What is joomla?
Joomla is a free and open source content management system (CMS) designed to assist users in building websites and other online applications. It is offered under the General Public License (GPL) version 2.0.Joomla is a continuation of the work of the development team that unanimously resigned from the Mambo project in August 2005.Joomla version 1.0 is derived from Mambo 4.5.2.3 but includes many additional bug fixes and security patches.
The Joomla Web CMS is considered to be a popular choice for many types of websites, such as: personal sites, corporate sites, small business sites, news or blogs, government applications and sites where secure logins are required. The ecosystem of Joomla developers and users provide products and services to the Joomla community which has more than 1.5 million members and more than 20,000 developers.
What does "Joomla version" means?
Joomla version means the every updated release of joomla in several times. Those updates or changes are done due to make joomla more useable, secure & user-friendly. the following chart shows the history of joomla version:
Joomla versions
Version Release date Supported until
1.0 2005-09-22 2009-07-22 Release no longer supported
1.5 (LTS) 2008-01-22 2012-12-01 " " " "
1.6 2011-01-10 2011-08-19 " " " "
1.7 2011-07-19 2012-02-24 " " " "
2.5 (LTS) 2012-01-24 2014-12-31 Release still supported
3.0 2012-09-27 2013-04 Release no longer supported
3.1 2013-04-24 2013-10 " " " "
3.2 2013-11-06 2014-04 " " " "
3.3 2014-04-30 2014-10 Release still supported
3.5 (LTS) 2014-09 Future release
4.0 2015-03 " "
4.1 2015-09 " "
4.2 2016-03 " "
4.5 (LTS) 2016-09 " "
What is Joomla plugin?
A Joomla plugin is a small, but important combination of relevant code that manipulates a default Joomla function before it’s looked or worked. Joomla plugins are generally created by 3rd party developers like us, and are widely used to extend and customize the users experience. In other words, Plugins provide functions which are associated with trigger events.
How do joomla Plugins Work?
Plugins work in three steps, as follows:
1. One or more plugin files are included into the current script, usually with the JPluginHelper::importPlugin() method. Because plugins are normally class declarations, no code is executed at this point.
2. An event is triggered, usually with the $dispatcher->trigger() method (where $dispatcher is a JDispatcher object). Each event has a name, such as onBeforeInitialise or onContentBeforeSave.
3. The event processing code looks for any enabled plugins that are currently loaded that have a method that matches the event name. If any matching methods are found, they are executed.
How to create my first joomla plugin for 2.5?
Step 1: Create the Plugin Files
All Joomla 2.5 plugins contain a xml file. These xml files contain information such as who wrote the plugin and when, what files should be included with the plugin, and any plugin settings that can be adjusted. The first thing you should do is copy the following text and save it as "helloworld.xml"
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<extension version="2.5" type="plugin" group="content">
<name>plg_content_helloworld</name>
<author>Brad Markle</author>
<creationDate>June 18th, 2012</creationDate>
<copyright>InMotion Hosting</copyright>
<license>GNU General Public License</license>
<authorEmail>This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.</authorEmail>
<authorUrl>http://www.inmotionhosting.com</authorUrl>
<version>1.0</version>
<description>Simple Hello World Plugin that prints "Hello World" at the beginning of every article.</description>
<files>
<filename plugin="helloworld">helloworld.php</filename>
<filename>index.html</filename>
</files>
</extension>
Step 2: After creating the XML file, we now need to create our php file, which does all of the work. The following code should be saved to "helloworld.php"<?php
// no direct access
defined('_JEXEC') or die;
class plgContentHelloworld extends JPlugin
{
public function onContentAfterTitle($context, &$article, &$params, $limitstart)
{
return "<p>Hello World!</p>";
}
}
?>
Step 3: The last file we need to create is one named "index.html". You don't need to place any code in the file, you simply need to create it.
At this stage, you should have the following files:
helloworld.xml
helloworld.php
index.html
Step 4: Compress all of these files into a zip file named "helloworld.zip"
credit: http://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/joomla-25/create-plugin/hello-world
How to install Joomla Plugin for 2.5?
step 1: Log into your Joomla Dashboard
step 2: In the top menu, hover over Extensions and click Extension Manager
step 3: Under Upload Package Manager, click Browse and find the plugin you downloaded to your computer. After clicking on the plugin name, click Open, and then click Upload & Install.When the plugin has been uploaded and installed successfully, you will see a confirmation message
step 4: At this point you have successfully uploaded and installed a plugin! Plugins are not enabled by default, so our next step is to configure and enabled our plugin. In the top menu, hover over Extensions and click Plug-In Manager
