Joomla and GoDaddy 101

Top 10 Joomla! Templates for 2011

2012-01-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

As the year comes to a close we have a chance to stop and look back at the awesome designs that some of the Joomla template providers have put together throughout 2011.

We’ve seen many pushing the boundaries as well as adopting trends in web design but most importantly embracing and supporting the new Joomla 1.6/1.7 release.

This list of templates is a personal list of favourites that we found to push design forward for Joomla as well as being inspirational. Hopefully these will also be inspirational to all other Joomla designers.

Migrating From Joomla 1.5 to 2.5

2012-01-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to bring your site on par with the latest Joomla? If you are running Joomla 1.5 on your site, you will soon be faced with the decision to migrate to the most recent version of Joomla, or risk running software that is no longer maintained. That means no more bug fixes, security checks, or any updates. This is a risk you don't want to take!
In this session you will learn the best way to migrate to the latest copy of Joomla. We will walk through a real migration together (of my own site!), and discuss some of the 'gotchas' and common issues that might occur. Regardless if you are technically inclined, you can learn how to migrate your own site(s)!
by Jeremy Wilken

See here: Migrating From Joomla 1.5 to 2.5

Joomla 2.5 Beta2 Released

2012-01-12T15:28:00.000-08:00

The Joomla Project is pleased to announce the availability of Joomla 2.5 Beta 2 for download. Version 2.5 is the second release made within the new six-month release cycle that started with the delivery of Joomla 1.6 in January 2011.

What is this release for?

There are several goals for this release:

To allow advance testing of sites and custom extensions so that site administrators and developers can report any problems before the final release.
To raise awareness that the end of the current development cycle is fast approaching.
To allow testing of the upgrade from version 1.7 to 2.5.0.

Click here to download.

What is this release NOT for?

This beta version of Joomla 2.5 Beta2 is not suitable for production sites. It should be used for testing only.

When is the final release due?

Joomla 2.5.0 GA (general availability) is due to be released on 24 January 2012. The planned milestone after this date are:

24 February 2012 - Joomla 1.7 reaches end of life and is no longer supported
April 2012 - Joomla 1.5 reaches end of life
September 2012 - Next version of Joomla is released

Please note that dates may be subject to change depending on availability of volunteers and circumstances beyond our control.

How do I upgrade to Joomla 2.5?

Upgrading from Joomla 1.7 to Joomla 2.5.0 will be very easy. Most users can use the automatic update or install the update archive using the Extension Manager: Install option.

If you are using Joomla 1.5 then you will still be required to migrate your site using the jUpgrade component.

Joomla 2.5 Beta2 Released

Nine Questions When Preparing Clients for Joomla 2.5

2012-01-12T15:23:00.000-08:00

The conventional wisdom, since the release of Joomla 1.7, has been as follows:

If your website is running in Joomla 1.5, and it's working well, keep it running in 1.5 for now. Move the site to Joomla 2.5 next year.
If you're building a new website, build it in 1.7 if possible, so you'll have an easy migration to 2.5 next year.

The reason Joomla 2.5 is so important is because it's a long-term release. By moving your website to this version of Joomla, you can keep Joomla's version constant for 18 months, without moving to new versions every 6 months or so. This long-term stability is important for most client businesses, who don't want to undergo a major upgrade and testing every 6 months. Since Joomla 1.5 will reach its end of life in April 2012, and since Joomla 2.5 is released in January 2012, it makes sense to move Joomla 1.5 sites directly to Joomla 2.5.

But what about moving those websites to Joomla 2.5? Have you stopped to consider a process for doing this, outside of the technical issues?

My company, 4Web, Inc., has roughly 80 sites we maintain which are currently running in Joomla 1.5. Most of these sites are quite complex, defined by several characteristics including third party extensions, custom templates, hundreds or thousands of pages, and custom extension development. We've recently discussed how we will manage moving these sites to Joomla 2.5 next year, and we've started to think about how the process might happen from a business perspective. Here are some of the questions we've been considering.

See all 9 here: Nine Questions When Preparing Clients for Joomla 2.5

Joomla 2.5 to be released Jan 24th 2012

2012-01-09T15:46:00.000-08:00

The general availability of the official Joomla 2.5.0 release isdue on January 24, 2012. Also, in case you missed it, Beta 1 of Joomla 2.5 was released just as the holidays were getting in full swing. You can also expect another beta and a release candidate from the Joomla developers between now and Release 2.5.0.

Joomla 2.5 to be released Jan 24th

What's new in Joomla! 2.5?

2012-01-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Joomla! 2.5 will be released in January 2012 and it is the successor of Joomla! 1.5. It will be a so called long term release and it will be the Joomla! state of the art until July 2013. The versions 1.6 and 1.7 were short term releases and they paved the way to Joomla! 2.5.

What's new in Joomla! 2.5?:

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Joomla 2.5 Beta1 Released

2012-01-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

The Joomla Project is pleased to announce the availability of Joomla 2.5 Beta 1 for download. This is the second release made within the new six-month release cycle that started with the delivery of Joomla 1.6 in January 2011.

What is this release for?

There are several goals for this release:

To allow advance testing of sites and custom extensions so that site administrators and developers can report any problems before the final release.
To raise awareness that the end of the current development cycle is fast approaching.
To allow testing of the upgrade from version 1.7 to 2.5.0.

Click here to download.

What is this release NOT for?

This beta version of Joomla 2.5 Beta1 is not suitable for production sites. It should be used for testing only.

When is the final release due?

Joomla 2.5.0 GA (general availability) is due to be released on or about 10 January 2012. The planned milestone after this date are:

10 February 2012 - Joomla 1.7 reaches end of life and is no longer supported
April 2012 - Joomla 1.5 reaches end of life
July 2012 - Next version of Joomla is released

Please note that dates may be subject to change depending on availability of volunteers and circumstances beyond our control.

How do I upgrade to Joomla 2.5?

Upgrading from Joomla 1.7 to Joomla 2.5.0 will be very easy. Most users can use the automatic update or install the update archive using the Extension Manager: Install option.

If you are using Joomla 1.5 then you will still be required to migrate your site using the jUpgrade component.

Joomla 2.5 Beta1 Released:

'via Blog this'

Joomla! Day Chicago - Rehab for Joomla! - The Event of a Lifetime | Joomla! Community Portal

2012-01-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

This is the story of how I met Joomla! and why I cannot break the addiction. I was introduced to Joomla! a long ago by a close friend of mine, Irfan Moosani. Irfan said that it was the "best stuff". I had tried other "good stuff" before like the WordPress, and it was pretty darn good, but I had never tried Joomla!.

I wanted to try new things but I didn't want to try too much. Next thing I knew I was using Joomla! every day and night. I was hooked! Now, my addiction has spread from myself to my team, my family and even my friends now love Joomla!.

After a while of using the Enterprise CMS I could not take anymore of that fancy GUI and guessing; I had to look to get help with Joomla! I found many resources to help me learn my new found addiction. I quickly learned that there were many others like me, addicted to Joomla! In fact, there was a whole community of people addicted to Joomla!.

Joomla! Day Chicago - Rehab for Joomla! - The Event of a Lifetime

Pleasure, profit or pain - Giving your user what they want. | Joomla! Community Portal

2011-12-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

It is often asked if a site should be made for the user or the designers benefit.

What if you spend hours/weeks/months on your site only for people to get lost!

Several sites I have worked with are doing very well with the minimum of features and fuss.
Does your site really need the latest content video flashes, scrolling facebook and bouncing twitter birds?

Most of the support questions I deal with are to do with paid extensions. If you have a paid for extension, the most obvious choice would be to go to the supplier first, they have your money. Unless of course you have obtained the template or extension from a dubious; unprofessional source.

Once you have found a decent template, do you really need to rip it apart then rebuild it to make it look "good" when you can build one using a good template construction kit?

For most new users to Joomla, and experienced ones, you can get a decent looking, easy to navigate site using free templates and tools.

The community site bristolestate.org.uk shows such an example of using the milky way template with a replaced logo and an extension for the top menu module. There is also a download, gallery and video player extension. All free, all easy to use and very user friendly for the target audience (50+ years old) who do most of the updates themselves.

If you look at this site. mandyhost.co.uk/ You will see it is a straight forward template, with only a couple of extensions. An image gallery and a drop down menu extension. it is visited by several hundred people a week and syndicated to around 30 different community websites.

The services and news it supplies are what people are after along with a simple navigation without being just another blog.

For the more complex community news site that has just been relaunched is whitehawk.uk.net which is currently running a design a logo competition. It uses a standard free template, with a free image gallery and forum. The versatile template woks well, and a few other extras such as the sobi links extension, shows how a functioning community site can be built without whistles. It does use K2 to provide a more social networking site. The target audience is 14-30 years and all migrated from a 5 page html site, with a free hosted forum and a cant be bothered site admin.

Yes there are other sites that I could mention with more features and flashy templates but this article is just to show that you don't need to have all the bells and whistles, templates that look very futuristic and have every extension that you can get hold of. Remember, only one component can run at any one time, and a barrel load of modules will slow your site down.

Design your site for your target audience, people will respect you more for keeping something easy and simple than overloading them with scrolling banners and zooming menus. If you want to build a facebook or youtube clone, then go ahead. Expect about 50 people to sign up at the start, your bandwidth to be hit like a steam train and don't bother renewing the domain at the end of year.

My clients come to me for build straightforward sites they can handle. If I build a "personal pastime" site, then I can fill it up with what I want, but I wont pay myself for the added features I may use once because they are to complex.

Think simple, think professional, think use ability. Get repeat visitors and pleasure, not repeat pain.

Pleasure, profit or pain - Giving your user what they want. | Joomla! Community Portal:

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Urgent, It dont work - fix it!

2011-12-20T20:18:00.000-08:00

You've probably been to the forums because you're encountering a problem.

Just remember, when you post there, that we are trying to help you. Don't get angry, frustrated or rude, just tell us what's wrong and we'll help you work out the problem. You should also have at least read the beginners guide to joomla.

When asking for advice, the most important aspect to consider is asking in such a way that will allow the community to quickly know what you want and give all the information they need to help you.

In general, you want to be clear, concise, complete, and polite.

When you ask for support, please understand that depending on the number of questions the community see, other commitments, social life etc, they may not be able to answer or even acknowledge your question. Also understand that if you’re asking for free help, you need to be respectful of the time they’ve dedicated free and of the additional time you’re asking them to spend with you. Supply them with as much information as possible.

Refrain from spamming or bumping, posting for points. If you make a post and don’t receive a reply within 5 minutes, that doesn’t mean you should post again. This will likely move you down or off the good attention list. People dont live on the forum waitng for your post.

Unless otherwise told, do not contact/PM/Skype the forum leaders or more experienced people. This will not only make you unpopular and probably be classed as a bully. Some people actually make a comment in their signature lines stating they will ignore, delete and ban people who do. Others may also state that if you PM them, you will accept their personal support charges. They may also make a public posting in the topic you want help on stating you are a demanding, impolite user and everyone will ignore you.

If you see an error message, copy the entire error message and include that in your initial post. These error messages help to narrow down the problem making for quicker resolution times

Is there a forum for your language? It may be better to post in the wrong forum where someone can undertand you than post in Babel English where people will have no idea what your on about!

We know just as well as anyone else that everyone makes mistakes. If the problem was caused by something you accidentally did, we may be able to help. We don't expect you to be an expert at using our Joomla.
Even Microsoft states
"When posting questions to a professional forum or newsgroup it is vital to format the question and it's content in a proper way in order to greatly increase the possibility for quickly receiving a good answer, and thus saving you time and frustration. "

Urgent, It dont work - fix it!

Last Steps to Joomla 2.5!

2011-12-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

Last Steps to Joomla 2.5!

Version 11.3 of the Platform has just been merged into the CMS and we are down to the last few weeks before 2.5!
We plan to release Version 2.5 beta on or before December 20th.

To make this schedule, we have until December 12th to propose and test new features.

1. Please test the present state of the CMS with your favorite extensions and report any bug on the Tracker.
TEST: The CMS can be downloaded from https://github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/downloads (Not for production sites!)
REPORT ISSUES: Please post on the tracker http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/joomla/tracker/?action=TrackerItemBrowse&tracker_id=8103

2. Please test the New Features (and propose some with code attached if you want):
TEST: http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/joomla/tracker/?action=TrackerItemBrowse&tracker_id=8549
Specially look at those with Status "Pending" when testing

One does not need to be a geek or PHP guru to test the proposed patches. And your efforts will really help in getting your favorite CMS in good shape for 2.5!

As many of you know, version 2.5 is the long-term-support release that ends the 1.6/1.7/2.5 series.
As such, the update to 2.5 will be seamless and will be handled exactly the same as the update from 1.6 to 1.7 or 1.7.2 to 1.7.3.
It is expected that all extensions should work without changes for version 2.5. However, extension developers should test their programs to make sure.

We hope to get some great new features into version 2.5, but we need the community to help with the process. Thanks!

'via Blog this'

Joomla 2.5 Beta to be released December 20th 2011 | Internet Wisdom

2011-12-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

On November 30^th, 2011, Jean Marie Simonet wrote on the Joomla community blog:

“We plan to release Version 2.5 beta on or before December 20th.”

The upcoming non-beta release is scheduled to be released in January of 2012, but it looks like Joomla addicts will be able to get a taste of the new 2.5 version of the popular CMS.

The new features have not been announced, but Jean writes:

“To make this schedule, we have until December 12th to propose and test new features. “

Does this mean the developers are keeping a lid on the new enhancements (other than improved search) because they are not ready? Or are they not exactly sure what addition will be made? Either way, hopefully the Joomla developer team can meet their deadline so all of us Joomla enthusiasts can see for ourselves what all the fuss is about.

Think you’re ready for Joomla 2.5? Make sure you’re prepared!

Joomla 2.5 Beta to be released December 20th 2011 | Internet Wisdom:

AllVideos (plugin): True all-in-one media management solution for Joomla! | JoomlaWorks

2011-12-11T17:25:00.000-08:00

AllVideos (by JoomlaWorks) is truely THE all-in-one media management solution for Joomla!.

You can use the plugin to easily embed videos hosted on popular services like YouTube, Metacafe, Vimeo (and many more) inside your Joomla! articles (content items). Additionally, it allows you to playback almost any video/audio filetype directly from your server or a remote server, giving you the competitive edge when it comes to rich media content.

WHY ALLVIDEOS?

- You don't have to copy/paste huge blocks of HTML code, just to get a video from YouTube to playback on your Joomla! website! Your WYSIWYG editor loves it and so will you and your clients!
- You use simple and descriptive plugin tags like {youtube}heu37ej3qs{/youtube}, {flv}batman_darknight{/flv} or {mp3}pixies_bonemachine{/mp3}.

