Breaking News - more joomla 1.6 templates were released in the last days, check our Joomla 1.6 Templates page.
Hello Friends,
Our first free Joomla 1.6 template "Green Nature", was released -
You can preview and download the template in our Joomla 1.6 Templates Page.
We will release more new cool templates in the upcoming weeks.
If you use this template and have feedback for us we will be happy to hear about it.
Joomla 1.6 is a great new step for the Joomla community and we are happy to be part of it.
Joomla 1.6 Templates system will include major changes in the templates manager. This article is a review of the features that will be included in joomla templates version 1.6.
The power of templates manager of joomla 1.5 gives you the ability to have a unique template on every page of the website. The parameters in the template manager are so flexible that it makes joomla one of a kind content management system for designers and users.
The joomla 1.6 has carried on this concept of template styles and will be coming as a default in the template manager of the latest version of joomla. The template manager is also the place where you can set the templates for the front end users as well as the templates for administrators at the back end. The list can also be filtered for only one location if required.
Template style is like a saved set of a certain template. For instance if you had designed a template and want it to be available in three colors e.g. red, blue or yellow. You can save the three styles individually and can set them up whenever you are bored of a certain style. This may take some time to set up. But for the ease of users a 'clone' feature is provided in the styles tab. In joomla 1.6 you don't have to change the entire template but you can select and change a few options and the clone feature can duplicate an existing style.
This makes it quite handy to edit styles quickly and easily. In joomla 1.6 templates you don't have to select a single style for all the pages in the website. There is a new filed in the menu manager that allows you to select a certain style for a certain page if required.
This is very important because right colors should be at the right places. You don't have to roam around in the admin panel to make it correct. Similarly you don't have to make an entire clone of a template just to change some options. The template designer is stuffed with lots of these features and at the same time kept it quite simple for the administrator. Joomla 1.6 contains new features in the toolbar. Some of the actions are Save &New and Save as Copy. What Save and New does is that it will save the current style and bring up a new blank page for you allowing you to create a new style so that you don't have to go back to the admin panel home. Whereas Save as copy will actually create a new copy of the style based on one you have open and then return you to the edit screen. It works similar to a word processor except that you miss the step in which you have to chose a new name.
Some designers include lots of options for the administrator to choose from. Changing its style to looks and feel. To make this manageable joomla 1.6 templates has created grounds for designers so that they can save these options into groups. It works just like the basic and advanced settings in the modules manager. The designers are able to save these options having basic and advanced options in separate groups. And some others like fancy add-ons so that all the options for looks can be kept separate from the other options.
Joomla 1.6 templates have some advanced features placed in the templates manager. The new version of joomla has a thumbnail view of all the templates that are available. And a new feature is built in where you just click on the thumbnail and a large window pops up and you can have a look what it may looks like in the full screen. Clicking on the template name brings up all the template files that are editable including the css, html and even php files. Clicking on the file names brings up an editor window where you can edit the code. The editor can highlight the commands of several languages in different colors.
Joomla 1.5 comes with three built-in templates. These are just for demonstration of joomla features:
MILKYWAY - comes in default with joomla 1.5. MILKYWAY is the reworking of the joomla 1.0 default template “solar flare”. It's just a simple template with some hardcoded elements.
BEEZ - It's not suggested to be used on a live site because of the unattractive looks.
JA PURITY - which is pretty impressive template and is designed by joomlart. It shows some advanced features of joomla with more parameters.
Template manager of the joomla 1.6 had crossed all barriers. Whether its flexibility or simplicity, the template manager is stuffed with tons of options. The new template styles will provide administrators and designers to work freely and more comfortably.
Brian Teeman, an important voice in the Joomla community, writes in his blog about the discussion on the development and design of sample templates for the upcoming Joomla 1.6 release.
In his opinion these Templates should be added in the upcoming version :
The blank template - This will be to an absolute bare minimum style. The purpose of this template is to make users learn and build their own templates. It will provide a testing ground for users where they can learn to build joomla templates from scratch through tutorials, documentation and videos. This is to prevent users from just redesigning the same template or using them as it is. This will result in growth of designer's community and much creative designs.
The accessible template - it will consist of table less code similar to the BEEZ template of joomla 1.5. This will provide users with a glimpse of what can be done. It will encourage users to build their own templates and if everything goes as planned it will place joomla in the front line of all content management systems.
The tutorial template - This template won't act as a showcase to joomla designs, but it will be a basis for teaching joomla as a whole system. It will be learning ground for the users and will be able to teach users module positioning. It will host all the modules at all times so that users can learn the positioning of modules.
The HTML 5 template - HTML 5 is a new standard and many browsers don't support it yet but joomla is making its way to HTML 5 as being the first content management system using HTML 5. This will make users learn HTML 5 before it becomes the standard of all browsers.
The mobile template - Templates for mobile devices have been pretty inn these days. Sites are building friendly views for mobile devices, so why not joomla. It will act as a showcase template for users and will support large range of mobile devices.
Joomla Overview
With the advancement of new software technology, there has been lot of content management systems available in the market and one choose for the best among them according the need. Since 2005 joomla has joined the ranks and has always been snatching the top place as people's favorite. The reason is joomla's exclusive features for free as well as the open source content management system. Through joomla content can be easily publish on web.
Joomla has made development of web simple and effortless. Joomla has a different style than many of the content management systems. At the same time, joomla has a backend server that allows any user to build a website with different choices and options.
Plug-ins has made website creation just a few clicks away and hence achieved awards for it. Plug-ins are actually additional features as an accessory to joomla. With the help of these plug-ins, the developers can customize different features to create variation in website. About 3000 plug-ins are available over the web and can be downloaded easily. At the same time, the directory can organize and sort them out for future correspondence. New plug-ins will also be added with the passage of time to make joomla a best choice for everyone.
Joomla is now used on almost all the website relating to online magazines and newspapers etc. Small business owners use joomla to design their website because of its innovative features. The greatest achievement of joomla is its use by websites of United Nations, Harvard University and many renowned companies. On the other hand, individual are also designing their websites with joomla to add a sleek look to their creation. Joomla shows great versatility in its features. Joomla is free of cost available over the internet for everyone. It is licensed with GPL.
Joomla is also free. It is available to everyone, and comes under the GPL license. This makes it not only usable but can be customized as required. Joomla is available for download at the official site and is updated regularly by a team of great professionals who work all the time maintaining it. Anyone who has a good idea and can develop modules can code it and spread it on the internet for free or for a fee. |