Perhaps you are a non-coder, you installed Joomla! on your server using Fantastico with all the default Joomla content, your site works and you are a happy bunny! So why do you need this active Joomla Community? Sooner or later you will hit a problem, you will need more functionality and you will want to make your site look different from the crowd.

Why you might need the Community:

Security – Help my site has been hacked! – yes it does happen, even to Joomla. But within the Community to will find experts who will help you to find the problem, restore your site, and give advice to help you prevent this in the future ie backup frequently and keep your Joomla version up to date. Fantastico is a great assistant but unfortunately the versions it installs are often outdated. Because Joomla is a high profile CMS, it is a target for hackers but thankfully we have a dedicated security team at Joomla.

Templating – Changing the look and feel of your site. The Community has the answers! You can find help and information from as little as changing the font color to changing your template completely.

Extensions – Apart from the the ‘core’ Joomla extensions, these are developed for Joomla by the Community – third-party developers. You want to add a gallery for example? Go to the JED (Joomla Extensions Directory – 4357 extensions available to date), add a gallery but don’t forget to check for the Community’s assessment of the extension, problems and solutions in implementing they might have had and general trouble shooting.

This is one time you should ‘follow the crowd’. Today there are just about a quarter of a million members of the Joomla Forum with over one and a half million posts. Joomla is Open Source, it is free, give back to the Community and help make it even better!