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF ALLVIDEOS

AllVideos is basically smart, cheap and now flexible content streaming for anyone:
- You can use, for example, YouTube to upload your videos and then embed them inside your site without consuming your server's bandwidth or having to spend money on expensive video conversion software!
- You can upload nearly any type of video or audio content and display them on your website, coming either directly from your server or from a remote server!

FEATURES

1. Dozens of video providers supported, including localized versions of YouTube and Google Video (e.g. es.youtube.com), Vimeo, Dailymotion, Metacafe, MySpace, Flickr Video, Yahoo Videos and more.
2. Stream your own media content, using the 20 web compatible video and audio formats like flv, swf, mov, mp4, wmv, wma, mp3, 3gp, webm, ogv, ogg, divx and more.
3. Easily embed your media content either directly from your server or a remote server!
4. Simple controls inside the plugin's parameters page provide layout consistency on all the videos shown in your Joomla! website. Set your preferences in seconds, publish the plugin and you're ready to start streaming content!
5. Easy, descriptive syntax for media embedding - {format/provider}filename{/format/provider}. You can also use syntax like {format/provider}filename|width|height|autoplay{/format/provider} (e.g. an "autoplaying" {youtube}he73js822|600|450|1{/youtube}) to display videos at different dimensions!
6. Skinnable! AllVideos uses MVC templating. Just copy the /tmpl folder included in the plugin, move it to your template's /html folder and rename it to "jw_allvideos", then style the output as you wish. The good thing about MVC templating is you don't have to worry about future updates breaking your styling.
7. Mobile-friendly: if you use MP4 for uploaded videos or services like YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion, your videos are mobile ready.

AllVideos (plugin): True all-in-one media management solution for Joomla! | JoomlaWorks:

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"Creating templates from scratch doesn't need to be hard

2011-12-10T16:07:00.000-08:00

Dr Dobbs - Joomla Templates:

Alexander (Sasha) Sirotkin works on the LTE (Long Term Evolution) Project at Comsys Mobile. Alexander can be reached via e-mail at sasha.sirotkin@gmail.com.

Joomla is an open source content management system (CMS) that has all the functionality that you would expect -- banners, contacts, RSS feeds, polls, and much more. Because it was designed to be extensible, there are hundreds if not thousands of modules and components written for Joomla. It is mostly written in PHP, uses MySQL database as a back end, and released under GPL.

Joomla has a flexible and powerful template system which has a huge number of both free and commercial templates available for it. Unfortunately Joomla templates tend to be too colorful with a bit non-professional and childish look, which is generally not what you would want for a commercial website. I came across this problem while working on one of my projects. After checking literally hundreds of templates I had to consider ordering a custom template from one of the companies specializing in this area or creating one myself. While the former is probably the option that most commercial companies would chose, I decided to go with the latter mainly because all I needed was a plain and simple Google-style template and I figured out that it might be fun to learn something new in the process of writing it. For both of the above reasons I did not want to modify an existing template but rather preferred to write a new one entirely from scratch. As it turned out, it is indeed surprisingly simple and fun.

With this in mind, in this article I show how to write a minimal, yet functional Joomla template from scratch, starting with Joomla 1.0.x then 1.0.x templates to Joomla 1.5x which has a very different API."

Dr Dobbs - Joomla Templates

Nine Questions When Preparing Clients for Joomla 2.5

2011-12-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

On August 9, the name for the January 2012 Joomla release changed from Joomla 1.8 to 2.5. Joomla's release schedule has been described in itsdevelopment strategy, and much analysis has been put forth as to whether one should upgrade websites or not to the next version of software.

This article has been translated to Russian, courtesy of Eugene Sivokon. Thank you!

The conventional wisdom, since the release of Joomla 1.7, has been as follows:

If your website is running in Joomla 1.5, and it's working well, keep it running in 1.5 for now. Move the site to Joomla 2.5 next year.
If you're building a new website, build it in 1.7 if possible, so you'll have an easy migration to 2.5 next year.

But what about moving those websites to Joomla 2.5? Have you stopped to consider a process for doing this, outside of the technical issues?

Nine Questions When Preparing Clients for Joomla 2.5:

'via Blog this'

Joomla! 1.5 - Creating and Uploading Your Favicon

2011-11-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

Creating SEF URL's in Joomla 1.5

2011-11-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

What You Will Need to Get Started

2011-11-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

Installing and Changing Templates in Joomla 1.5

2011-11-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

How to Install Joomla! with GoDaddy.com

2011-10-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

Learn How to Install Joomla 1.5 on Your Website in 2 Minutes - Joomla Tu...

2011-10-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

WHY DO I HAVE TO MOVE MY SITES FROM JOOMLA 1.5?

2011-10-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

The short answer is you don't. You can keep running your sites in Joomla 1.5, and they will continue to work as they do now.

The longer answer is you probably really want to move your sites. In my opinion, the sooner you move them, the less pain and risk you'll feel in the long run.

Joomla 1.5 reaches its end of life in April 2012. After this point, no more security releases for Joomla 1.5 will be available. If a security issue is found in Joomla 1.5, it will not be patched by the project.

There's also an issue of support. Shortly after Joomla 1.0 reached its end of life in July 2009, we saw many 3rd party developers stopped supporting extensions for Joomla 1.0. I expect we will see this same trend after Joomla 1.5 reaches its end of life, with most 3rd party developers dropping Joomla 1.5 support for their extensions within a year, probably by April 2013. This means if you need to add new functionality to your Joomla 1.5 website, you'll find that pretty difficult if you don't upgrade.

Security issues may be discovered in extensions, which can provide an entrance to your website for a hacker. If the extensions aren't supported, the security issues won't be addressed.

http://magazine.joomla.org/issues/Issue-Aug-2011/item/530-Nine-Questions-When-Preparing-Clients-for-Joomla-1-8

Nine Questions When Preparing Clients for Joomla 2.5 :: Joomla! Community Magazine™

2011-10-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

On August 9, the name for the January 2012 Joomla release changed from Joomla 1.8 to 2.5. Joomla's release schedule has been described in its development strategy, and much analysis has been put forth as to whether one should upgrade websites or not to the next version of software.

Nine Questions When Preparing Clients for Joomla 2.5 :: Joomla! Community Magazine

Copying a Joomla website

2011-10-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

Copying a Joomla! website is a two-part process: you must copy the files and you must copy the database (which is where the content is stored).

Copying the files and copying the database are separate operations. Which you carry out first will depend on your particular circumstances but in most cases it does not really matter.

If your website is being updated frequently and you need to take your website offline while the copy takes place then you will probably want to perform the database copy last so as to minimize downtime.

Full article here: Copying a Joomla website

Display module positions in Joomla 1.7

2011-10-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

index.php/?tp=1 works for Joomla 1.5, but how do we show them in Joomla 1.7 and 1.6?

One of the many changes in Joomla 1.7 is the fact that the url to view module positions is no longer enabled as standard. As a web designer who sometimes wishes to know where module positions are, especially if you are using a commercial or free template you have not constructed yourself the ?tp=1 code was vital.

Joomla 1.7 now disabled this functionality by default on a new Joomla 1.7 installation. But hope is not lost it is a simple change to activate again.

1. Firstly login to your Joomla website.

2. Navigate to the Extensions / Template Manager menu option.

3. Click the Options button, top right.

4. You can now click the Enabled button and Save and Close.

5. Now you can add index.php?tp=1 to your public url and the template positions will be displayed.

6. Don't forget to diable the ability once you have completed your tasks.

Hope that helps solve some frustrations and helps you understand Joomla 1.7 a little more!

Display module positions in Joomla 1.7 | Joomla | blog | Gloucestershire Marketing and Design Agency | Litchfield Morris:

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Multiple Vulnerabilities in Joomla! 1.6 and 1.6.1 - Search the Go Daddy Help Center

2011-10-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

Multiple Vulnerabilities in Joomla! 1.6 and 1.6.1 - Search the Go Daddy Help Center: "Affected Application: Joomla! 1.6 and 1.6.1.

Issue: On 07/27/11, information disclosure and clickjacking vulnerabilities were reported for multiple versions of Joomla! The information disclosure vulnerability lets attackers use the index.php script to discover the absolute path to Joomla! The clickjacking vulnerability lets attackers display pages from a Joomla! 1.6 or 1.6.1 site in frames on a specially crafted third-party website.

Resolution: Joomla! 1.7 is available. For more information, visit the vendor's website: http://www.joomla.org/.

This information was compiled using information in the National Vulnerability Database. For more information about this issue, see the following summaries:
CVE-2011-2891
CVE-2011-2892

Website Protection Site Scanner scans for this vulnerability, and many more. To learn about Site Scanner, see Getting Started with Website Protection Site Scanner."

'via Blog this'

Information Disclosure Vulnerability in Joomla! 1.5.23 and Previous

2011-10-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Affected Application: Joomla! 1.5.23 and previous.

Issue: On 07/27/11, an information disclosure vulnerability was reported for multiple versions of Joomla! The vulnerability lets attackers use the view.html.php script to discover the absolute path to Joomla!, which they could use for additional attacks.

Resolution: Joomla! 1.7 is available. For more information, visit the vendor's website:http://www.joomla.org/.

This information was compiled using information in the National Vulnerability Database. For more information about this issue, see the summary for CVE-2011-2890.

Website Protection Site Scanner scans for this vulnerability, and many more. To learn about Site Scanner, see Getting Started with Website Protection Site Scanner.

Information Disclosure Vulnerability in Joomla! 1.5.23 and Previous

Joomla 1.6 Usability Improvements - Alledia

2011-09-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

I had time to take a good look at the Alpha version of Joomla 1.6 this weekend. The Art of Joomla is doing a great job of explaining new features. I'll also blog later about the new SEO features ... they've taken on board of a lot our recommendations including the ability to control the metadata for each page!
However, today thought I'd hightlight some nice usability improvements.
Several common frustrations that beginners had with 1.5 seem to have been resolved:

1) The "Menu Manager" Has a Purpose

In 1.5 beginners always expect the Menu Manager to do much more ... such as actually manage something. In 1.6 the Menu Manager is much more closely integrated with the display of menu links. Oh, and you no longer get those four confusing boxes when making a new menu:

2) The "Tools" Menu Has Gone

I hate explaining to beginners what the "Tools" Menu is and why its there: "well, its a bunch of not very useful stuff they had left over ..."

Joomla 1.5		Joomla 1.6

3) The "Media Manager" Options Are Clearer

In 1.5 you could use the Media Manager to do 2 things: make new folders and upload images. Why then were the two tasks placed in opposite corners of the screen? That's fixed in 1.6:

4) The Install / Uninstall Screen Links Are Much Clearer

In 1.5 many people were confused because the links inside the Install / Uninstall screen looked they it should take them to the Module Manager, Template Manager and so on. Click on "Templates" to get to the "Template Manager", for example:

5) The Word "Parameters" Has Gone

Doesn't "Options" sound so much less geeky and make so much more sense?

Over to You ...

Have you had the chance to look at the new version of Joomla 1.6? What do you think?

Joomla 1.6 Usability Improvements - Alledia: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

jUpgrade: THE way way to go to upgrade..

2011-09-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

jUpgrade is a simple Joomla 1.5 component that will download a version of Joomla 1.7, decompress it and install it.

After that, it migrates all of the data from old Joomla 1.5 to the new Joomla 1.7 installation.

I have used this on 4 different sites now and it has worked flawlessly from 1.5.23 up to 1.7!

Guide to migrating from Joomla 1.5 to Joomla 1.7

2011-09-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

With Joomla 1.6 officially released, there have been a lot of questions as to how to migrate or upgrade to Joomla 1.7 from 1.5.

This guide will take you step-by-step through the general procedure of how to migrate to Joomla 1.7.

Please read through all the material as this is not a light undertaking.

Migrating from Joomla 1.5 to Joomla 1.7

Joomla caching demystified

2011-09-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Joomla 1.6. makes heavy use of caching and to be able to use it's full potential we must first understand how caching works. As caching was almost completely redone for 1.6. (mostly by the author of this article), some older descriptions and typologies don't apply any more.

Cache - temporary store an unit of information to be reused later.

Why?

Mostly because retrieving stored information is MUCH (up to 10 times or more) faster than initial generation. If you need a drastic example - a book is long term cache of it's authors knowledge. It could take years to accumulate this knowledge, while reading from this cache is a much faster thing as we all know.

But back to Joomla - more specifically, what we are dealing with here is web application caching - creating temporary static copies of otherwise dynamic pages (or smaller data units). Caching is particularly appropriate for web applications as typical web site displays the same content over and over again and without cache everything has to be generated for each and every page view. Caching system temporary stores this information generated by the code in a cache object and serves it when it is requested by the next user.

To understand Joomla cache a little deeper we must get familiar with two concepts - cache types and cache handlers.For easier understanding take a look at pictures that illustrate each cache type coverage area.

Full article here:

Joomla 1.6 caching demystified (Jennifer series)

Speed up Joomla 1.7 on Godaddy

2011-09-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

Turn on caching in the General Config!
The slowest aspect of GoDaddy Joomla hosting is the shared access to MySQL.

By turning on caching, a page will be stored as a standard HTML when accessed (the home page, for example).

If the next time the page is referenced the cached version hasn't expired, it will simply send the stored file instead of reconstructing the page from the MySQL database.

Follow these steps:

Login to Admin
Go to General Configuration
System Tab

Check out:

Joomla documentation here:http://docs.joomla.org/Cache#Page_Caching
Also herehttp://www.joomtraining.com.au/tutorial ... erformance

Progressive Cache
The progressive settings are the default cache settings. It provides faster caching and takes up the most space in terms of system caching. It isn't recommended for very large websites. It will cache modules.

Conservative cache
Conservative cache will only cache certain elements of your website.

Host Multiple Sites and Domains on the Same GoDaddy Hosting Account

2011-09-25T17:48:00.001-07:00

When is next LTS release? 1.8 or 2.0?

2011-09-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

The next LTS release looks likely to be Joomla! 1.8 (or perhaps Joomla 2.0 as it will most likely mark a new era in Joomla?) which is supposed to be released at the 10th of Jan 2012, which is exactly 12 months after the release of Joomla 1.6.

This means that if we deploy a website on Joomla! version 1.7 we'll need to keep in mind that after about six months no new security fixes are released.

If you’re the administrator of many Joomla! sites this can have a big impact. Joomla 1.5 will be supported until april 2012 as it is marked as an LTS release. You should ask yourself before upgrading to Joomla! 1.7 (or version 1.6 of course) if there are any features in it that you really need.

And if you decide to upgrade to version 1.7 (or any other non LTS release) you should be aware that after approximately six months you probably need to upgrade.

