Blog entries

Joomla Training by Design Monster

Paul — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:59:19 +0100

We are pleased to announce Joomla Training. We spend quite a bit of time coaching and instructing our clients on how to use Joomla and have found that sometimes, people just need a little one-on-one time to learn a specific procedure or task.

With our training for Joomla, Paul will spend time with you on the task that you need help with. No more searching through manuals trying to find out that one or two things. With the use of screen-sharing software and the telephone, he will eitherRead More...

Useful Browser Tools for Websites

Paul — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:00:00 +0100

There are a few tools that I find very useful when working on websites. Recently I've had several people asking me about them and it seems that they are quite useful even if you're just viewing a site, so I though I would share them here...

These are all Firefox add-ons, so if you are a die-hard Internet Explorer user, you'll need to install Firefox to use these tools.

Firebug - I use this tool more than any other, hands down. This tool allows you to see what is going on behiRead More...

How to Work with Joomla Articles

Paul — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:49:49 +0100

One of the greatest benefits of Joomla is the ability to change your website's content without actually knowing HTML. This is done through the Article Manager in the administrator, or backend, of Joomla. While not exactly equal, you can relate an article to a webpage. Using a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, you can create, edit and format your website's content. However, things aren't always what they seem and there are some tricks tRead More...

How to Find Out the Module Positions in Joomla

Paul — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:34:06 +0100

Many times you will find yourself working with a Joomla template that you didn't design. Even if the template was custom design for you, you may not know where all the module positions are. You may also be trying to find out how to edit a module, but can't figure out where it is.

Fortunately, the folks at Joomla thought of this, so there is a way to find out. To find out what and where your module positions are, add this to the end of your website address:

?tp=1

Example: Read More...

Work-Around To Insert Google Maps and Other Scripts in a Joomla Article (Without the Code Being ...

Paul — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:12:53 +0100

This is an endless challenge to the Joomla administrator – how do I insert code into an article? There are many add-on editors that can be used and there are many “specific” plugins you can install for each particular instance, but I’ve found this works regardless of your editor. Furthermore, unlike the “no editor” option, even if someone else goes in to edit that article, the code doesn’t change.

This method involves two Joomla extensions:

Easy Script Module
Modules AnywhereRead More...

Best and Worst Web Host for Joomla

Paul — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:53:52 +0100

Web hosting is a critical part of a website. However, not all webhosts are created equal. Too many people pick a webhost because of a pretty interface or because they recognize the brand name instead of determining whether or not a host can actually support their website’s capabilities. Even worse, many designers choose their reseller account based on these same flashy interfaces rather than the quality for their customers.

When it comes to Joomla, most webhosts can support Read More...

Welcome to DesignMonster

Paul — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:53:22 +0100

Welcome to our website. We have setup this site to be a representation of ourselves and our business, while providing an information base for the community.

We are web developers, designers and troubleshooters. Our work fluctuates with our client’s needs. We work largely with Joomla and are fluent with (X)HTML and CSS and knowledgeable with PHP and MySQL.

This site was built on the Joomla platform, version 1.5. It is hosted with Hostgator, who I highly recommendRead More...