On this weeks show we have a look at a few extensions that you can use to create social sharing, build up your social profile and create social conversations on your Joomla website.
We also have a look at Joomla templates and some template clubs and providers out there.
Lastly we also have an interview with Peter van Westen from NoNumber talking a little bit about himself and how he got into Joomla as well as a little bit about his extensions.
Show Notes
Social Media Sharing
This is one of the best ways to share out your content across a myriad of social networks. To make this easier there are plenty of plugins and extensions which are available for you. Luckily for Joomla, there are plenty out there that do all these social sharing aspects that you might need for your website. We have used the Joomla extensions page to compile a list.
Social profile sharing
Shares a list of social media links that you may need to use on your website. Install this plug in, configure it and it will show your users all the networks you have a profile with. It can then be installed as a module on your site. One in particular is social media icon links which you can find on the JED (joomla extension directory). It is easy and simple to use.
Social media icon links module
Social sharing
You often will come across sites with counters at the top of the page indicating how many times the page has been shared on particular social networks. It is a great way to publicise your content online to social networks. The one we suggest is called SP Share, by JoomShaper.com, it integrates in the ‘share this' which is a 3rd party social sharing and analytics service. Register an account on the sharethis website. Allows you to add social sharing buttons to K2 category or Joomla category.
SP Share plugin
Social Comments
We recommend using Disqus comments, it integrates with social media really well. Engages users and creates conversation behind content on your website. Search JED for Disqus comments, check out the demo on how Disqus works. You could also use Facebook comment integration, where comments made by readers can show up on their Facebook news feed.
Disqus comments by JoomlaWorks Facebook Comments plugin Tip of the Week - Templates
Control the look and feel of your Joomla website. The default templates are great as a start up but it is important to shift away from these to create a different template to stand out. Here are a few template providers that we recommend.
- JoomlArt
- RocketTheme
- JoomlaShine
- JoomlaBamboo
- Gavick Pro
If you don't know how to code or customise the templates, look for providers which have support alongside the templates.
Let us know of your thoughts about these template providers in the comments section below.
Interview with Peter van Westen from Regular Labs (formerly NoNumber)
Hailing all the way from the Netherlands, Peter has a background in becoming a pastry chef, but later switched across to web development. Eager for a life of learning everyday, in the world of progressive web development. He created extensions which were available for free and using a donation system. Eventually he switched to a modern model of free/pro versions.
Some popular extensions on NoNumber include ‘advanced module manager'. With the core module manager you can assign modules to menu items or assign it to anything you want. Allows for flexibility in how you want modules to appear. Another is ‘module anywhere'. Allows you to place a module anywhere you want. Lastly, ‘articles anywhere' which is the same concept as module anywhere.
Future for NoNumber, Peter tells us he still has to do the Joomla 3.0 compatibility for some of the extensions and is looking into creating some more extensions along the line of the advanced module manager.
- regularlabs.com
For listeners, promo code on the NoNumber.nl site. Use the promo code that you can find by listening to the podcast and save 30% off extensions.
If you want the coupon code to Peter's extensions from RegularLabs, you have to listen to the podcast ;)
Thank you so much Peter for letting me interview you and thank you for the promo code. I think a lot of people have found the NoNumber coupon code quite useful.
Other News
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