How to Enable Joomla SEF URLs on GoDaddy Hosting

2011-04-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

Enabling Joomla SEF URLs while using GoDaddy requires a few extra steps. GoDaddy has its own unique configuration that can leave many new Joomla users puzzled. If you search the Joomla support forum, you'll find a lot of GoDaddy customers that can't get Joomla SEF URLs configured properly. This post will show you step-by-step how to enable Joomla SEF URLs on GoDaddy hosting accounts.

1.) Log in to your Joomla Administrator account and navigate to the Global Configuration section. There you will see your SEO Settings. Change them to look like this:

2.) Log in to your GoDaddy hosting account:

3.) Launch the Hosting Control Center by clicking on the green arrow:

4.) Launch the GoDaddy File Manager:

5.) Open the htaccess.txt file that was included with the original Joomla files and remove the # before RewriteBase /. Then, copy all of the text to your clipboard.

6.) Within the GoDaddy File Manager click on the New icon:

7.) Paste the text from the htaccess.txt file that you copied to your clipboard in step 5, and click save. Name the file .htaccess, and click Ok.

That's it! Your Joomla SEF URLs should now be working properly on your GoDaddy hosting account. So, what did we do differently? First, GoDaddy requires the RewriteBase to be set in the .htaccess file. Second, you cannot upload the .htaccess file via FTP, or rename the htaccess.txt file to .htaccess like you can with other hosts. You have to create the .htaccess file using GoDaddy's File Manager.

And, now your Joomla website has Search Engine Friendly URLs.

How to Enable Joomla SEF URLs on GoDaddy Hosting

How To Install Joomla on GoDaddy Host | Hot Joomla Blog

2011-03-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

GoDaddy.com is #1 domain registrar and one of the most popular web hosting providers worldwide.

Their prices are very competitive and you don't have to sign up long-term contracts. We experimented with this hosting provider for some time. Based on our experiences, we can say that GoDaddy Linux hosting packages are 100% compatible with Joomla.

GoDaddy also have a way to install Joomla quickly for your hosting account. We will explain the procedure here in all possible details.

1. Login to www.godaddy.com and click Hosting from the left menu. Then click Manage next to your hosting account name. This will lead you to the hosting control panel.

2. In hosting control panel, under Content menu item, click GoDaddy Hosting Connection submenu link.

3. You are now on GoDaddy Hosting Connection page. Under Content Management menu item (left menu), click Joomla.

4. As you already know, Joomla is second to none! :) However, on the next page, you can see reviews about Joomla from other GoDaddy users. On this page, you can check if your GoDaddy hosting package is compatible with Joomla or not. If yes, you can proceed by clicking the yellow Install Now! button. Please wait several seconds until your request is processed.

5. Now, you see the list of your domains where you can install Joomla. Keep in mind that your account must have at least one free MySQL database available. Select desired domain and click Continue button.

6. On the next screen you should configure several options needed for your Joomla installation.

a) Set up database: GoDaddy automatically created database for you and assigned an user with the same name to it. So, you should only enter database pasword twice under this tab. Keep in mind that your password must be 7-14 characters long and have at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one number.

b) Choose install directory: Decide whether to install Joomla in a subdirectory on in the root. If you want to install in the root, leave this field empty, otherwise type subdirectory name. If you already have Joomla installed in the selected directory, it may be overwritten. Proceed by click on the Next button.

c) Configuration: Here you should enter information about your Joomla superadministrator's account. You need to enter superadministrator's username, password and valid e-mail address. For Joomla newbies, it is strongly recommended to install Joomla sample data, so leave the last option selected. Finally, click the Finish button.

7. You should get confirmation from GoDaddy that your Joomla installation has been requested successfully. Click My Applications link to check the status of your Joomla installation.

8. On the My Applications page, you should wait until status of your Joomla installation. Please wait until status is marked as Installed. This may take from several minutes to one hour, depending of GoDaddy's server.

Once the status is marked as Installed, you can check your Joomla frontpage on www.yourdomain.com/joomla_directory and login to the Joomla backend panel on www.yourdomain.com/joomla_directory/administrator using superadministator's username and password that you set on Step 6c.

Thanks to Hot Joomla for this guide

How To Install Joomla on GoDaddy Host by Hot Joomla

Joomla! version 1.6.0 is available

2011-02-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

As of 10 January 2011, Joomla! version 1.6.0 is available. This is a production version of Joomla.

Joomla 1.6.0

Nightly build

The most up-to-date version of the source code can be found in the Subversion repository at:

http://joomlacode.org/svn/joomla/development/trunk

Articles About 1.6

The following list is a collection of project and community articles about Joomla 1.6.

Joomla! 1.6 Beta Released

Joomla 1.6 February Update (with videos)

Joomla Developer Conference 2009 Videos

A preview of link redirection in Joomla 1.6

A preview of the new template manager in Joomla 1.6

Joomla 1.6 Alpha 2 released

You can't go in there

Access control tutorial for Joomla 1.6

Joomla 1.6 usability improvements

Introducing the new permissions in Joomla 1.6

Joomla 1.6

Joomla 1.6.0 scheduled for release 10 January 2011

2011-01-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

Joomla 1.6 is the next generation of Joomla, the most popular Open Source Content Management System in the world. This page tells you about the status of development and where you can download files.

The broad goals of Joomla 1.6 are to:

implement an expanded access control system;
implement a nested categories solution;
and standardise the way extensions are built using the MVC framework.

At this time, we expect to release version 1.6.0 on 11 January 2011. This assumes we do not encounter any major unanticipated issues that we are unable to resolve before that time. The ability to deliver at these times is directly proportional to the amount of volunteer help the project receives.

Joomla 1.6.0 scheduled for release 10 January 2011

Joomla! • View topic - GoDaddy "Free Hosting" Account and Joomla Install Now Works!

2010-09-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

I was originally put aback by GoDaddy stating upon their website (; whilst trying to install their Joomla 1.5.9 version onto my web space) that Joomla was incompatible with their "Free Hosting" plan.

Well; needless to say, I was persistent in finding out why, and was able to finally complete a successful, and stable install onto my web space by uploading the core Joomla 1.5.9 release files which contain some minor ".css" modifications wherewith said modifications do nothing more than act as a method of disabling the "" object that GoDaddy injects into all resulting client side code.

GoDaddy MySQL 5.0 Database Setup:

AN IMPORTANT NOTE HERE: DO NOT ASSUME THAT FOR EVERY MYSQL DATABASE YOU SETUP UNDER YOUR GODADDY ACCOUNT THAT THE IP ADDRESS AND HOST NAME WILL BE THE SAME. THAT IS WHY IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT IP AND HOST NAME YOUR DATABASE WILL BE ASSIGNED TO.

The (1st) first thing to do is setup your database at “GoDaddy” here: https://idp.godaddy.com/login.aspx?SPKey=GDMYAEB04&redirect=false&myaurl=%2fProducts%2fAccountList.aspx&ci=9008&product=hosting

Then (2) log in to your account using your GoDaddy account number or account name and password.

Then (3) Click upon the "Manage Account" link for the domain name you wish to set the database up on.

Then (4) click upon the dropdown for databases..

Then (5) click upon the “MySQL” icon.

Then (6) click upon the “Create Database” button near the
top – right of the page.

Then (7) click upon the radio button to select MySQL Version 5.0, then enter the description, database name and password. Write down this information (; you will need it for your Joomla! “configuration.php” file), then click upon the “OK” button.

Note: The “Database Name” and the “User Name” are the same when Joomla! logs on to the database.

Then (8) you will see a screen like this stating that your database is “Pending Setup”.

Then (9) (; after periodically refreshing [ F5 ] key) click upon the “Open Manager” link as shown. This will take you to the “phpMyAdmin” web interface in a new browser window.

Then (10) log in to the “phpMyAdmin” database manager using your
database [DatabaseName] and [password].

Then (11) focus your attention upon the following area of the resulting page –
(; after log in) and be sure the settings as indicated are the same.

Then (12) we must determine “GoDaddy’s” host name for the server that your new database resides – upon because we cannot use an IP address in the “configuration.php” file.

To determine the host name for your database, we must copy the IP address (; yours may be different than shown) and paste it into a “DOS” or “Command Prompt” window. (; If you’d like, you could just write the IP address down, and type it in by hand).

Then (13) open a “DOS prompt” window and type “ pathping [ space ] “, then [ right – click ] the “ DOS Window Title Bar ”, select “ Edit “, then “ Paste “ to insert the copied IP address from the previous step. Now press [ Enter ] on the keyboard.

Then (14) after having pressed [enter] in the previous step, “pathping“ will determine the number of hops it takes to get to the “GoDaddy” server your database resides upon and will resolve the IP address you entered into a host name.

Then (15) we need to copy the “Host Name“ and paste it into “Notepad“ for future reference when setting up our Joomla! “configuration.php“ file.

Then (16) with the left mouse button; click, hold, and drag to highlight the host name as shown above.

Now paste the host name into your favorite text editor and save this file. Now your Database is setup and you should have recorded the database information as shown. Ignore the "ftp" information for now but if you know it, put it in.

Tomorrow, we will unpack our Joomla! ver-1.5.9 files onto our P.C., do some modifications and upload everything to your GoDaddy web space.
Joomla! • View topic - GoDaddy "Free Hosting" Account and Joomla Install Now Works!: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Project AWARE Foundation: Grant Profiles

2010-06-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

Marina's and resorts across Fiji are taking the lead in shark conservation. The International Shark-Free Marina Initiative works with marinas, boaters and fishermen to develop policy designed to protect a vital component of the oceans health, our sharks. Thanks to funding from Project AWARE Foundation and under the leadership of Stuart Gow from Matava- Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, 13 marinas and fishing charters on Fiji's tropical islands have already signed their commitment.

The Shark Free Marinas program encourages shark conservation at sport fishing and resort marinas by prohibiting the landing of any shark at the participating facility. Fishermen are not allowed to bring caught sharks into the participating marina for any purpose.

Stuart Gow, Matava - Fiji said, "By asking vessels not to arrive at marinas with sharks we hope to encourage responsible sport fishing and ensure the future of healthy reefs and our islands. We look forward to signing up more marinas and charters in the coming months."

Joanne Marston, Asia Pacific Manager for Project AWARE added, "It's great to see so many marinas and fishing charters practice responsible fishing practices and pledge their commitment to shark conservation."

Project AWARE Foundation: Grant Profiles

Securing your Joomla! Website

2010-06-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

Although by default the Joomla! core development team take great measures to ensure that there are few or no vulnerabilities in the code, there are a number settings which if not given due attention may leave your website vulnerable to attacks.

This article will give a list of measures to take to ensure a more secure Joomla! installation.Awesome list and very easy to follow!

Securing your Joomla! Website

How To Install Joomla through GoDaddy Hosting Control Panel

2010-05-13T22:33:00.000-07:00

GoDaddy.com is #1 domain registrar and one of the most popular web hosting providers worldwide. Their prices are very competitive and you don't have to sign up long-term contracts. We experimented with this hosting provider for some time. Based on our experiences, we can say that GoDaddy Linux hosting packages are 100% compatible with Joomla. GoDaddy also have a way to install Joomla quickly for your hosting account. We will explain the procedure here in all possible details.

1. Login to GoDaddy.com GoDaddy.com and click Hosting from the left menu. Then click Manage next to your hosting account name. This will lead you to the hosting control panel.

2. In hosting control panel, under Content menu item, click GoDaddy Hosting Connection submenu link.

3. You are now on GoDaddy Hosting Connection page. Under Content Management menu item (left menu), click Joomla.

6. On the next screen you should configure several options needed for your Joomla installation.
a) Set up database: GoDaddy automatically created database for you and assigned an user with the same name to it. So, you should only enter database pasword twice under this tab. Keep in mind that your password must be 7-14 characters long and have at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one number.

7. You should get confirmation from GoDaddy that your Joomla installation has been requested successfully. Click My Applications link to check the status of your Joomla installation.

8. On the My Applications page, you should wait until status of your Joomla installation. Please wait until status is marked as Installed. This may take from several minutes to one hour, depending of GoDaddy's server. Once the status is marked as Installed, you can check your Joomla frontpage on www.yourdomain.com/joomla_directory and login to the Joomla backend panel on www.yourdomain.com/joomla_directory/administrator using superadministator's username and password that you set on Step 6c.

Conclusion:

GoDaddy is a hosting provider 100% compatible with Joomla (Linux packages)
It's possible to install Joomla easily through GoDaddy control panel

How To Install Joomla through GoDaddy Hosting Control Panel

How to make sure every browser loves your site | News | TechRadar UK

2010-04-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

Building a great website is tough, but finishing the code and layout is only half the story. Too many sites have problems after going live because they weren't tested properly first.

Lots of things can and do go wrong, from poorly formatted code that some browsers choke on, to pages that break when opened on other platforms. If you developed your site on a Mac, what guarantee do you have that it'll look the same on a PC, for example?

Even now, when HTML structures are likely to be served as part of a CMS template system, it's important that all the basics are in place. You need a soak test: a checklist of crucial areas that you can test are working before the site goes live.

That's exactly what we've put together here. Follow our tips and your site will be as problem-free as possible.

How to make sure every browser loves your site | News | TechRadar UK

Go Daddy Hosting Connection - Joomla 1.5.15

2010-01-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

Joomla 1.5.15

Technical Support

Rating:

Rate/review this application

Joomla! is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on the planet. It is used all over the world for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications. Joomla! is easy to install, simple to manage, and reliable.

Go Daddy Hosting Connection - Joomla 1.5.15

How to hide Facebook Profile from Indexing on Search Engines like Google

2009-12-14T17:18:00.000-08:00

Google, Yahoo and Bing integrated the real time search results on their pages. Before that as well they were showing the facebook profile page of facebook users on their search results for certain keywords. If you want to hide your facebook profile (for some personal reasons) from indexing on search engines like google, Yahoo, Bing etc then you can use the Privacy Settings properly to control that.

Privacy Settings to avoid showing your profile on Search Engines

1. Login to your facebook account and go to the Settings tab at top – right corner of profile page

2. Select “Privacy Settings” from the dropdown

3. Select “Search” from the list of security options

4. Click on “Change Settings”, a popup will prompt asking for your facebook password

5. Enter you password and then uncheck the box “Allow Indexing” under Public Search ResultsYou should complete this settings changes just after creating your account as it is difficult to avoid showing your profile after indexing is done. Your profile indexing may take at least 5 – 6 days for completion, so remove the check under this period only.

How to hide Facebook Profile from Indexing on Search Engines like Google

Hiding Joomla Subdirectory - GoDaddy

2009-12-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

How to move website from domain.com/joomla to http://www.domain.com/

"I installed Joomla on the Remote Host (Godaddy) only. I created website. Cannot figure out how to make it show up at main site http://www.domain.com instead of http://www.domain.com/joomla. Don't know how to move it to main directory..." (user: MattieSunshine)

.....................................................

