This website was designed using Joomla, a free, open-source web design application. The template is from RocketTheme.

I designed the site myself, based on a previous office website which I had designed with Microsoft FrontPage.  Joomla is easier to learn and to use to design a website than FrontPage, and much easier than Dreamweaver. While having some familiarity with html and css code helps, I was able to design the site with a minimal knowledge of code. I have now published a website on using Joomla software for law firm websites, joomlawyer.org .     

Although I designed the site, I turned to an expert, Mike Lloyd of ArtOneZero in London, to clean up the design and to add a professional look. Since the user designs and maintains the website using a web browser, Mike Lloyd was able to work on the site in London just as I could from my office. I highly recommend MikeLloyd's services. Mike listened to what I wanted, responded quickly, and made practical suggestions. With a minimum of time spent, he consistently exceeded my expectations and produced excellent results. 

There are web hosting services that specialize in Joomla and other Content Management System programs, but I have had excellent service from my local provider in Ottumwa, and they have been very helpful in moving to a Joomla-based website. 

There are several books available on Joomla, including the free user manual from Joomla, which is very good. However, Mike Lloyd's book, LearnJoomla, is much better than anything else I have found. It is a practical, step-by-step beginner's guide to designing and deploying a website using Joomla. In fact, it was the practical quality of the book that convinced me to contact Mike to help finish the site. After I had the site up and running, I wanted to add a new feature, DocMAN, to the site. I looked up that section in LearnJoomla, and it literally took me through every mouse-click. I was ready to go with the new feature in ten minutes. I also wanted to modify the menu set-up using Extended Menu, and I was able to follow step-by-step instructions in Mike Lloyd's book. The process was complex, but the instructions were clear and easy to follow. In five minutes, my menu system worked much better, thanks to the clear instructions in the book. 

Joomla is not a "lite" version of traditional web design software. It works completely differently, based on a Content Management System approach, and works much better in most respects than traditional web designing tools. The administrator can allow multiple users to contribute content, like a blog, but the administrator controls the design and overall content. There are literally hundreds of add-ons,mostly free, that can add components such as podcasting, calendars, slideshows, flash presentations, and almost anything else that a web designer needs. 

Joomla is based on Mambo content management software, and the basic design has been evolving for years. However, Joomla itself started in 2005, and the Joomla organization is set to release a major revision in mid-2007. Mike Lloyd, author of LearnJoomla, has announced that he will be releasing a LearnJoomla beginner's manual based on the new Joomla 1.5 shortly after the new application is released as stable. Click here to see the first 21 pages of the current book.  He has also announced that he will be releasing an advanced Joomla user's manual in the near future. 

I am a member of the Association of Nazarene Technologists, which is using several RocketTheme  templates, customized for use in Nazarene Churches, and a user's manual specific to the project, for churches and missionaries connected with the worldwide Church of the Nazarene denomination. The Association of Nazarene Technologists has an incredible collection of skills and ability, and feels led by God to perform an essential service, that will reach the lost for God. 

Ed Detlie