Why are Joomla extensions important if it is already being touted as a feature-rich CMS system? Joomla on its own would be sufficient enough, but, you need to consider the kind of output that you want to achieve. Let’s say you want to build a website, definitely you would need additional features to make it more functional and visibly appealing. How is this done? Through the use of extensions. Now, let’s take a look at the types of Joomla Extensions.

Components

This is considered as the largest and most complex among all Joomla extensions. These extensions are often considered as mini-applications. Components generally can be divided into the administrator and site part. Each time a Joomla page is requested, the component will be used to render the body of the chosen page. Since components are major elements of the page, it emphasizes why Joomla extensions are important. It is important to note that every item on the menu runs a separate component.

Modules

When it comes to Joomla extensions, modules are characterized as flexible and lightweight used to render a page. Modules are commonly known as boxes, which are arranged around the component. A good example of a module is a footer. The module is commonly assigned to each menu item, which means that you have the option of hiding or showing the module depending on the menu item the user chooses to view. Modules do not necessarily have to be linked to components and can therefore be static like text or HTML.

Templates

Are templates considered as extensions? In Joomla, templates are the design extensions that allows users to change the look and feel of the website. The templates normally accommodates one component field and multiple module fields. These can be built and customized easily to deliver maximum flexibility based on your desired style.

Plugins

These are synonymous to event handlers, which means that they are more advanced forms of extensions. It does not matter if the core, module, or component is being executed in Joomla, the event can always be triggered. Only the plugins that are registered with the specific application will be triggered to handle its execution.

Languages

Among all the extensions, language is the most basic type. There are two ways to package languages, as a core or as an extension. Both of these packages are made up of key and value pairs that contains the translation of the static text strings that are assigned from the Joomla source code. The administrator and front sides of the Joomla site will be affected by the language packs.

Importance of Extension Order

Every website manager or administrator working with Joomla should understand the importance of the extension or plugin order to prevent potential problems from hounding their sites. The installation of the extension would normally be easy and straightforward, but, this does not mean that everything will automatically work fine from the onset.

Usually problems can occur when cache or SEO plugins are being used. In this instance, the order of extensions become important in solving possible problems you will encounter. The execution of the extensions will be based on the order that they appear in the Manager found in the administrator side of Joomla. The best order for extensions in this instance that is highly suggested would be:

·         All other types of plugins;

·         SEO and SEF plugins; and

·         Cache plugins.

Why is this necessary? When you place the cache plugin before the other types, it will have no effect on the output because the content remains cached. This is why the cache should be in the lowest order possible after all other plugins have been loaded.

This is why it is important to look at the logical order of the extensions and its effects on the other types you are loading. Make sure that you clean the cache after the order has been changed. This will ensure that the new order will have an effect.

Contact Joomava to help you with installing the extensions you need.