Published by: Joomla Discussion Forum:

http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=429&t=382334&p=1651704#p1651704

......................................................

Resolutions

The following is a snipet from the above forum, where if you are using GoDaddy as your service provider, then you will find these two answers just what you may be looking for:

"...
If there is nothing else in the root of your site www.domain.com other than the default Go Daddy files and folders, then in the File Manager of the Hosting Control Center, select the joomla folder in the right pane and click the move button and choose the root of the site from the left pane as the destination. Once that is finished, edit the configuration.php tmp and log paths to reflect this new location (just remove the /joomla)..." (user: 2ninerniner2)"

Response directly from GoDaddy...

"These are all great solutions. If you only need to create a redirect you may also find the Sites Redirect Manager helpful. You can redirect your site from http://www.domain.com to http://www.domain.com/joomla. (user: GoDaddy)

Make sure to select the Content Redirect Option of "No Redirect" in order to avoid a circular redirect loop. Detailed instructions can be found in this help article: http://help.godaddy.com/article/5120" (GoDaddy Hosting
http://blog.godaddyhosting.com - Hosting Blog
http://help.godaddy.com- Help Center)"

.htaccess Option

Reference from: http://www.drichproductions.com/random-knowledge/rewrite-root-directory-subdirectory.php and http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=429&t=382334&p=1651704#p1651704

#1 -- create an .htaccess file inside the /webroot/ with the contents:

Code:

RewriteBase /

# Add trailing slash if path does not contain a period or end with a slash
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !(\.|/$)
RewriteRule (.*) http://yoursite.com/$1/ [R=301,L]

#Change http://yoursite.com to http://www.yoursite.com (Optional)
#RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^yoursite.com$
#RewriteRule ^/?(.*)$ http://www.yoursite.com/$1 [R=301,L]
#### Rewrites http://www.yoursite.com/subdir to http://www.yoursite.com/
## Added this to allow existing files and directories to work
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
## Now the rewrite of subdir to rootdir
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/joomla
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ joomla/$1 [L]

#2 -- rename the standard /webroot/joomla/htaccess.txt file to /webroot/joomla/.htaccess file (no .txt). Change "#RewriteBase /" to "RewriteBase /joomla"

#3 -- In joomla/configuration.php, set $live_site to var $live_site = 'http://yoursite.com';

Hiding Joomla Subdirectory - GoDaddy

How to install Joomla to GoDaddy

2009-12-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

Hosting Joomla on GoDaddy (www.godaddy.com) can be challenging, but many people choose the ISP because of the low price of their hosting, their size, and the nearly perfect up-time record on their servers. Here are a few tips that will help you get Joomla running on GoDaddy with minimum fuss.

When installing Joomla to GoDaddy:

Think twice before using the Value Added Application (VAA) installer -- If you use the Joomla version that installs under the VAA menu, it won't install at your root folder, but instead in the directory \joomla. That means when a visitor types in your direct URL, they won't be taken directly to the Joomla site. Also, by downloading (from www.joomla.org) and installing manually, you can choose the Joomla version # you want to use.

Edit the htaccess.txt file -- For Search Engine Friendly (SEF) URLs, you will need to edit the htaccess.txt file to turn on the RewriteBase option. In the file, you will find a line that reads #RewriteBase / that you need to change to RewriteBase / -- remove the pound (#) sign.

Rename htaccess.txt -- You need to rename the htaccess.txt to .htaccess which you can do from your FTP program.

To configure Joomla once installed:

Turn on Search Engine Friendly (SEF) in the Global Configuration (GC) -- To make sure you have the best search engine page ranking, turn on both the SEF and the mod_rewrite options on the GC screen.

Turn on caching in the GC -- The slowest aspect of GoDaddy Joomla hosting is the shared access to MySQL. By turning on caching, a page will be stored as a standard HTML when accessed (the home page, for example). If the next time the page is referenced the cached version hasn't expired, it will simply send the stored file instead of reconstructing the page from the MySQL database.

These tips should help you configure and run Joomla on GoDaddy for best performance and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

How to install Joomla to GoDaddy

Joomla Hosting With GoDaddy

2009-11-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

GoDaddy are one of the largest and least expensive web hosts around. We run a number of websites on GoDaddy with no issues and are quite satisfied with the performance.

Plans start from just $4.99 and features include unlimited domain names and an automated Joomla installer.

Support is not the fastest we have experienced but we think the combined package is excellent value for money.

Joomla Hosting With GoDaddy

Installing Joomla with GoDaddy

2009-11-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

While we're big dreamhost fans here at Simple Subjects, a lot of our customers use GoDaddy for hosting. So we thought it'd make sense to provide a few pointers on GoDaddy installation:

After downloading the Joomla files, unzipping them, and uploading them to your server via FTP, you'll need to take the following steps:

In the GoDaddy Hosting Manager click the MySQL icon to setup an SQL database. Go ahead and choose a name for your database. (It doesn't matter what the name is, but it'll have to be something that nobody else has used before, so it might take a try or two.)
Choose a password. Click Continue, then click Create Database.
Write down the database name and the host name that it gives you. These will be used on the "Database Configuration" step of your Joomla installation.

Other than that, you should be good-to-go by following the normal Joomla installation instructions.

Installing Joomla with GoDaddy

7 Steps For Building Successful Joomla Web Site

2009-10-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

Step One: Defining your business goals.

The first step in this process is to clearly understand what the goals are for investing your time and money into this project. What quantifiable results do you want to achieve with this initiative and who else will be involved in the process of achieving these goals. Very much like starting any new business you want a clear understanding of your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).

Step Two: Defining your Project Plan.

Once you have a clear idea where you are going you need to develop a strategic plan for getting there. Project plans need to consider where you want to go both short term and long term with this project. It needs to have a focused and phased approach that takes into consideration your available time and resources over time to sustain this project. It needs a timeline and content acquisition checklists that will help you stay on target and on focus with your priorities.

Step Three: Defining the Look and Feel.

The first actual development tasks with your Joomla Project are to define your Joomla Website design and choose your template or process of implementing one. There are three key parts of a template you need to consider:

1. Graphical design elements: Colors and style
2. Layout options: Wireframes or in Joomla terms Module Positions
3. Features and Functionality: Standards compliance, special modules and capabilities.
It is important to realize that the Joomla template is a foundation for which you will build your site and you need to consider this decision carefully. However, you can easily change templates in the future with often little effort.

Full article here: 7 Steps For Building Successful Joomla Web Site

Install Joomla on Godaddy Server | Joomla Xtreme - Joomla Templates - Joomla Forum

2009-10-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

Joomla! Installation instructions on GoDaddy Servers

Installing Joomla! on a GoDaddy server is not only simple, it also works perfectly without any problems.

This installation instruction is based on a GoDaddy hosting plan and not applicable for any of the (Virtual) Dedicated servers.

Select GoDaddy Hosting Plan

You can select any of the hosting plans offered by GoDaddy. The hosting plan used for this installation is the cheapest available: Economy Plan for just $3.95 per month.

When you choose the hosting plan make sure you select Linux hosting with php .

If you want you can also purchase or transfer a domain name with your hosting plan if you don’t have one already. At the time of writing this document it is only $1.99 when purchased with a hosting plan.

Note:

If you already have a Windows Hosting account with GoDaddy, or if you accidentally selected Windows hosting when you purchased a hosting plan, remember that you can always change it to a Linux hosting account: in My Hosting Account click on the domain name, in the right menu Hosting Account Details you can select the option Switch Operating System.

Setup the GoDaddy Hosting Account

When you setup the hosting account do not install Front Page Extensions (FPE) if you don’t need them. If you do need FPE you can install them, they don’t seem to cause any problems with a Joomla! installation on GoDaddy.

FTP Joomla! files to your Hosting Account

Unzip or unrar the Joomla! package to a directory on your local computer and subsequently FTP the unpacked files to any directory or to the root of your hosting account. The advantage of installing Joomla! in the root is that you run Joomla! directly from your domain so you don’t have to redirect visitors of your site to a sub directory.

Setup a GoDaddy SQL Database

Go to the GoDaddy Hosting Manager of your domain and in the control panel select the MySQL icon to setup a SQL database:

On the next page select Create New Database to start the setup of a new SQL database.

In the field Enter User Name choose a user name for your database. The table name of the database is equal to your user name. Since it a shared database you might experience difficulty in finding a unique table (or user name) containing the word Joomla. A good convention is JDB_DomainName. Just remember the User Name cannot exceed 16 characters and to choose a strong password and to remember it!

Click [Continue] and verify your User Name on the next page and click [Create Database] to continue.

If the username is unique and there are no other issues, your database is created and the following page will be displayed:

{mosgoogle left}

During the Joomla! Installation you need some information regarding your database. Click on the User Name and the following page will be displayed:

Write down the Host Name because you need it later. Your host name might be different

Installation Joomla! Pre-installation Check

Now it’s time to start the actual installation. Browse to your domain and if you FTP-ed the Joomla! files to a subdirectory make sure to append it to the URL.

The pre-installation check should start automatically and return the following results

The only setting not having the recommended value is Register Globals.

Click [Next >] and read the license. Click [Next >] again to start step 1 of the installation.

Installation Joomla! Step 1

On the configuration page of the MySQL database fill in the form using the information collected in the previous steps. You can leave the MySQL Table Prefix as is. Use the password created during the GoDaddy database.

Joomla! installation will populate the database tables. If this step is successful your will be redirected to the second installation step.

Installation Joomla! Step 2

Note the word “SUCCESS!”, indicating a successful connection and population of your database.

Now just enter the name you wish to use for your site and click [Next >] to continue.

Installation Joomla! Step 3

In step 3 just verify the information presented and fill in the Joomla! administrator e-mail address and admin password for the Joomla! administration pages.

Installation Joomla! Step 4

With step 4 you successfully installed Joomla! on a GoDaddy server! Just do not forget to delete the installation directory for security reasons and to start using Joomla!

Install Joomla on Godaddy Server | Joomla Xtreme - Joomla Templates - Joomla Forum

Joomla! Installation instructions on GoDaddy Servers

2009-10-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

Installing Joomla! on a GoDaddy server is not only simple, it also works perfectly without any problems.This installation instruction is based on a GoDaddy hosting plan and not applicable for any of the (Virtual) Dedicated servers.

Select GoDaddy Hosting Plan

You can select any of the hosting plans offered by GoDaddy. The hosting plan used for this installation is the cheapest available: Economy Plan for just $3.95 per month.

When you choose the hosting plan make sure you select Linux hosting with php.

If you want you can also purchase or transfer a domain name with your hosting plan if you don’t have one already. At the time of writing this document it is only $1.99 when purchased with a hosting plan.

Note:

If you already have a Windows Hosting account with GoDaddy, or if you accidentally selected Windows hosting when you purchased a hosting plan, remember that you can always change it to a Linux hosting account: in My Hosting Account click on the domain name, in the right menu Hosting Account Details you can select the option Switch Operating System.

Setup the GoDaddy Hosting Account

When you setup the hosting account do not install Front Page Extensions (FPE) if you don’t need them. If you do need FPE you can install them, they don’t seem to cause any problems with a Joomla! installation on GoDaddy.

FTP Joomla! files to your Hosting Account

Unzip or unrar the Joomla! package to a directory on your local computer and subsequently FTP the unpacked files to any directory or to the root of your hosting account. The advantage of installing Joomla! in the root is that you run Joomla! directly from your domain so you don’t have to redirect visitors of your site to a sub directory.

Setup a GoDaddy SQL Database

Go to the GoDaddy Hosting Manager of your domain and in the control panel select the MySQL icon to setup a SQL database:

On the next page select Create New Database to start the setup of a new SQL database.

In the field Enter User Name choose a user name for your database. The table name of the database is equal to your user name. Since it a shared database you might experience difficulty in finding a unique table (or user name) containing the word Joomla. A good convention is JDB_DomainName. Just remember the User Name cannot exceed 16 characters and to choose a strong password and to remember it!

Click [Continue] and verify your User Name on the next page and click [Create Database] to continue.

If the username is unique and there are no other issues, your database is created and the following page will be displayed:

During the Joomla! Installation you need some information regarding your database. Click on the User Name and the following page will be displayed:

Write down the Host Name because you need it later. Your host name might be different.

Full outline here : Joomla! Installation instructions on GoDaddy Servers

How to move website from domain.com/joomla to http://www.domain.com/

2009-10-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

How to move website from domain.com/joomla to http://www.domain.com/

After searching numerous blogs and not finding the exact resolution that I was looking for; I finally found some information that was specific for me and am hoping that this will help others in not having to spend hours of searching for an answer.
"I installed Joomla on the Remote Host (Godaddy) only. I created website. Cannot figure out how to make it show up at main site http://www.domain.com instead of http://www.domain.com/joomla. Don't know how to move it to main directory..." (user: MattieSunshine)
.....................................................

Published by: Joomla Discussion Forum:

http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=429&t=382334&p=1651704#p1651704

Hiding Joomla Subdirectory - GoDaddy

Go Daddy Hosting Connection - Joomla 1.5.14

2009-10-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Joomla! is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on the planet. It is used all over the world for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications.

Joomla! is easy to install, simple to manage, and reliable.

Learn More About Joomla

How to Install Joomla! with GoDaddy.com

2009-10-06T20:56:00.001-07:00

Very cool vid stepping thru!

Godaddy and Joomla 1.5.14 and IE.

2009-09-28T02:05:00.000-07:00

Ran across something odd and thought I would post it for any insights or to help someone else.

First, I'm a long time Godaddy customer and I find most associated problems go away if you upgrade to something other than the economy cheapest hosting.

So -- I did a fresh install of 1.5.14 via the godaddy hosting connection, letting it auto install. I've done this lots and lots of times.

Weird thing -- most of it works EXCEPT the NEW buttons in Users, Module management, pretty much all NEW buttons. And while I could CLICK the upload and install button to upload and install templates, it didn't actually do anything. No error, upload browse area went blank, no template. It ignored me. Can't upload components or modules or generate new articles. I CAN click to publish/unpublish mods and components and sample content.

Weird, huh? I thought it might be an install problem initially.

I was using Firefox 3.5.2.

BUT !! Oddly enough, it all works fine with IE8.

So I guess I'm going to have to use IE8 on this site until whatever it is clears up.

I'm going to check my other sites -- I don't think I have .14 on them, .13 I think -- and make sure there's not a similar problem.
Godaddy and Joomla 1.5.14 and IE.

Joomla 1.5.14 Released

2009-09-24T02:06:00.000-07:00

The Joomla Project announces the immediate availability of Joomla 1.5.14 [Wojmamni ama naiki]. This release contains fixes for two material bugs that were introduced in version 1.5.13 and one low level security issue. Instead of waiting for a normal 6 to 8-week release cycle, this release is being made available to users now. It has been eight days since Joomla 1.5.13 was released on July 22, 2009.

