06
May
2009
Joomla Must Have Extensions
Written by Piet Nutbey   

In the 5 years I now work with Joomla, I have seen Joomla extensions come and go. I have created a list which contains of what I think are 10 must have Joomla extensions. All extensions listed here are 100% free versions. There are no commercial extensions listed here.

ExtPlorer File Manager

ExtPlorer Joomla File ManagerExtPlorer is a web-based file manager and comes and installs as a Joomla component. Sometimes we just don't always have FTP access or we don't want to switch between Joomla and having to go to your FTP application, with ExtPlorer File Manager you can:

  • browse directories & files on the server
  • edit, copy, move, delete files
  • search, upload and download files
  • create and extract archives
  • create new files and directories
  • change file permissions (chmod)

And much more...

Click here to go the the website and download ExtPlorer


AllVideos

AllVideos Joomla VideosAllVideo is a must have extensions and is a Joomla Plugin. It is the easiest media plugin available for Joomla. If you want YouTube videos, Google Videos or your own videos in your Joomla website, then you should absolutely install this plugin. It is free and there is almost no video channel that is not in AllVideos. Embedding videos in your Joomla content has never been easier. One simple line of code and voila, the video is in. No more pasting huge video embedding codes that can't be pasted with your WYSIWYG editor. AllVideos can just be used WITH WYSIWYG editor on.

Click here to go to the website and download AllVideos


sh404 Joomla SEO

sh404 Joomla Search Engine OptimizationThis is a Joomla component that will help you SEO (Search Engine Optimization). There are pages and pages full of how to optimize your website for Search Engines. But it starts with SEF (Search Engine Friendly url's) and proper Metatags. sh404 will be your helping hand in that. Highly configurable and versatile. Be sure to install this component when you want to optimize your website to be found by Google, Yahoo and many other search engines.

Click here to go to the website and download sh404


JCE WYSIWYG Editor

JCE WYSIWYG EditorJoomla's built-in WYSIWYG Editor lacks a few things, especially concerning inserting pictures and putting in links. JCE comes partly as a component, partly as a plugin and also has extra plugins for the component itself like advanced image editor etc. and is easy to install. It has a decent paste-from-Word cleanup for those that work a lot with Word documents that you paste into your Joomla editor. It will give you just a bit more of a feeling you are working with a true text editor. It has several extra additions and after a tiny learning curve it is a great editor and will give you a lot of benefits above Joomla's built in editor. In short, a must have!

Click here to go to the website and download JCE


Joomla FCK Editor

Personally I am not 100% familiar with FCK Editor as my personal preference goes to JCE, although this list is not about my personal preferences, but about decent and must-have Joomla extensions. A very well written editor has been around since 2005 and that is FCK Editor. It deals with html code and css code in a bit of a different way than JCE does and some users like FCK better than JCE, you'll have to try it out yourself.

Click here to go to the website and download FCK Editor


JoomlaPack Joomla Backup

JoomlaPack BackupThis Joomla component lets you backup and restore your Joomla website with the ease of pressing the button "Back Up Now". Whether you are a Joomla beginner or a Joomla pro, a decent backup will eventually at a certain moment be able to rescue you. There is so much that can go wrong even without the fault being yours, you simply can't sleep properly without knowing there is no backup done. JoomlaPack will make you sleep properly. We also created a Joomla Video Tutorial on JoomlaPack that can be seen here: Watch Tutorial.

Click here to go to the website and download JoomlaPack


Joomap Sitemap

Joomap SitemapThis is a Joomla component. A must have in combination with sh404 for your SEO. Joomap will create not only a proper sitemap in your Joomla website, which you can use to create an overview of your pages for visitors, it also creates a very decent xml sitemap that can be submitted to Google webmaster Tools and other Search Engines. In short a must have for proper SEO.

Click here to go to the website and download Joomap


Simple Image Gallery

Simple Image GalleryThis is a Joomla plugin. Joomla Photo galleries come in all shapes and sizes. One even more beautiful than the other, but many have a downside; creating and adding a gallery almost needs you to be a rocket-scientist to get that done. Simple Image Gallery is the easiest Photo Gallery available for Joomla. One simple line of code and Simple Image Gallery makes a nice looking gallery of the folder of photos you have chosen. In short, upload your folder of pictures, point Simple Image Gallery to that folder with one simple line of code and you're done. It's that easy.

Click here to go to the website and download Simple Image Gallery


Community Builder

Community BuilderA Joomla component with extra modules and plugins. Community Builder can be used in several ways, but in short; it allows a very extensive user management beyond Joomla's built in capabilities. You can use Community Builder to have a very extensive registration form, instead of the common username - password. There are no limits. Next to that, Community Builder is the foundation of a Social Network Website and it can be expanded beyond comprehension. It is so versatile and useful and a must have for any community based website.

Click here to go to the website and download Community Builder


ChronoForms

ChronoFormsJoomla component with extra modules and plugins. ChronoForms is to create forms in Joomla. Forms have always been quite a hassle to create, whether you create them in an html editor like DreamWeaver or through 3rd party websites that offer you online form creators. ChronoForms makes your life easier concerning creating forms in Joomla. You can create very complex forms and can even use ChronoForms to have visitors submit content to your website! I have been using this one for almost 5 years now and it has grown so much. Again a definite must have in your Joomla installation when you are going to use forms. Of-course in this website we make use of ChronoForms!

Click here to go to the website and download ChronoForms


ChronoComments

ChronoFormsA Joomla Component with extra modules and plugins. ChronoComment is a commenting system for Joomla. Personally I think it is one of the nicer ones out there in JoomlaLand. It has a very versatile configuration and you can build in safety mechanisms the way you want. Have guests post comments or not, have guests first verify the post through email verification. Auto-publish or not. graphically this is one of the nicer ones available and can be easily set where to show comments and where not. There are quite some commenting systems available. After several years of trying them all out, I must say ChronoComments is a keeper!

Click here to go to the website and download ChronoComments

 

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