Blog
Some occassional technical ramblings centred around my use of Joomla! and css/html/javascript with things I learn (mainly from others) along the journey.
I started building small websites around 2007 using MS FrontPage and table designs in html - complex, inflexible, dreadful. I have been a Joomla! user since around 2009 with Joomla! 1.5. What a journey since then and what a lot I have learned!
Website design, build and support is a part-time role for me having retired from full time work in 2007. Although my focus is small businesses, volunteer and community groups (and I am part-time) I non the less bring 26 years of previous experience to bear, from IT in small to large organisations, in what I do and how I work with my customers.
Enhancing Volunteer-Led Small Museums through (Simple) I.T.
- Written by: Steve Gibbon
On January 18th 2024 I provided an online 30 minute presentation to the Volunteer Organisation Network (VON) for Museum Development NorthEast (MDNE).The subject is Enhancing volunteer-led museums through the use of simple I.T.. I speak with over 40 years experience in I.T. and 17 in designing and building websites and my last 5 years as volunteer Chairman of a volunteer-led small rural museum.
The attached content and the pdf of the slide set contain information/warnings on USB Sticks in organisations which was verbally mentioned at the end of the presentation when first given.
Read more: Enhancing Volunteer-Led Small Museums through (Simple) I.T.
Joomla SEO and use of the PWT SEO Component
- Written by: Steve Gibbon
Improving SEO on my Joomla Websites
Okay, I admit it I have been a tad lazy when it comes to Search Engine Optimisatio (SEO) and Joomla. I have read books on the subject and lots of online information, even attended a Joomla presentation on SEO at a conference but I still take a not much more than minimilist approach to the subject.
Update on Joomla! version 4 website migration
- Written by: Steve Gibbon
Some time ago I wrote about my attempt at migrating the first of my websites from Joomla! Version 3 to Joomla! Version 4. First attempts had not been very successful but I eventually got there. I was however. put off undertaking any further migrations on my larger sites as the process had not been easy. I therefore continued with versions 3. as far as I could. Time has now ran out with support disappearing for the 3. versions so over this Christmas, with a bit of down time, I decided to try again with three other sites, one large (in terms of content and users) at least by my standards. The other two were small with between 49 and 89 articles for example and in one case about 50 users. Here is what I have found and will take forward now to migrate all my sites:
MVC Progress
- Written by: Steve Gibbon
My attempts to devlop a Joomla! 4 component over Christmas for my little side project has proved hugely enjoyable as well as challenging and have given me some welcome 'rest' from the normal routine. I have however ran into a few issues.
I was using a very good bit of guidance from the joomla docs website on developing an MVC and was following this fairly well albeit with some difficulty when editing it to my needs. However, I ran into problems when the documentation 'ran out' and failed to progress beyond database usage in the Joomla 4 variant of the documentation. (I had taken a view I might as well develop a new component in Joomla! 4 from the off to save effort later). This is where I discovered my skills were just not quite good enough to take the MVC further without help from a completed documentation set, as I have databases and forms to address in the component as well as basic business processes so there is a lot going on.
I therefore took a step back (remember this is a feasibility project so I am trying to get a rudimentary site up and running and bells and whistles can follow later), and reverted to some coding on a Joomla! 3 site. Here the APIs are much better documented and I can find examples for everything I need (so far). I have bee able to easily resolve issues and do what I need so far.
So its two steps forward and one back at the moment but at leat I am making forward progress, learning new things every day, and making a workable prototype. I end the Christmas break quite happy indeed!
Developing a new component
- Written by: Steve Gibbon
As another voluntary project I am looking at supporting the local Deanery (73 Parishes) with some very basic book keeping software to manage simple Parish Accounts. There is no budget for using something that can already provide this functionality online as the costs across 73 Parishes is potentially high and disproprtionate to the requirement. The functionality required is extremely simple compared with the vast array of requirements supported by an online accounting package.
This started as a simple feasibility exercise and I drafted up some basic casbook forms and views in an evening using php/html/js/css. This gave me something to demonstrate quickly, test requirements and establish whether the idea would work. So far, I can make an entry in the cashbook (all fields validated) and display back the accounts resulting. The prototype site has responsive design and basic accessibility features I build into all my work. So far so good.
However, I am a bit of a perfectionist and like the odd pet project so while the client thinks abut this (over Christmas) I have continued with the development. Having made a non-functional prototype the next steps are:
- Allow editing or deleting of entries
- Create individual cashbooks for up to 73 or more Parishes (the prototype assumes 1 Parish)
- Close a financial year
- Surround the whole package with login security and associated functionality (manage passwords etc) and access controls
- Provide a firewall
- Provide an admin interface
- Provide backup and restore functionality (as a long time user of Akeeba I intended to use theor stand alone backup package for php sites)
- Decide whether to store and retriebe the data from spreadsheets (CSV files to be accurate) or use a database
To put this into context I am a basic php coder but can achieve a lot with that level of expertise and use of Google. I have built a few sites on a similar basis before.
However, this project requires a but of a step up with security and based on past experience I knew I could wrap the project into a Joomla! site where much of what I needed would be supported 'out of the box' - user management and all associated functionality, backup and restore via Akeeba. Firewall and other facilities also via Akeeba. So last night I set off on this path and I have been investigating writing a Joomla! 4 component. I have never built any form of Joomla exension previously so there is clearly a lot of learning to do.
Thankfully building an MVC component in Joomla is well documented with some good basic examples. This will stretch my skillset further (good!) and may take me a little longer than intended (c'est la vie) but the end result will be more robust and scaleable (very good). I am looking forward to it.
I will let you know how the journey progresses.