The Development Working Group's goal is to continue to provide regular, frequent updates to the Joomla community.

Joomla 1.5.14 Released

Go Daddy Hosting Connection - Joomla 1.5.14

2009-09-24T02:04:00.000-07:00

Learn More About Joomla

Discuss Joomla

Go Daddy Hosting Connection - Joomla 1.5.14

Nominate Joomla!

2009-09-11T02:07:00.000-07:00

The 4th Annual Open Source CMS Awards sponsored by Packt Publishing is open for nominations Joomla is eligible for Best PHP Open Source CMS and you can also nominate project contributors such as Open Source MVPs. The nominations are open until September 11. Voting among the top five nominees will begin on September 18.

Joomla, along with Drupal, is already a nominee in the new Hall of Fame category. This category will have sub-category awards for Best Extensions and Themes. These will be nominated by the CMS's representatives. Watch the community blogs for more information.

This has been a great year for Joomla. The Production Working Group released the alpha of Joomla 1.6 and the beta is coming soon. Joomla passed 11 million downloads. The Site Showcase and Joomla Resource Directory sites were launched. There are over 3000 extensions for Joomla 1.5 in the Joomla Extensions Directory. Over 20 Joomla Days took place and more than 80 Joomla User Groups met around the world. Let's celebrate by nominating Joomla for Best PHP Open Source CMS!

Nominate Joomla!

Install Joomla on Godaddy Server - Joomla Xtreme - Joomla Templates - Joomla Forum

2009-07-28T03:17:00.000-07:00

Installing Joomla! on a GoDaddy server is not only simple, it also works perfectly without any problems.

This installation instruction is based on a GoDaddy hosting plan and not applicable for any of the (Virtual) Dedicated servers.

Select GoDaddy Hosting Plan

You can select any of the hosting plans offered by GoDaddy. The hosting plan used for this installation is the cheapest available: Economy Plan for just $3.95 per month.

When you choose the hosting plan make sure you select Linux hosting with php .

Note:

Install Joomla on Godaddy Server - Joomla Xtreme - Joomla Templates - Joomla Forum

Joomla expert - Joomla! Installation instructions on GoDaddy Servers

2009-07-22T03:17:00.000-07:00

Joomla! Installation instructions on GoDaddy Servers
Installing Joomla! on a GoDaddy server is not only simple, it also works perfectly without any problems. This installation instruction is based on a GoDaddy hosting plan and not applicable for any of the (Virtual) Dedicated servers.

Select GoDaddy Hosting Plan
You can select any of the hosting plans offered by GoDaddy. The hosting plan used for this installation is the cheapest available: Economy Plan for just $3.95 per month.
When you choose the hosting plan make sure you select Linux hosting with php.
If you want you can also purchase or transfer a domain name with your hosting plan if you don’t have one already. At the time of writing this document it is only $1.99 when purchased with a hosting plan.

Note:
If you already have a Windows Hosting account with GoDaddy, or if you accidentally selected Windows hosting when you purchased a hosting plan, remember that you can always change it to a Linux hosting account: in My Hosting Account click on the domain name, in the right menu Hosting Account Details you can select the option Switch Operating System.

Setup the GoDaddy Hosting Account
When you setup the hosting account do not install Front Page Extensions (FPE) if you don’t need them. If you do need FPE you can install them, they don’t seem to cause any problems with a Joomla! installation on GoDaddy.
FTP Joomla! files to your Hosting Account Unzip or unrar the Joomla! package to a directory on your local computer and subsequently FTP the unpacked files to any directory or to the root of your hosting account. The advantage of installing Joomla! in the root is that you run Joomla! directly from your domain so you don’t have to redirect visitors of your site
to a sub directory.

Setup a GoDaddy SQL Database
Go to the GoDaddy Hosting Manager of your domain and in the control panel select the MySQL icon to setup a SQL database:
On the next page select Create New Database to start the setup of a new SQL database.

In the field Enter User Name choose a user name for your database. The table name of the database is equal to your user name. Since it a shared database you might experience difficulty in finding a unique table (or user name) containing the word Joomla. A good convention is JDB_DomainName. Just remember the User Name cannot exceed 16 characters and to choose a strong password and to remember it!
Click [Continue] and verify your User Name on the next page and click [Create Database] to continue.
If the username is unique and there are no other issues, your database is created and the following page will be displayed:
During the Joomla! Installation you need some information regarding your database. Click on the User
Name and the following page will be displayed:
Write down the Host Name because you need it later. Your host name might be different.
Installation manual for Joomla! on GoDaddy

3
Installation Joomla! Pre-installation Check
Now it’s time to start the actual installation. Browse to your domain and if you FTP-ed the Joomla! files to a subdirectory make sure to append it to the URL.
The pre-installation check should start automatically and return the following results:
The only setting not having the recommended value is Register Globals.
Click [Next >] and read the license. Click [Next >] again to start step 1 of the installation.
Installation manual for Joomla! on GoDaddy

4
Installation Joomla! Step 1
On the configuration page of the MySQL database fill in the form using the information collected in the previous steps. You can leave the MySQL Table Prefix as is. Use the password created during the GoDaddy database.
Joomla! installation will populate the database tables. If this step is successful your will be redirected to the second installation step.
Installation Joomla! Step 2
Note the word “SUCCESS!”, indicating a successful connection and population of your database.
Now just enter the name you wish to use for your site and click [Next >] to continue.
Installation manual for Joomla! on GoDaddy

5
Installation Joomla! Step 3
In step 3 just verify the information presented and fill in the Joomla! administrator e-mail address and admin password for the Joomla! administration pages.
Installation Joomla! Step 4
With step 4 you successfully installed Joomla! on a GoDaddy server! Just do not forget to delete the installation directory for security reasons and to start using Joomla!

Joomla expert - Joomla! Installation instructions on GoDaddy Servers

GoDaddy - Joomla Install | Geeks & God

2009-07-17T03:19:00.000-07:00

Godaddy.com as well as other vendors will install Joomla 1.5 for you and set up your database. The install process is pretty easy. Just make sure you keep your pen ready for some user ids and passwords. Here are the steps.

1. Create an account at Godaddy. Buy a domain name. Purchase a server(I recommend a delux hosting for about $7.00/mo unless you are running a mega church or just want a dedicated server at $45/mo). Make sure your server is running Linux and not Microsoft(Joomla is compatible with MS but Linux runs better) and has the latest versions of PHP and MySQL (it'll ask you during set up which versions you want just pick the most recent).

2. Once your domain name is acitivated and your sever is set up (they'll send you e-mails letting you know) you'll need to have GoDaddy install Joomla.

3. To have GoDaddy install Joomla -

a. log into your account.
b. hover over the menu bar on "hosting" and then click on "My Hosting Account"
c. click on "manage account" next to the web site that has hosting in blue to the left.
d. You should see a "control" panel where you can access the files stored on your server as well as install apps (like Joomla :) ).
e. Click on "Your apps" and you'll see the apps you can download and install in the left menu. Joomla is located under "Content Management".
f. click on "Joomla" and follow the set up procedure.

****Note**** make sure you delete the word "joomla" from your root directory or you'll have to type in www.mysite.com/joomla to access your site vs. having to type in just www.mysite.com

****Note**** this is just one way of installing joomla on one server type. if you are just playing around with joomla to experiment or just looking to build a joomla web site for personal/small business use this will work. if you need to do anything more with your site like large mulitmedia, have a large user base, worry about site security, ect. you will need to find an alternative to this setup that is customized to your needs specifically.****Note****

Hope this helps.

Chris

GoDaddy - Joomla Install | Geeks & God

YouTube - How to Install Joomla! with GoDaddy.com

2009-07-12T03:12:00.000-07:00

YouTube - How to Install Joomla! with GoDaddy.com

Go Daddy Hosting Connection - Joomla 1.5.12

2009-07-12T03:10:00.000-07:00

Joomla Starter's Guide

2009-06-15T01:52:00.000-07:00

Joomla Starter Guide

Getting Started with Joomla 1.5

Joomla 1.5 is a great web publishing CMS, but it is only as good as it is managed. If you are new to Joomla or new to website development altogether, this article is for you.

Go Daddy Joomla website hosting

Website hosting on Joomla can be tricky. If you are experienced in upgrading and maintaining Joomla, then you are able to do security heheupgrades without automated backups, and patching. If you are new, that can be a daunting task. GoDaddy is the best provider I have found for Joomla installations for this very reason.

GoDaddy keeps its application environment very up to date and makes upgrading as easy as pressing a button. You can also roll back an installation if there are any issues. Godaddy is also very affordable with packages under $10.00/month. There support is also Excellent (Call, don't use the chat). Learn more about GoDaddy Joomla Hosting.

Full article here: Joomla Starter's Guide

50 Tips To A User Friendly Website – Designing Interactive

2009-06-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of 50 things that I keep in mind on every website that I build. Some of these are secrets I have acquired from the best designers in the world, and some of them are standard every day practices. Either way, these tips will improve your visitors experience on your website.

Clicking on the logo should take you to the home page;
Your logo/site title should be positioned in the top left of the page;
Duplicate your main navigational links in the page footer with links to additional, but less prominent pages;
Keep your navigation positioning consistent from page to page;
Don’t open links in a new tab/window, except PDF’s and embedded documents;
Highlight your current location in your navigation bar;
Use reasonable sized fonts (12px or larger);
Make sure font sizes are flexible (Use em’s or %, not px);
Sans-serif fonts are easier to read at small sizes;
Serif fonts are easier to read at large sizes;

Full list here: 50 Tips To A User Friendly Website – Designing Interactive

Facebook | Username

2009-06-13T01:27:00.000-07:00

Starting NOW, you can choose a username for your Facebook account to easily direct friends, family, and coworkers to your profile.

To select your username, visit the link NOW:
http://www.facebook.com/username/

To learn more about usernames, visit the Help Center:
http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=89

RSGallery2

2009-05-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

RSGallery2 2.0.0 beta 1 is out! This contains all the RSG2 goodness in a native Joomla! 1.5 extension. Extensive gallery and image features. Alternative templates. Multiple languages. Etc! The J1.0 version continues to be available.

I have tried and tried and tried many Photo Galleries and I have finally found one I can use! It lets me have categories, it lets me have a slideshow, it let's me have descriptions, it has lightbox effect, it has batch uploading, it has many features I haven't even used yet. The only thing it lacks is variations on the front end layout. There are three layout templates you can download but I would love to see more options!

Developer:RSGallery2.net Team

Website

Joomla! Extensions Directory - Joomla! Extensions Directory

Plugin Googlemaps

2009-05-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

Plugin (Mambot) for displaying one or more Google Maps within content-items, modules or components of Joomla 1.0.x or 1.5.x.

Version 2.11 is available and added Googlebar, Local Search, Panoramio, Adsmanager, Traffic Layer, Google Earth maptype, new parameters for lightbox, center lat/lon, scale, better support maps.google.com and specially a new render option for KML with Sidebar!

Look at the demo site first for documentation. If you've problems please do the checklist on the demosite. If this doesn't help or you have questions or new wishes please send me an email.

DeveloperMike Reumer

Website

Joomla! Extensions Directory - Joomla! Extensions Directory

eXtplorer - Joomla! Extensions Directory

2009-05-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

eXtplorer is a web-based File Management Component for all your needs. It has a desktop-application-like interface with drag&drop, grid and a directory tree and makes heavy use of the ExtJS Javascript Library.
You can use it to access and modify the files and directories on your server via FTP or direct file access.

eXtplorer runs natively under Joomla! 1.5.x, 1.0.x and can also be used as a standalone app.

Developer Soeren Eberhardt-Biermann

Website

eXtplorer - Joomla! Extensions Directory

JoomlaPack

2009-05-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

JoomlaPack is an open-source backup component for the Joomla! CMS, quite a bit different than its competition. Its mission is simple: create a site backup that can be restored on any Joomla!-capable server. It creates a full backup of your site in a single ZIP archive. The archive contains all the files, a database snapshot and an installer derived from the standard Joomla! installer. The backup and restore process is AJAX powered to avoid server timeouts, even with huge sites. Alternatively, you can make a backup of only your database. If you want a reliable, easy to use, open source backup solution for your Joomla! site, try it out.

JoomlaPack 1.2.X is compatible with Joomla! 1.0.X.
JoomlaPack 2.0.X is compatible with Joomla! 1.5.X

Features:
-AJAX powered backup (site and database or database only)
--able to exclude specific folders
--able to exclude specific database tables
-AJAX powered restore
-"KickStart" restore: restore without unpacking backup and more!

---###---
2.0.0 IMPORTANT NOTE: JoomlaPack 2 no longer supports Joomla! 1.0.X. Do not try to use JoomlaPack 2 on your J! 1.0.X site. It will not work. If you are still using Joomla! 1.0.X, you will need to use JoomlaPack 1.2.2.
---###---

Developer:JoomlaPack Team

Website

Joomla! Extensions Directory - Joomla! Extensions Directory

Community Builder

2009-05-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

Version 1.1 / 1.2 RC 4 (last update on Dec 8, 2008)

Community Builder suite (CB) extends the Joomla! user management system. Key features: extra fields in profile, enhanced registration workflows, user lists, connection paths between users, admin defined tabs and user profiles, image upload, front-end workflow management, integration with other components, like PMS, Newsletter, Forum, Galleries. Release 1.1 is compatible with all Joomla! 1.0.x (including 1.0.15) and Mambo 4.5.2-4.6.4. New CB version 1.2 RC 4 brings Joomla 1.5 native compatibility (and keeping Joomla 1.0.x and Mambo 4.5.2-4.6.4 native compatibility), multi-criteria user searches, full field controls of core fields, ajax email and username checkers, new lost username/password form and many more features and fixes. 1.2 RC 4 brings image and integer fields, custom validations, and more. Please see announcement on our homepage.

Developer:JoomlaJoe and Beat

Website

Joomla! Extensions Directory - Joomla! Extensions Directory

GoDaddy SmartSpace and SocialSpace | Widgets Lab

2009-05-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

This is not the first time that GoDaddy. The Big Domain Vendor known for their Danica Patrick commercials wanders in Widgets Territory. but it is a first for how they are doing it now and a first for Social Networking and Online Startpages.

That is what they have done with a 2 in 1 new product called SmartSpace and SocialSpace

SmartSpace

I would like to avoid being sarcastic but i can`t. GoDaddy SmartSpace is like a Web 2.0 Geocites. it does aims directly to that. GeoCites still exist by the way and it something offers “similar” to SmartSpace. so that is why i dare to make the association. but SmartSpace feels way more modern and simplified that GeoCites. so they got that going on.

