 3.x)
This is probably the first extension to install after setting up your basic Joomla! site. The Joomla! core editor is acceptable for basic text changes but it lacks certain functions like a sophisticated file upload environment or media manager. JCE also handles link management much better than the core editor and additional FREE extensions for the editor are available too.
Download Joomla Content Editor (JCE) here
AcyMailing (Joomla! 2.5, Joomla! 3.x)
For anyone who plans to send out newsletters to their users and creates email marketing campaigns this is essential. AcyMailing is an excellent tool to manage your users and the newsletters you are sending out. The "Starter" version is free and if you are happy with the basic functions of subscribing your users via a subscription form and sending out the newsletter via the admin this is the right tool for you. AcyMailing though offers many more functions in its paid versions like...
- Automatic Newsletter
- Follow-up Autoresponder Campaigns
- Integration with VirtueMart
- Bounce Back Handling
- Newsletter scheduling
JoomGallery (Joomla! 2.5, Joomla! 3.x)
Many clients require image galleries in their websites. JoomGallery is a free extension and helps you embedding this function in no time. The Joomla! Component uses a CSS based layout, gives you the chance to create thumbnails and even add watermarks to your images. Image view is embedded in well known Javascript boxes - Slimbox or Thickbox3. A search function is also included. This extension is definitely worth a try.
Download JoomGallery here
Joomla! is a very powerful and robust CMS solution, however you need to couple this piece of kit with an experienced web developer / web agency who knows how to bring out the best in Joomla!. Alchemy Interactive is an award winning web agency with over 15 years experience. We’re experts at developing tailor made Joomla! CMS sites, optimized for search engines and mobile friendly. Call us for a free consultation and website review. 020 3078 6725