step 5: Use the Filter feature to find your plugin, and then click on the plugin in the list below
step 6: On the Plug-in Manager page, set Status to Enabled, configure any of the other settings available with the plugin, and then click Save & Close
Congratulations, you have just downloaded, installed, configured, and enabled a Joomla 2.5 Plugin!
credit: http://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/joomla-25/extensions/how-to-install-a-plugin
15 most rated joomla Pluging ever made!
(1) JSitemap
(2) Advanced Module Manager
(3) Recently Hit Articles
(4) Tabs
(5) Commedia
(6) Sourcerer
(7) Modals
(8) EasySocial
(9) Articles Anywhere
(10) Ads Elite
(11) Multiple Customfields Filter for Virtuemart
(12) QuickSell File Seller
(13) Modules Anywhere
(14) Autostand
(15) Product Share
click here (url: http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/top-rated) to download them.
credit: http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/top-rated
Reference:
credit:http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/J/Joomla.html
credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joomla
credit: http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/web-development/joomla/9780132780841/extending-joomla-with-plugins/ch05lev1sec2
Thank you for for reading our article. If you are satisfied, then share your feelings with us in comment box.
ENHANCING SEARCH
Joomla! search sometimes needs a little help. Here are two Extensions that enhance the site search experience.
JXtended Finder
Finder is an advanced search engine for Joomla!, giving you a more powerful alternative to the default search functionality. In addition to full text search, the Extension also enables a variety of filters, including custom-defined filters. This is a commercial Extension.
PixSearch
The PixSearch Module creates an Ajax-based search box that searches as you type and displays results immediately in a pop-up box. The search is similar to that seen on a number of sites and in the Mac OSX Spotlight search feature. This is a non-commercial Extension but it does require registration.
ENHANCING MENUS AND NAVIGATION
While the most recent version of Joomla! provides more flexibility in the Menu layouts, these two extensions make it easy to create great looking Menus in a variety of formats and styles.
Extended Menu
Extended Menu extends the functionality of Joomla’s MainMenu Module. You will still have to use CSS to achieve the styling, but the configuration options make it very easy to change the menu orientation and to split and re-order the Menu. The Extension also enhances the ability to work with parent-child menu item relationships. This is a non-commercial Extension.
SwMenu
swMenu is a set of Menu creation and management Extensions. You can create and integrate unlimited Menu Modules and achieve a wide variety of styling. There are commercial and non-commercial versions available on the developer’s site.
BUILDING COMPLEX FORMS
The default Joomla! system offers extremely limited options for form creation. The Extensions listed below address this issue by providing the ability to create complex forms on your Joomla! site.
BfForms
An AJAX admin interface makes it easy to create complex forms. The Extension supports unlimited forms and fields and is Smarty Templates enabled. Forms created with this Extension support the Akismet and Mollom anti-SPAM systems, as well as IP banning and blacklists. Submit buttons and validation are also configurable. This is a commercial Extension.
ChronoForms
ChronoForms is a great choice for those with HTML skills who want more control over their forms. With this Extension, you can create the form in your favorite HTML editor, then copy and paste it into the ChronoForms Component. There is also a drag and drop form creation interface for those who don’t want to do the work in HTML. The Extension also gives you to ability to create database tables and connect those to forms, thereby allowing you to capture form data in the DB. This is a non-commercial component, but does include a back link to the developer’s site. You can remove the back link for a fee.
RSform!Pro
RSForm! Pro is an AJAX-enabled form builder. The Extension supports a wide variety of fields and input types and allows you to create forms without any HTML knowledge. Data gathered with the forms can be exported to CSV format. This is a commercial Extension.
Smartly Show Your Facebook Page Event Inside Your Joomla Site.
A smart plugin and module together to display details of any Public Facebook Event. After giving Facebook APP ID, select style and enjoy. Keep your visitors on your site while giving them all details about your FB Event.
Promote and take traffic to your Facebook Event Page easily!
Latest Version(2.5) Released. Compatible with latest Joomla and facebook App version 3.0
(Demo 1) (Demo 2) (Demo 3) (Demo 4) JED Approved » Support forum DocumentationCore Features
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Joomla Version Support