It is very simple. you pay for the SmartSpace service 5 bucks a month and you get a domain for 1 year and you get services for that domain. web services in the form of modular widgets. services like Chat, E-mail and a Blog in a site you can set up for your domain.

I remember that when i reviewed their Domain Search Widget. i talked about how now you only needed a Domain and you ddin`t had to bother about hosting or paying for services because you could pretty much connect them to your domain as you saw fit thanks to many free services that allow you to get from a blog to an e-mail, etc.

That is why GoDaddy is offering this. they know that and they want a piece of that cake too since Domain Buyers are now more open to take that route. they offering you the commodity of not having to setup anything yourself elsewhere if you are willing to pay 5 bucks a month. brilliant if you ask me.

Also because there are now a lot of Quick Website Publishing services that only ask you for your domain to get your site going on. most got a free option and you can still add services to your domain using other services to it.

So this needs a really good Quick Website Generator. they should buy one for this.as i said. there many around

SocialSpace

But the commodity of a Domain + Web Services + Website space could not be enough to set you for such a deal. so they got a extra thing to convince you: Your own Startpage.

Yes. they are going for the head pageflakes, netvibes and all the independent Startpages with this. since saying they aim for the Big 3 (M, G and Y!) would extremely over optimistic. but this offer can do hurt small startpages and give pageflakes and netvibes a headache or two.

Just like in the other Social Startpages. you can load Widget containers from feeds, load some dedicated ones (youtube, flickr, news sources, etc) and from your SmartSpace web services and aggregate content in your personal SocialSpace Startpage.

Is This Good Enough?

Sorry, but no. it is very interesting and cool even. but for a PAID offering is just too generic to make a serious dent or give to lure you and while the GoDaddy brand instantly exudes “Domain Buying”. it has nothing to do with Social Media or Web Services for anyone to think on it unless they happen to stumble on it or GoDaddy Spams informs their domain buyers heavily

However. if GoDaddy wants this space and is serious about it. they could simply leverage from the big Social Graphs (Facebook Connect, MySpace Data Availability API, etc) and could leverage a Platform like OpenSocial and offer Instant Social Networks while they are it. that would also let them aim for Ning and have a truly compelling bundle of offerings that would be well worth the 5 bucks a month without having to invest much. right now i would say it is actually expensive and it should not cost more than 30 dlls a year for it. but if commodity is such a big factor. then it may be indeed worth the 55+ dlls year for you.

GoDaddy SmartSpace and SocialSpace | Widgets Lab

How to install Joomla to GoDaddy

2009-02-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

Hosting Joomla on GoDaddy (www.godaddy.com ) can be challenging, but many people choose the ISP because of the low price of their hosting, their size, and the nearly perfect up-time record on their servers. Here are a few tips that will help you get Joomla running on GoDaddy with minimum fuss.

To configure Joomla once installed:

Turn on Search Engine Friendly (SEF) in the Global Configuration (GC) -- To make sure you have the best search engine page ranking, turn on both the SEF and the mod_rewrite options on the GC screen.
Turn on caching in the GC -- The slowest aspect of GoDaddy Joomla hosting is the shared access to MySQL. By turning on caching, a page will be stored as a standard HTML when accessed (the home page, for example). If the next time the page is referenced the cached version hasn't expired, it will simply send the stored file instead of reconstructing the page from the MySQL database.

These tips should help you configure and run Joomla on GoDaddy for best performance and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

See more tips here: How to install Joomla to GoDaddy

Joy of Social Network

2009-01-21T22:23:00.000-08:00

1041.gif (GIF Image, 526x395 pixels)

JCE

2009-01-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

An advanced, configurable WYSIWYG editor for Joomla! based on Moxiecode's TinyMCE.

Includes advanced Image/Media, File and Link handling, plugin support, and an Administration interface for editor configuration.

Joomla! Extensions Directory - Joomla! Extensions Directory

Joomla! • View topic - Cannot create menu items

2009-01-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

In main menu when you create a new item we get the normal menu screen where we select articles > article layout and this loads the usual screen with the option to select article. This is where it goes wrong.

When we click on the 'select' button to select an article instead of opening in the popup/litebox style it opens in the parent window. Clicking on an article has no affect at all. We are now in the position that we cannot add any articles to any of the menus. The other thing I noticed is that all of the side bars - parameters, Basic,Component and System are all expanded and will not collapse when the arrow is clicked.

We have tried main menu, user menu, etc. and all are the same. The problem exists in Firefox and IE7 but we haven't tried anything else.

I was wondering if there was a setting we may have messed up or if anybody has any ideas as to what would cause this to occur?

Hoping somebody can help.

THE SOLUTION:

If you get joomla going on GoDaddy (which I uploaded my own and created my own db instead of going with the one they already have packaged for you) you will have problems with the issue mentioned above if you use your www.domainname.com.previewdns.com . Once you get the domain going without the .previewdns.com feature, you will have NO problems to open the pop-up windows and add articles to menus.

This should be posted somewhere for the people who uses this feature with GoDaddy.com

Good Team Work Imediapub!

See full post here: Joomla! • View topic - Cannot create menu items

Why Joomla Web Designing is a Better Option?

2008-12-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

Joomla CMS is the latest rage in website designing. It is getting popularity due to its easy accessibility and dynamic features.

Hurray! I just completed creating a new website and that too ALL By my Own. Well thats the kind of freedom Joomla web designing has provided you. Your website will look and feel exactly the way you like it. You need not worry about designers fussing over your ideas, or the exuberant cost that you have to pay for good website designing.

Joomla Web Designing is a the easiest way so for being introduced for CMS (Content Mangement system of a website). For those who are still unaware of what Joomla exactly is, let me tell you, that Joomla is an open source content management system, that is used to build a website and used henceforth, for any editing that the website might require.

Small and Medium sized businesses that develop a medium sized website, are really really fond of this easy to use web designing technique. It is most suitable for those websites, that have a lot of content in their site, which needs regular changing and editing. Corporate websites, institutions, portals, and several others have used Joomla we designing successfully and have also declared it as the best web designing tool so far.

The reason why Joomla has been recognized with the best tool award is that it has an active community working for it and supporting it continuously. There are many plug-ins and extensions that come along with the Joomla package, to expand the functionalities of this CMS system. With Joomla you can make a simple 3-4 page website (the way I did for an experiment) or you can also create a forum or a blog from it. Manage client contacts, online library of documents, podcasts, calendars, gallery, booking system or videos.

The best part of Joomla web designing is that it also provides different levels of user access. This will help you keep track of your website management. Different rights can be given to different users to edit or change certain sections. All of this combined together make Joomla one of the best CMS tool introduced so far.

I must thank the brilliant minds behind it.

Thank You Guys!

Go Daddy Hosting Review

2008-11-19T14:21:00.000-08:00

You may remember GoDaddy from their controversially scintillating Super Bowl advertising of the past 3 years. We remember them for their long-standing tradition of providing an affordable blizzard of shared hosting plans, domain services, email services, virtual and dedicated servers, and business solutions (though the focus of this review will be their shared hosting plans principally).

And when we say "affordable" what we really mean is "downright cheap". GoDaddy is the all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of shared hosting providers. You might find more and fancier dishes (read: frills) elsewhere, but it's doubtful you'll find a better price for the features you will get. To make it easy for you, the absolute best value here is the deluxe plan offering 150 GB disk space and 1500 GB bandwidth, available for $5.94/month. This hosting package can handle a growing business or a personal website for sharing lots of pictures and information.

Price Value
Every GoDaddy shared hosting plan includes free email accounts (at least 500 of them), MySQL Databases (at least 10), email forwards (a minimum of 50 and an unlimited max), plus forums, photo galleries, blogging, and a variety of free pre-installed and add-on software applications.

All GoDaddy customers can count on 24/7 FTP access, free website stats, ASP, ASP.NET, and Microsoft FrontPage extensions, and daily backups. There are no setup fees and no annual commitment required (though of course the bargains increase with your level of commitment). And even the least expensive GoDaddy plan promises no advertising will appear on your site. Also, though domains are not free upon signup, as they are with so many competing hosts, they only cost $1.99 a piece with your purchase, which is really a pittance.

Reliability
Even though GoDaddy is an eclectic company with many irons in the fire beyond hosting-only, they nonetheless own, operate, and support their own world-class data centers outright (as opposed to renting them like so many hosting-only companies do). The routers, firewalls, and servers running your site are all best-of-breed, and monitored round the clock. That means all your data is secured as well as the physical systems and structures supporting it.
And, never to be outdone, GoDaddy offers the industry-standard 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Control Panel
GoDaddy touts its own proprietary control panel, though you'd be hard pressed to find a sample or demo of it anywhere on their site (or anywhere else on the net for that matter). As with most control panels, there are a careful selection of task-centered menus (Domain Names, Email, Websites, Secure Certs, Customer Info, etc.) all selectable by clicking on large, obvious buttons. Pretty basic and standard fare, yes. Some of the menus however, like the Domain Control Panel, are a bit crowded and could use some spring cleaning in the layout department.

But if there's one extreme drawback to the GoDaddy control panel is the number of screens you have to rifle through advertising other GoDaddy products and services that you can buy. That said, virtual and dedicated server customers get to enjoy the more reputable and tried-and-true Plesk and/or cPanel control panels.

Customer Support
GoDaddy offers 24/7 telephone support (though not toll free), plus an elaborate and searchable Help Center, no less than 30 topic-specific .PDF User Guides, category-specific email support with a 7 hour response time.

Unix/Linux Hosting Plans
Economy Plan: 10 GB disk space, 300 GB bandwidth @ $3.65/month
Deluxe Plan: 150 GB disk space, 1500 GB bandwidth @ $5.94/month
Premium Plan: 300 GB disk space, 3000 GB bandwidth @ $12.74/month

GoDaddy Hosting Review

The Web is Your Domain!

2008-11-17T23:10:00.000-08:00

GoDaddy.com provides a one-stop shop for individuals and businesses to establish, maintain and evolve an online presence. With more than 30 million domain names under management, GoDaddy.com is the world's leading domain name registrar and largest web host. The company offers a variety of domain name registration and Web site hosting services, as well as Web site creation tools, e-commerce and security solutions, and productivity and marketing tools.

GoDaddy.com offers much more than just domain names and simple website hosting, and is our “TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award” winning web hosting service. GoDaddy.com has a variety of web hosting options, different packages and a host of additional features that make it a great option for hosting a personal webpage or small business site. With competitive rates and additional valuable add-ons, GoDaddy.com is a great web-hosting solution that is easy to setup and simple to use.

GoDaddy.com’s web hosting packages come loaded with features. GoDaddy.com is proud of their world class data center and physical services, and reasonably so. GoDaddy actually owns their hosting facilities, which feature state of the art security and advanced backup technology for complete and competent network servers.

Each GoDaddy.com hosting plan comes with web site statistic tools to help you keep an eye on how your hosted page is performing. Setup is absolutely free, and includes access to the GoDaddy.com Hosting Connection, where you can interact with other GoDaddy.com users and find free applications to use on your web site.

Each GoDaddy.com hosting plan also comes with a variety of free software and credits to help you get the word out on your site. The Deluxe plan that we reviewed includes a $25 Google AdWord credit, a $50 Microsoft adCenter credit, and a $50 Facebook credit.

Links for more info:

http://www.godaddy.com/d…

Go Daddy Web Hosting Review by Joomla Hosting Reviews - Joomla Hosting Reviews

2008-11-11T16:34:00.000-08:00

About Go Daddy

GoDaddy Inc. was established in 1997 by Bob Parsons in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. What started as a modest domain name provider has now risen to the position of world’s biggest ICANN-accredited registrar. According to their website, GoDaddy manages a whopping 26 million domain names today. Aside from being a registrar, they also provide good, cost-effective hosting solutions to webmasters. In regards to their tremendous success, they’ve said that it was achieved “by providing innovative, competitively-priced products, delivering the highest quality customer service, and by always appreciating and listening to its [GoDaddy ’s] customers!”

Plans and Features

GoDaddy essentially provides three hosting plans, the Economy, the Deluxe and the Premium across either a Windows or Linux platform which you specify beforehand.

The economy plan, costing an insane $3.99 per month (with no long-term contract conditions) comes with 5GB of storage and 250GB of monthly bandwidth. This plan also gives you 25 subdomains and the ability to point up to 25 external domain names to your website. Up to 500 email accounts are also allotted to you. If a Windows interface is selected, you get 1 FTP account, MS Access, 1 MS SQL and 10 MySQL databases, and support for such languages as ColdFusion and ASP (with ASP .NET and AJAX). On the Linux side, you get 11 FTP accounts, 10 MySQL databases, and support for PHP.

The Deluxe plan, providing great value at $6.99 per month comes with all the features of the economy plan but adds a lot more volume. Disk space is bumped up to 100GB and monthly data transfer to 1000GB. You can have up to 1000 email accounts; plus, you can host unlimited websites, subdomains and external domain pointers on your account. On the Microsoft side of things, you get 2 MS SQL databases and 25 MySQL databases. Linux will give you 25 MySQL DBs and support for Java, Ruby On Rails , Python and Perl.

Finally, comes the Premium plan which steps the game up even further. It brings 200GB of storage with 2000GB of monthly data transfer. Email accounts number at 2000 and you get a free SSL certificate which would otherwise cost $24.99 per year.

All plans give you special access to GoDaddy ’s Hosting Connection.

Hosting Environment

GoDaddy has its own homegrown Control Panel which you’ll find quite intuitive. This panel can not only help manage your website but also your entire account at GoDaddy. From in here, you can access Hosting Connection, check and configure email, databases, files, and even install numerous applications that come free with your hosting package.

Joomla Features

Joomla!, and many other Content Management Systems, enjoy excellent support at GoDaddy . You can install Joomla on your GoDaddy -hosted sites as a Value Added Application, which is a very simple process.

Tech Support Options

GoDaddy , being a premier web solutions provider, offers a good array of support modes on their website. One is via email, the second through telephone and the third in the form of an extensive FAQ library. Average response time for email queries is hardly a few hours which, for a company of GoDaddy’s size, is an achievement. Telephone is way quicker and more responsive as expected if you’re query needs to be solved right away.

Conclusion

Needless to say, GoDaddy is one of the world’s best providers of registry and hosting services. Their hosting plans are very broad and their price seems nominal at most. With all their excellent customer support and reputation to back them up, GoDaddy should definitely be in your top 5 list when choosing a host for you Joomla site.

