If you have been contemplating whether a Joomla-based website is right for you, you may want to check out Joomla's "Absolute Beginner's Guide to Joomla." Much of the information found in the rest of this post will be condensed from this informative web page, so if you desire more in depth knowledge, visit Joomla's site.

One nice feature that Joomla allows you to do is take a "test drive" with their system. They let you go to a demonstration site, sign in as a backend Administrator, and change some options to see what an end product will look like. This feature helps you to get familiar with the content management system so that you can test out whether it is something that would be right for the needs of your own web site.

Joomla recommends something that you should do no matter what system you use to manage your website, and that is to plan in advance. You will want to look at the big picture. Joomla poses 4 questions that may help you to do this:

* What do you want to accomplish with your website?

* What is the nature and quantity of content you wish to present?

* Who is your audience, and how do you want to interact with them?

* What types of budgets or timetables are you working within?

Regarding any of these 4 questions, the last thing you want to do is get "web site happy" and go in without a plan. You will end up spending a great deal more money than you would had you simply sat down and focused on the answers to these questions.

So, unless you already know somebody who has explained how Joomla has benefitted their own web site, you are probably asking yourself "What can Joomla do for me?" Joomla allows the user to:

* Edit the content of every page of your site through a word processor-style interface.

* Add new pages to your site using a point-and-click interface.

* Add images and other media through Web-based uploads.

* Control site elements like navigation menus and page layout.

These are only a few of the features you will get with Joomla's Content Management System. The company makes it beyond easy to create and manage your web site. You do not need a web site designer at your disposal to have the kind of web site you see other companies have. In fact, there is a good chance that the other sites you see from various companies are managed through someone using the Joomla system.

Although Joomla does use the PHP programming language within its system, as a user you do not need to know and understand this language to install it and create the web site in the way you want.

Because there is much to relate in regards to the Joomla Content Management System, we will continue with this topic through future posts. In the meantime, it may be helpful to spend a bit of time focusing on the 4 questions above to get an idea of ​​what you want from your web site.