Joomla is a fantastic choice if you are looking for a free CMS.
The number of extensions for it is really impressive and I think that you'll find it very easy to use.
It does have a few very important downfalls.
You link modules to specific sections of your website based on the menu links that you create. Each menu item has ad ID and that ID is what the modules are linked to so if you goto menu item 23, then all of the modules linked to that menu item will be displayed on that page.
This works great unless the item ID is not used or you have an old link to the page that was replaced and the item ID is no longer the same. Then none of the module specified for that item will be displayed. Only the global items will show...
The second problem is the user group system and permission settings. Again, the system was built on a very easy to use and develop method but lacks the versatility required by many webmasters today. You have 3 user groups. The backend lets you specify more user types but in the end, they fit into one of three groups. Public, Registered, and Special. Registered adopts all permissions of Public and Special adopts all permissions of Registered. So the system is actually set up in levels. Which means, you cannot display something to the Public without the Registered and Special users seeing it too. Additionally, you can't display something to Admins without all Special users seeing it!
I had hoped that the newest version of Joomla (1.5) would have addressed these problems but it seems that they only fixed things that aren't apparent to the average user. The updates were important but like I said, most webmasters won't notice the majority of the changes since they were optimization and security updates that don't show.
Having said all of that, I am a Joomla user and have developed a number of extensions for the system. Even though it has these issues, it is the foremost Free CMS available and easy to use.
vujsa
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