Editor's rating

8.5

out of 10

Average user rating: 8.6
4 User reviews

Plan Features

Price:	$6.99
Disk Space:	100 GB
Bandwidth:	1,000 GB
Domain Registration:	$1.99
Domains Hosted:	Unlimited
Edit DNS Zone File:	Yes
Money Back Guarantee:	None

MySQL Features

MySQL Databases:	25
PHP MyAdmin:	Yes

Joomla Features

Joomla Auto Install:	Yes
Fantastico:	No

Support Options

Email / Help Desk:	Yes
Phone Support:	Yes
Member Forum:	Yes

Go Daddy Web Hosting Review by Joomla Hosting Reviews - Joomla Hosting Reviews

Web Hosting - GoDaddy Review

2008-11-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

Editor's Review:

This host is by far one of the largest web hosting sites. GoDaddy has spent millions of dollars in advertising and has eventually has become a web hosting giant. If you are looking for reliability, a web host that you can count on for fast service, GoDaddy is for you. I will not even attempt to name all of GoDaddy's hosting plans/products but I will tell you that they have a plan to match any and all of your web hosting needs.

Due to GoDaddy's reliability we have awarded this host our "Trusted Web Hosting" Award. Although the aesthetics of this host is great, this host has a major flaw! Unlike the other web hosting sites reviewed on this site GoDaddy wants to charge high rates for every individual product they offer. GoDaddy's primary goal is to make a buck and they are willing to do this at the expense of uninformed customers. GoDaddy is reliable but will end up costing more than all other hosts.

Pros:
- Very Reliable
- Multiple Plans To Choose From
- Award Winning Host
- Free Domain Name
- 24/7 Customer Support
- No Contract Required
- Hosts Millions Of Domain Names
- User Friendly

Web Hosting - GoDaddy Review

GoDaddy Review - www.reviews.newsmonster.org

2008-11-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of these guys? GoDaddy
Some ragtag outfit selling web hosting services? OF COURSE YOU HAVE. Theres a reason too: they are pretty good at what they do. You take the good with the bad, though, because with so many (almost too many), getting the kind of support and attention you get from a host provider who is invested in your website's success can be really difficult. But, alas, we're really only concerned about the options offered and how much they cost:

Support for Python, MS dot NET, PHP, Java, and Perl
Support for Ruby on Rails, Cold Fusion
Best of all, these servers are hosted in datacenters that are VERY solid

There are 3 levels of plans, ranging from a shared webhosting solution to a dedicated server. All of the plans meet the needs of most any small business, with transfer and storage available far in excess of what most sites would require (more than 500G of storage and 600G of transfer).

All of the hosting plans are based on terms ranging from one (1) year to three (3) years, with hierarchial discounted savings based on the length of term for the contract. Theres also a handy comparison chart for plans.
Pricing also varies depending on the add-on services that you may elect for your service. These "upgrades" include a minimum purchasing plan length (in one (1) month multiples. Pricing can therefore range from $1.99 a month to almost $300.00.
GoDaddy Review - www.reviews.newsmonster.org

Go Daddy Hosting - Is Go Daddy a good web host?

2008-11-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

GoDaddy Hosting Review
https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/hosting/shared.asp

The Company

GoDaddy is the worlds largest domain name registrar, they are the sole developer of there technology and do not license products from others or outsource any of there operations. The GoDaddy group was founded in 1997 and since then has grown to include more than 13 million domains under there management. They offer a comprehensive range of hosting solutions and web site creation tools.

GoDaddy claim they offer superior value for there customers with what they call the 10 point protection plan by 1.guaranteeing renewal price, 2.a risk free money back guarantee, 3.more free value added services with every domain. 4. Constantly lowering there prices, 5.best in the industry live customer support. 6. Fast domain registration, 7. Affordable hosting options. 8.Superior management tools, 9. Total protection of your personal details and 10. Unique, valuable. and innovative software and services.

Hosting Plans

GoDaddy claim they are the worlds leading host with 99.9% up time guarantee, they are a reliable company who provide a place to host your site with no pop up ads or banners, no set up fee or annual commitment and 24/7 support. They have 3 plans to choose from starting from Economy at $3.99 a month for 5GB of space with 250GB transfer, deluxe plan costing from $6.99 a month giving you 50GB of space and 500GB of data transfer to the Premium plan which gives you 100GB of space and 1,000GB of data transfer. Each of the three plans feature hosting on there own world class data centres, Frontpage extension support, 24/7 FTP access, best of the kind routers and servers, free setup, back-ups on a daily basis and 24/7 support.

Support

GoDaddy offer several different options including a vast online knowledge centre giving you the choice of several different topics through which you can search by entering keywords. Help topics are also listed with numerous articles branching from them. Telephone support is also available with what GoDaddy promise as the fastest ever with an average wait of around 5 minutes. There is an e-mail support system which when I looked the response time was listed as 3 hours wait. There is also a download section which the user can visit to download several user guides in PDF format.

Conclusion

GoDaddy offer a web hosting solution for everyone’s needs with no set up fees or annual commitment backed by the assurance that they run, maintain and support each of there hosting plans in there own facilities.

GoDaddy Hosting - Is GoDaddy a good web host?

Web Hosting Reviews Press Release - GoDaddy Hosting Review By Animals Need Help Blog

2008-10-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

GoDaddy Hosting Review By Animals Need Help Blog by admin in GoDaddy

Animals Need Help Animals Need Help is a not for profit blog that was born to help animals live a better life, we write about animals rights issues such as animal cruelty, animal neglect and other pet related issues that we feel are close to heart. We try to lighten things up with funny stories and photos of dogs, cats and other farm animals.

My Web Hosting Review

My web hosting company is GoDaddy

I have been hosting with them since Christmas 2007

My price / value is: 5 The Best
My speed is: 4 Pretty Good
My disk space is: 5 The Best
My bandwidth is: 4 Pretty Good
I think their customer support is: 4 Pretty Good

My overall satisfaction is: 5

The Best
The thing I like the most about my web hosting company is that they are one of the leading hosting companies and my husband has been hosting many sites with them over the years. This one he just created last Christmas and it has been going pretty good, no down time and no complaints so far. I think my web host could improve by getting a smile on Dania’s face on their home page. Why so serious?

Web Hosting Reviews Press Release - GoDaddy Hosting Review By Animals Need Help Blog

Web Hosting, Web Host Reviews, Web Host News

2008-10-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Host Buyer's Guide Review

Below is our review for GoDaddy Software, Inc.

It is based on our ten plus years of experience reviewing Web Hosts and Host Finders. It is based on our proven test procedures, and on our reader's reviews. This review is also based on the feedback we get from our reader's comments, and emails as well as from the our interaction with the business and Web developer/design communities in the numerous online forums. Much of this review was conducted by a non-paid independent panel of experienced Web developers that are very good at what they do. We know that all of that combined makes our review process different from anyone else's in this industry, but to top it off it is important for you to know that unlike other review sites, we Purchase the Web Hosting services we review. That's right. The absolute BEST way to review Web Host services is by actually using those services and comparing them to other Web Host services that have been similarly tested with the same testing criteria. We do these tests using an anonymous account so the Web Hosts will not treat us any differently than any other customer. Our process is expensive, but it is what we do because we want to be the best, and we want you to have the best information possible.

Whether you agree with this review or not, if you have some experience with GoDaddy Software, Inc please let us know what your thoughts are in the comments below, and by doing your own your own review of GoDaddy Software, Inc.

Founded by Bob Parsons in 1997, the GoDaddy Group is a trusted name in the domain name registrar service industry. Hosting more than 5.3 million domain names, GoDaddy is a giant in the domain name field. Along with their domain name offerings GoDaddy also provides Web hosting in the E-Commerce, Unix, Windows, and Budget communities.

When last we reviewed GoDaddy (March of 2005) our Independent Review Panel saw they had no real problems, and offered inexpensive plans with good options solid support and tons of data transfer. Same holds true when our Indpendent Review Panel went back to try out GoDaddy again, same great value no major problems

GoDaddy.com utilizes a sound network with multiple OC-48, OC-12, and OC-3 connections, providing good redundancy. The Network Operating Center housing their host servers carries the standard amount of physical security and disaster recovery equipment with a few added extras such as biometric scanners and off-site data retention.

GoDaddy's Hosting plans are inexpensive with the lowest cost plan starting at $3.99. Although this plan is Linux only, the others give you the choice of Linux or Windows. Windows offerings include MS SQL 2000, ASP, PHP, ASP.NET, and a long list of free software scripts and components. Linux offerings include MySQL, PHP, Perl, Javascript, CGI, as well as more than twenty free components. GoDaddy's Hosting solutions also carry a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

The amount of monthly data transfer GoDaddy includes in their hosting packages is where they truly shine. 25 GB of monthly data transfer comes with the $3.95 plan while 100 GB worth comes with the $9.95 plan. Both are well above the industry standard and are some of the highest we have seen anywhere.

Support is handled via phone and a 24/7 email support system. We have long maintained that the ultimate in support is toll-free 24/7 responsive, technical phone support. Althought they fell short of this, during our test period we received good service delivered slightly faster than the industry average for Budget Hosts.

Verdict:
GoDaddy is a very strong Budget Host. For the most part they provide all of the basics for your hosting needs. They do a lot of things well, but are not exceptional in any one thing other than the amount of data transfer they provide. If you are looking for a solid and stable Budget Host check out GoDaddy.

Pros:
Inexpensive • 99.9% Uptime Guarantee • Lots of Data Transfer
Cons:
No Major Problems

Web Hosting, Web Host Reviews, Web Host News

GoDaddy Web Hosting

2008-10-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

GoDaddy web hosting (www.godaddy.com) delivers the essentials riding on the success of GoDaddy's domain name registration service. Along with their snappy name, the company has a host of awards to its credit, placing it securely in the leader's niche in domain name and domain management. This expertise makes it a no-brainer that GoDaddy should host customer web sites too. Here's your domain, sir, and here's the website to back it up.

Like BlueHost, GoDaddy's CEO posts on his own blog. The infamous Bob Parsons is definitely up to speed in the domain name business, and is a leader in addressing issues and abuses in the industry. Like Bob Parson's clear and no-nonsense approach to his writing, the GoDaddy shared web hosting offerings are simple and no-nonsense products. Extras can be paid for, like a blog engine and upgrades, and prices are clearly stated. The company offers a “sweet-spot” hosting solution with a best-value bundle, clearly marked if one browses around their site a little.

All the basic features are there--disk space, traffic, email accounts, with more databases under management than other hosted solutions--10 for the entry level product. Interestingly, web site statistics are an extra to be paid for, allowing the basic home user who just wants a site to be able to save a few dollars. A slight negative is their unconventional quoting of disk and traffic data sizes in MB rather than in GB, giving at first glance, an impression of more data than is actually supplied. Apart from this, the quotes and web site are also simple and clear. I enjoyed the access to information and the ease of use attention that has obviously been put in.

GoDaddy is a hosting provider targeting the low-cost portion of the market and their service offering does not disappoint, with a basic starting site cost of $3.99 per month. With 50 GB of disk space this is certainly a generous service offering!

GoDaddy has focused on its customer take on too – with a 24 by 7 account setup service. They also offer 24 by 7 telephonic support. GoDaddy provides a very different service level too: 24 by 7 support for billing queries. This makes their customer service channel one of the more complete support offerings available.

GoDaddy provides all the web hosting features offered by competitors, and they then crown this off by bringing their domain and deep internet technology savvy to the party. For technical peace-of-mind from a strong registrar, GoDaddy is the choice for many.

Visit GoDaddy

GoDaddy Review 2008

2008-10-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

GoDaddy.com states that they offer world-class hosting as good as or better than most hosting companies offer, but we feel they are referring more to their state-of-the-art, World Class Data Center rather than to their actual web hosting products and customer service. A web host can have all the technological bells and whistles in the world backing them, but if a host service doesn't have solid customer support and a few key features, that host will fall short of the competition.
GoDaddy.com does offer some very attractive and affordable packages. But certain key features are missing with the GoDaddy solution, as compared to our higher ranked web hosting solutions.

Feature Set:

GoDaddy is not a bad value, but lacks a lot of features that competitors offer for virtually the same price. GoDaddy offers 5 GB of disk space storage, 500 email accounts, 250 GB monthly data transfer, and limited on languages/platform support. Many other web hosting providers offer more for less. All plans with GoDaddy include these features: World Class Data Center, online set-up and instant account activation, FrontPage Extensions, 24/7 FTP Access, best-of-breed routers, firewalls and servers; Web Site Statistics, free setup, daily backups, 24/7 monitoring, 24x7 email, telephone and web-based tech support, 24/7 physical security and secure SSL Certificates (an optional extra) GoDaddy places their emphasis more on technology than on customer support.

Customer Service:

Customer Service is what separates great hosts from the mediocre. GoDaddy offers an array of support options, such as Email Support, Telephone Support, an FAQ Section on their Web Site and access to various user guides. Unfortunately, there are a few items that are definite drawbacks with their Customer Service. If you use their Email Support, you will not get a response for 10 to 12 hours. Too long for most customers! GoDaddy even posts this right on their Web Site. I wouldn't be boasting about a 10 to 12 hour response time. If you don't want to wait for an email, there phone support is a little better. The average waiting period we experienced was 30 minutes. This is still too long of a wait and much longer than the wait we experienced with other web hosting companies that we reviewed. The tech I finally did speak with was not well-informed about the products or services offered and not eager to help. Unfortunately, Go Daddy does not offer live chat, a valuable customer service tool that allows you to receive instant help online.

Control Panel:

GoDaddy is not too difficult to use, even without a technical background. Most functions within the Account Management tool are similar to other control panels, but GoDaddy.com's panel lacks certain features that competitors offer. On the plus side, with GoDaddy.com you can perform account management tasks, email management, web security, database setup and management, manage statistic tools and install FrontPage Extensions (without these supported by your host, you can't take advantage of all the perks FrontPage offers).

Summary:

Overall, GoDaddy has some catching up to do with the competition. With lackluster customer service and missing key features, look to other providers that offer more value for your money. If GoDaddy would invest in customer service improvements, they would be a more attractive contender.

GoDaddy Review 2008

Joomla review

2008-10-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

Rating: 8/10

Release version: 1.5 Beta
License: GNU/GPL, Open Source
Homepage: http://www.joomla.org
OpenSourceCMS.com demo
CMSMatrix.org listing

Although it is a beta version, I am reviewing Joomla 1.5 because it has many improvements over the 1.0.x versions and even though it may still have some bugs Joomla 1.5 is here to stay!

Ahh, Joomla - my first CMS! Well, it was actually Mambo but Joomla is a fork that is pretty close (at least in the 1.0.x versions), so...

When I started making sites I (like everybody else) coded them by hand and FTPed them to the server; after a while it started getting tedious and more than anything else, a nightmare to update. This is when I started looking for a CMS and eventually chose Mambo, mostly because I had the feeling that no matter what problem I would have the community would help me. And I was right!

