Phew! Where do we start? Joomla is a Content Management System (CMS) that is built on the PHP programming language. It is used to design and develop dynamic (interactive and changing, based on user needs and requests) websites. It uses MySQL as a database to store the site users, articles and other information needed and used by the website. If you would like to learn more about the Joomla operating system then we would recommend you follow the popular forums. Click here for the minimum technical requirement to run Joomla. Click here for the Joomla forum. Design Four online training programme will concentrate on Joomla front-end, back-end, user-permissions, design capabilities and any topics that may require further explanation that are not covered by the forums.

Even though, Joomla is built using the PHP programming language, you don’t have to know a single line or command of PHP for you to use Joomla to design and develop interactive and sophisticated websites. You will have an added advantage over others if you already know some PHP, but don’t worry, you can develop great websites without having to write a single line of PHP code yourself. Neither do you need to know MySQL. You can build and launch functional Joomla websites without knowing MySQL.

There are no advanced skills needed to develop Joomla-based websites. But here are some skills that will come in handy sometimes:

HTML: A working knowledge (even if basic) of HTML is useful especially when you want to do some custom modification of the Joomla templates. But if you need to brush up on the fundamentals then click here for this site is were most designers learn their trade. You can aslo test your skills with fun exercises.

CSS: Cascading Style Sheets is a form of HTML that is used to design the formatting (tables, color schemes, etc.) of your website. It is used heavily in designing your Joomla templates. Click here for understanding the basics and try out the fun exercises to test your new learnt skills.

PHP: It is great if you understand how to code in PHP. If you can’t, don’t worry, it is NOT necessary for you to learn it to develop Joomla websites. Click here for PHP latest information. Click here for an introduction to the language.

MySQL: This is the database management system that Joomla uses to store your website’s content and user information in. It is great if you understand how it works. But if you don’t, don’t worry about it, your Joomla websites will still work in the background to make everything work seamlessly and painlessly without you having to touch the MySQL database at all. Click here for the latest development.

JavaScript: This is used to manipulate forms, CSS tags and more. Click here for an introduction to javascript.

Hopefully we have not put you off learning Joomla! As stated, you can skip all of the above and concentrate on administrating and designing your website. Not only that, we will be explaining how to prepare organising your business website and introducing you to basic marketing techniques. Click here to go to our 'preparing your website' link that explains the main points to consider before developing your site.