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Best Joomla Extensions - 2013

Best Joomla Extensions - 2013

Joomla's extension directory is one of its greatest strengths and also one of its greatest weaknesses. Poor documentation and support can ruin an experience for some Joomla developers, but sometimes functionality rules over all. If you know what you're doing, you can probably figure out how to implement them into your website the way you want. I've compiled a list of some of my favorite extensions and some of my experiences with them. Not all of these are free, but if they serve their purpose then they are well worth your hard-earned cash.

 

Best Joomla Extensions!

 

1. RS Form! Pro

rs-form-top-joomla-extension

Cost: About $25

RS Form! Pro is an excellent choice for creating forms on your Joomla website. While its ability to quickly create contact forms is useful, where RS Form! Pro really shines is its storage of user submissions, additional fields for PHP scripts, and generation of user/admin e-mails. This makes it extremely customizable, with the ability to integrate with other extensions. I honestly can't review their support because I never really had to resort to utilizing it. Most of the features just seem to make sense – after navigating through the interface enough, you get accustomed to how it works.

 

2. EasyBlog

easy-blog-best-joomla-extension

Cost: $79 for the professional addition with 12 months of support
Side note: check www.retailmenot.com for coupon codes for a nice little discount

I can’t say how much I love how simple EasyBlog is to configure. The first time I used it, I had the extension installed and configured to start blogging within 15 minutes. Of course, it took some more time to tweak the layout, but this extension is so easy to use I didn’t even have to look at their documentation to get it setup. In fact, my blog is utilizing EasyBlog. Other benefits of this extension are the social media integration, feed importer (useful for migrating your blog), aesthetically pleasing themes, and a plethora of options for SEO.

 

3. JFB Connect

jfbconnect-best-joomla-extension

Cost: $59 with 6 months of support

I don’t know about you, but Facebook integration can seem very overwhelming due to their constantly changing policies and vast amount of documentation.  Luckily, JFB Connect does a good job of letting users login to your website using their Facebook account, and integrates seamlessly with other components like Jomsocial (which works beautifully, by the way). I actually bumped into the owner at a Joomla convention and gave him props for having such a great extension. Just keep in mind that while this extension is easy to configure, setting up your Facebook pages for proper integration with your Joomla site can be very time consuming and frustrating if you are doing it for the first time.

 

4. JEvents

jevents-best-joomla-extensions

Cost: Free! Keep in mind additional add-ons will cost you

JEvents is a calendar component with many options to administer, import, and integrate your website’s calendar. I have to admit, JEvents feels like it could use some help in the usability and graphic design departments. So why is it on this list? Their support, of course! Their forums provided me with quick and helpful advice, and have many resolved issues to search through. This is a very intricate extension that functions well (for the most part) and has a diverse assortment of plugins that will help integrate JEvents with other components. You will have to purchase an advanced subscription for access to those, though. Unfortunately, JEvents does not have much to offer for their calendar designs. They all feel very basic, with the only differentiation between the designs being slight changes to the layout and colors. It can be customized to look like anything you want if you are skilled enough with CSS, but expect to face some challenges, as this is a very intricate extension.

 

5. Advanced Module Manager

advanced-module-manager-best-joomla-extension

Cost: Free, with upgraded Pro version available with more features

Do you ever find Joomla’s default module manager frustrating? Advanced Module Manager lets you assign modules in just about every way imaginable; I found its ability to assign based on URL’s (including Regular Expressions) particularly useful.  While I wouldn’t consider this a necessity for every Joomla website, it’s a lifesaver for complex sites with many pages and/or menus with different layouts.

 

There are so many other great extensions for Joomla out there, but these are a handful that I had the best experiences with.  

Website requirements gathering documentation: Crea...
 

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Wednesday, 27 September 2023

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LATEST ON OUR BLOG

OUR YELP REVIEWS

  • Virgo Web Design recently completed my website MeetPeopleChicago.com. Jerry was easy to work with, was attentive to my questions and was on top of things from start to finish. In addition he was very knowledgable and up to date on the latest technologies. I am very pleased with the final product and I will surely use him again for future enhancements. Thank you Jerry for the great work you have done!

    PETER S.

    Meet People Chicago

  • As a marketing communications person who knew my company needed an up-to-date website built in Joomla, I was very happy we found [Virgo Web Design]. I understood things from a content perspective, but when it came to back-end design and architecture, my hands were tied. [Virgo Web Design] was so knowledgeable and easy to work with, and was always available to answer questions, make tweaks, walk me through front-end editing tasks...you name it. [Virgo Web Design]'s accessibility and can-do attitude made such a difference to our entire team, and I hope I always thanked [them] enough for helping me through the client-side part of the web redesign process.

    CORRIE M.

    Aptude

  • "[Virgo Web Design] did an amazing job on my non-profit's website, ghhaven.org. [They] put our site together quickly and with all of the elements we requested - plus, [they] had a lot of great recommendations for things that we hadn't even considered for the site. [They were] very helpful throughout the process of getting our site launched and I found [them] to be quick in responding to all of my questions/requests as well. [They] even helped us get our business emails set up!

    I would definitely recommend Virgo Web Design as a go-to for all of your web design/development needs. I will definitely be using [them] again in the near future!"

    FRITZIE S.

    Genesis Hopeful Haven

  • [Virgo Web Design] has developed and designed multiple websites for me over the years. [Their] team are exceptionally skilled technicians. Their communication is easy to understand, and they are very proficient - even when near-end deadlines are demanding. Hiring Jerry Virgo and his team is one of the best decisions I have made for my company.

    Michael W

    One Chicago Realty

  • I've used Yahoo sitebuilder for several years and my e-commerce website was due for an overhaul. I asked around & received several recommendations from friends & other small businesses.

    Many of the other referrals came from Web design firms & had significantly higher overheads/billing rates...We had a tight timeline & [they were] very diligent at following up to avoid production delays at time when I was extremely busy. [They] did a nice all around job improving my SEO optimization, creating a polished final product, and documenting the back end with an easy to use manual.

    After the site when live, [they] stood by & helped me troubleshoot unanticipated events & helped me create work arounds.

    Chris H.

    City Tree Delivery

  • [Virgo Web Design] knocked out a full rebuild of our site in a few weeks, guided us through things we didn't understand with ease and calm and gave great advice, training and follow up service

    Nicholle D.

    DANK Haus

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