There have been many improvements from the 1.0.x series, many of which are a breath of fresh air to Joomla users:

built in SEF (search engine urls) support. Previously you could turn urls with variables into static urls, but those looked something like example.com/content/view/12/24; in 1.5 Joomla has the ablility to transform urls into example.com/index.php/products/widgets/green-widgets.
better caching (really helps with heavy trafficed sites, in case of Digg or Slashdot).
removed statistics - while it may seem to be a step back for many, that component ate resources like no tomorrow.
general code improvements.

Joomla review

Go Daddy Review, User Reviews of Go Daddy

2008-10-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

I have many domains hosted on a single account at GoDaddy. The hosting works great. It has been reliable, reasonably fast PHP and MySQL services. Reasonably easy to configure, etc. There are very serious hosting solutions out there that cost many times the GoDaddy price and are only a little better for web hosting.

Bottom line, hosting OK for the price.

Go Daddy Review, User Reviews of Go Daddy

JoomlaPack: open-source backup component

2008-10-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

JoomlaPack web resources

Official web site: http://www.joomlapack.net
Support forum: http://www.joomlapack.net/forum/
Project page (software and documentation downloads): http://www.joomlacode.org/gf/project/jpack
Developers' blog: http://joomlapack.blogspot.com

JoomlaPack

Ninja Shadowbox

2008-10-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

Shadowbox is a cross-browser, cross-platform, cleanly-coded and fully-documented media viewer application written entirely in JavaScript. Using Shadowbox, website authors can display a wide assortment of media in all major browsers without navigating away from the linking page.

Ninja Shadowbox makes it even easier for you to work with shadowbox, with advanced options in the backend it allows you to quickly change the way Shadowbox works

Choose between multiple JS Libraries including Mootools, Jquery, Prototype, EXT, YUI and Dojo.

Not only that, but Ninja Shadowbox comes in a variety of options, pick between either a Module or Plugin for both Joomla 1.0 and 1.5

Joomla NinjaForge - Ninja Shadowbox

JCE - A Content Editor for Joomla!® : Home

2008-10-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

Add a set of tools to your Joomla!® environment that give you the power to create the kind of content you want, without limitations, and without needing to know or learn HTML, XHTML, CSS...

THIS extension is just VITAL in making Joomla 1.5 user friendly for non-tech people!

Office-like functions and familiar buttons make formatting simple
Upload, rename, delete, cut/copy/paste images and insert them into your articles using an intuitive and familiar interface
Create Links to other Sections, Categories, Articles, Weblinks and Contacts¹ in your site using a unique and practical Link Browser
Take control of your code with syntax highlighting in the Advanced Code editor and advanced style and element attribute editing
Integrated Spellchecking using Google™ Spellchecker (or PSpell and ASpell)

JCE - A Content Editor for Joomla!® : Home

Godaddy Gmail Authenticate - gdgmail

2008-10-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is for Joomla users on Godaddy.com servers wanting to authenticate new or existing users using gmail. The plugin allows for authentication through gmail and auto account creation.

This is a replacement plugin for the included one that is standard with joomla. If you use Godaddy then you will be better served and not have problems by using this plugin instead.

Joomla! Extensions Directory - Godaddy Gmail Authenticate - gdgmail

7 Steps to Make Your Website Your Client Attraction Magnet

2008-09-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

by Donna Gunter

When I started my online business in 1999, I had a website, but did very little with it, as it seemed impossible to get noticed by the search engines. My website simply served as my online brochure and I had no plan in place to drive any traffic there. Fast forward to 2007, and now almost all of my clients come to me from my website. In fact, my website has brought 5 clients to my door in the past week.

My website and my Internet marketing strategies do such a good job of promoting my business that when clients contact me, it's usually to say, "I've been to your site and I've been reading the great info you provide. I know you're the one to help me. When can we get started?" Consequently, I'm rarely in the position of having to "sell" someone on the benefits they'll gain by working with me, as my website takes care of most of that for me. I think that's very cool, as I absolutely hate trying to sell myself.

What can you do to make your website your client attraction magnet? There's so much information out there about online marketing and so many directions from which to choose that it's easy to become overwhelmed and confused Whether you have a website and have been online for awhile or are just getting started on creating your Internet presence, here are the most important first 7 steps you can take to get more clients from Internet marketing and create your own client attraction magnet:

1. Domain that reflects your brand. The domain name from which you transact all of your online business should reflect your brand in some way. You can accomplish this by purchasing a .com version of a domain name that is the same as the name of your business or by buying a domain containing keywords relevant to your business. Before buying your business domain, make a list of keywords that someone might use to find you online. This list could include your industry, your target market or niche, a problem your target market has, or a solution that you can offer. If you've been in business for awhile, it may make most sense to simply stick with the business name you have been using rather than trying to rebrand your business online. I highly recommend GoDaddy.com for all domain name purchases.

Read the whole article here: 7 Steps to Make Your Website Your Client Attraction Magnet

The Ultimate Social Bookmarking Plugin | Plugins | Joomla Extensions

2008-09-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

This new Joomla! plugin was built as a superior replacement for the old Social Bookmarking Buttons plugin for Joomla 1.0.x. The Ultimate Social Bookmarking plugin is the best extension available because it puts the buttons where you want them, allows an unlimited amount of customization, and is compatible with Joomla! 1.0.x and Joomla! 1.5 natively.

Please give this plugin a vote at the Joomla! Extensions Directory if you appreciate the time I've put into it. Others won't be able to find it if it's buried below the rest of the extensions. Thanks!

Features

Quickly and easily build up your web traffic and PageRank by making it easy for your website visitors to add your pages to any social bookmarking website.
All styling is done through CSS, no inline styling or tables.
Manage your buttons through an editable XML file. Choose which buttons you want enabled, or add new buttons yourself.
Native versions for Joomla 1.0.x and Joomla 1.5

The Ultimate Social Bookmarking Plugin | Plugins | Joomla Extensions

GoDaddy Reviews Hosting GoDaddy reviews Go Daddy reviews.WebHosting Plans godaddy.com

2008-08-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

Review about Go Daddy - completed on 2007-02-17 - by Victoria Basqe

General Impression
GoDaddy.com is the world's largest domain name registrar and is the flagship company of The Go Daddy Group, Inc.

The Go Daddy Group of companies also includes Wild West Domains, Inc., a reseller of domains and domain-related products and services; Domains by Proxy(R), a private registration service; Starfield Technologies, a research and development affiliate; and Blue Razor Domains, a membership-based discount registrar.

As an ICANN-accredited domain registrar, Go Daddy has more names under management than any other registrar, offers products at prices up to 70% less than the competition and supports them all with world-class 24/7 live customer service.

We are the sole developer and proprietor of our technology, do not license any products from others, and do not outsource or offshore any of our operations. This enables us to provide better support and ensure the most advanced and competitively-priced products and services available today.

Founded by Bob Parsons in 1997, The Go Daddy Group has grown to include more than 10 million domains under management. We offer a complete product line, including comprehensive hosting solutions, Web site creation tools, Secure SSL certificates, personalized email with spam and anti-phishing filtering, e-commerce tools and more.

Go Daddy is widely recognized for its success, having been ranked #8 on the 2004 Inc. 500 list of the nation's fastest-growing privately held companies; #20 on the 2005 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 (growing 8,274 percent!); and having won the CNET Editor's Choice award in 2001, the Name Intelligence Largest Net Gain Award in 2002, 2003 and 2005; the Name Intelligence Users' Choice Award in 2005 as well as the #1 Best Overall Registrar in 2003. Go Daddy also won the Arizona Corporate Excellence Award for fastest growing privately-held company in 2003 and Most Innovative Large Company in 2004.

Go Daddy has become the world's #1 choice for domains by providing innovative, competitively-priced products, delivering the highest quality customer service, and by always appreciating and listening to its customers!

Price & Cost Effectiveness
You are probably wondering how they can charge as much as 70% less than our competition and still be in business, right?

First of all, they run a tight ship. They choose their promotions carefully and ensure every advertising dollar pays for itself; they streamline their systems and billing processes; they don't have any frills (like the $5,000.00 office chairs of some of the now bankrupt dot-coms). They also don't waste money on unnecessary things like toll-free telephone numbers that are often abused anyway.

Second, they are straight shooters. There are no tricks in what they do, just good, old-fashioned, reliable business principles. Quite often they are asked if they bait their customers with low rates and then charge high renewal prices. Anybody that expects them to do that will be disappointed. They believe in the old saying, "You can shear a sheep many times but you can only skin it once." So, your renewal rates will be no higher than the rate you paid when you initially registered your domain name, or what their registration rates were when you transferred your domain name to them (the only exceptions would be if the price the registry charges us increased, or if you took advantage of a limited-time, special price. And if the registry increases their cost, yours will go up only by the amount their did, never more).

What's the end result of all this? Well, they are happy to tell you that they are a small but profitable company that expects to be in business for many years to come. All this, of course, is due to value-conscious customers like you.

Reliability
Backup, Restore and Disaster Recovery
- Enterprise-class backup and restore technology protecting your data. *
- Weekly full backups and daily incremental backups. *
- Long term off-site retention. *
*(shared hosting plans only - dedicated server plans require additional purchase)

Operating System and Application Management
- Hardened operating system builds. (hosting plans only)
- Host based security. (hosting plans only)
- Vigorous patch management. (hosting plans only)
- In-depth 24x7 monitoring help to ensure that their systems are secure. (hosting plans only)

Data Center (toured)
GoDaddy.com provides world-class hosting every bit as good and often better than that which a hosting-only company might offer.
They take pride in their operations being superior. In fact, because unlike many competitors, they own, operate and support the hosting services they provide, down to the very last cable and disk.

Bottom line: You'll be just as satisfied with our hosting as you are with our domain registrations. You'll get fast, dependable hosting, 24/7 customer support and unbeatable prices. Still not sure? Scan through the specs below and we're sure you'll agree.

World-Class Data Centers
- World-class networking including multiple OC-48, OC-12 and OC-3 connections and a fast gigabit Ethernet backbone.
- Connected to multiple diverse upstream providers totaling 4 Gbps of Tier-1 Internet Bandwidth.
- Full BGP peering with all providers.
- Fully redundant power and air conditioning supply, with state of the art fire protection providing the maximum possible protection against potential disasters that could affect your site.
- Advanced smoke detection and fire suppression systems.
- 24X7 monitoring of building and environmental alarms by a local staff as well as a centralized Network Operations Center.

24x7 Physical Security
- Closed-circuit cameras.
- 24-hour guards and physical location monitoring.
- Biometric scanners and secure card-key access.
- 'Man-trap' restricted access to the data centers.
- Locked cages enclosing all equipment.

Systems and Network Infrastructure and Security
- Best-of-breed equipment for routers, firewalls, and servers.
- Full network redundancy.
- 24x7 dedicated/prevention systems ensure network perimeter remains secure.
- Automatic email scanning for virus detection and cleaning provides complete protection.(hosting plans only)

Contact Information and Support
Telephone Support & Sales
24x7 Technical Support & Sales - (480) 505-8877
24x7 Domain Support - (480) 505-8899
Billing Support - (480) 505-8855 | Available Mon-Fri 5:30AM-9:00PM MST, Sat-Sun 7:30AM-9:00PM MST
Expert Hands Support - (480) 505-8871
Reseller Consultant - (480) 505-8857
Email Support : Access Email Support System | Help Center

Conclusion
GoDaddy.com delivers superior value. Here's how:
1. Guaranteed renewal price.
You'll never pay more to renew your domain name than the rate you paid when you initially registered it, or what our registration rate was when you transferred. (The only exceptions would be if the price the registry charges us increased, or if you took advantage of a limited-time, special price. If the registry increases our cost, yours will go up only by the amount ours did, never more.)

2. Risk-free, money-back guarantee transfers.
No matter how hard they try, a domain transfer occasionally fails. This is usually due to your former registrar trying to keep your money, even though it is legally required to comply with your transfer request. With Go Daddy, you're protected. First, the Rapid Transfer System saves time and eliminates errors by extracting critical information automatically. You no longer need to find it and type it in yourself. Second, their Transfer Concierge team is trained, dedicated, and available to you 24/7 with personal, caring assistance. And finally, they believe that you paid your money and that you have every right to expect that transfer to occur, no matter who is at fault. So we've made your transfers absolutely risk free and fully refundable. If your transfer to GoDaddy.com fails for any reason, they will let you know and refund your money. Guaranteed.

3. More FREE, value-added services with every domain.
At Go Daddy, they are proud to have you as a customer and want you to get the most out of your domain ownership. So they give you all of the following FREE with every domain purchase: Quick Blog, Hosting with Web site builder; Complete Email ($9.95/yr value!); change of registrant; parked or "For Sale" page; domain locking; status alerts; domain forwarding; domain masking; total DNS control; and 100 email forwards.

4. Consistently lower prices on everything we offer.
It starts with low-cost domains. But it extends to everything else they develop (right there, in-house) and offer. Like hosting accounts, spam-protected email accounts; domain services, utility software and more. And they are constantly developing more, better, lower-cost ways to improve your domain ownership, Internet- and PC-experience.

5. Best-in-industry live customer support, 24 / 7.
This is a point of pride for them. You deserve the best, and they won't settle for providing anything less. They are available to you either by phone, web board, or email 24 hours a day, everyday. Many of their competitors don't even provide a telephone number for you to call!

6. Fast, easy bulk domain transfers and registrations
Their super-low prices, intuitive tools, Rapid Transfer System(TM) and concierge support make it a snap.

7. Just-right, affordable hosting options.
They host all of their customer sites on their own secure servers. Most of their competitors job their hosting out to the lowest bidder. If you ever have an issue with your Go Daddy hosting, just call them and they will be on it immediately. With the competition, there's no telling who you should call.

8. Superior domain search and management tools.
Their domain search and portfolio management tools are second to none. Once you've registered your domain names, just log in at "Manage My Domains" and select domains to modify, either individually or in bulk. Apply your changes or add additional services Ac it's fast and easy.

9. Fierce protection of your personal information.
They do their best to prevent your data from being "mined." And unlike some of their competitors who will happily sell your information to anyone for a price, they will never under any circumstance make it available to third parties, unless legally required to do so. (Please do understand, though, that information in the Whois database is public domain. They do everything possible to prevent screen access to it, but under certain circumstances it can be obtained.)

10. Unique, valuable and innovative software and services.
At Go Daddy, you can get everything you need to make the most out of your domain ownership and Internet experience. They offer private "unlisted" registrations; Traffic Blazer (search engine registration) c-Site (copyright application); Internet- and PC-privacy and security software; merchant accounts; and more.

Victoria Basqe for web-hosting-top.com, 02/17/2007

GoDaddy Reviews Hosting GoDaddy reviews Go Daddy reviews.WebHosting Plans godaddy.com