Supports all Major Browsers

Commonly Asked Questions
SUPPORT FORUM
Have Question? Go to Our Support Forum »
Version History
Version | Date | Change |
---|---|---|
2.5 | 27/09/2018 | * API updated |
2.0 | 24/09/2017 | * API updated+UI improvement+Control Improvement |
1.5 | 31/05/2016 | * Control improvement: Added new feature - Events attending parameters |
1.4 | 26/01/2016 | * Control improvement: Added new feature - sorting events in Reverse order |
1.2 | 01/11/2015 | * Control improvement: Set maximum limit of events |
1.1 | 10/07/2015 | * Sorting events in chronological order |
1.0 | 31/05/2015 | * Initial release |
A Smart Way to Show Related Items at Anywhere in the Content of a Page. Simple & Easy
Ever wondered how the great news websites suggest related articles, great e-commerce sites show other related products as their visitors browse any particular page and read a story? With this Plugin you can achieve just that with style.
Screenshot

Video Demo
Customers Love it!
Shortcode based Related Article Embedder: Great Support
I just started using this extension and am so far very pleased with the functionality and support. I like being able to embedd related articles into individual stories of my choosing, and having the option to have them generated based on Meta data, titles or individual article IDs. I was also very happy with the support I received when I asked a question about the functionality. The developer added the functionality I asked about and released a new version that included this. This extension appears to have great support!
klmartin, via Joomla Extension DirectoryAdmin Screenshots





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Joomla Version Support

Supports all Major Browsers

Commonly Asked Questions
Shortcode Syntax is Pretty Simple:
{cbrelatedarticle /}
For more details please check details shortcode usages guide (only for content plugin)
SUPPORT FORUM
Have Question? Go to Our Support Forum »
Version History
Version | Date | Change |
---|---|---|
2.0 | 29/08/2017 | * Add Auto Update |
1.5 | 24/07/2013 | + Control improvements |
1.3 | 03/10/2012 | * Bug fixes |
1.1 | 22/07/2012 | * Initial release |
Most Easy Way to Show Important Announcement or Eye Catchy Fancy Message to Visitor
If you want to generate more leads to your potential products and wants to increase sale by giving exciting offers to visitors then our plugin can help you do just that. With our Announcement Flyout Box you can achieve just that with style as it supports raw HTML.
Core Features
Video Demo
Look & Feel

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Joomla Version Support

Supports all Major Browsers

Commonly Asked Questions
Version History
Version | Date | Change |
---|---|---|
1.0 | 19/10/2014 | * Initial release |
Show K2 Related Items at Any page of Your Site with Image and Title. Simple & Smart
Ever wondered how you could suggest your customers related K2 items? Definitely it's a great way to increase your sales or increase the traffic of your website. With this Plugin you can achieve that very easily and effectively.
Demo: Scroll at the bottom of this page and you will see related k2 items. This is done by this very product
Core Features
Video Demo
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Joomla Version Support

Supports all Major Browsers

Commonly Asked Questions
SUPPORT FORUM
Have Question? Go to Our Support Forum »
Version History
Version | Date | Change |
---|---|---|
1.0.2 | 20/08/2015 | * Carousel animation added |
1.0 | 01/12/2014 | * Initial release |
Most Easy Way to Encourage Users to Sign-up or Sign-in to See More of Website Contents
Convincing users to sign up in a website is a difficult task. One easy way is to block certain content and then asking them to sign-in or sign-up (if they don't have account) to see more. This clever plugin does just that. You can have custom buttons, have custom links other than sign-up or sign-in links. Gives plenty of option to customize.
Live Preview » JED Approved » Support forum » Documentation »
Core Features
Video Demo
Front End

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Joomla Version Support

Supports all Major Browsers

Commonly Asked Questions
Version History
Version | Date | Change |
---|---|---|
1.5 | 09/04/2017 | * Add Auto Update |
1.2 | 26/11/2013 | * Feature update |
1.0 | 25/11/2013 | * Initial release |
Show Your Pinterest Profile, Pin Bord and Pins in Your Website
A shortcode enabled plugin to display All Pinterest Plates. You can easily show you Pinterest Profile, Pins and Pin Board in any page using the simple shortcode. Just install the plugin and configure it with Pinterest User name, Board Name and Pin ID. You can also customize the height and with pf the pin box.
Core Features
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Joomla Version Support

Supports all Major Browsers

Commonly Asked Questions
SUPPORT FORUM
Have Question? Go to Our Support Forum »
Version History
Version | Date | Change |
---|---|---|
1.5 | 19/04/2017 | * Add Auto Update |
1.0 | 28/07/2015 | * Initial release |
Floating Social Bar Joomla Module
Social is Beautiful. With Floating Social Bar now you have far greater chance that your visitors will share your content across their favorite social networks easily. You can define your social media links and also contact via email and this will stay on any page you want.
Core Features

Supported Top 6 Social Media / Icons
It support Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google Plus & Email.Screenshot

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Joomla Version Support

Supports all Major Browsers

Commonly Asked Questions
SUPPORT FORUM
Have Question? Go to Our Support Forum »
Version History
Version | Date | Change |
---|---|---|
1.5 | 04/05/2017 | * Add Auto Update |
1.0 | 30/09/2015 | * Initial release |
Most Attractive Way to show Modules at the Bottom of the Joomla Page in Flytout
Want to catch attention to your visitors with Flyout? With Module Position Flyout you can place any module and trigger at scrolling to grab visitor's attention. With our Module Positoin Flyout Box you can achieve just that with style.
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Joomla Version Support

Supports all Major Browsers

Commonly Asked Questions
Version History
Version | Date | Change |
---|---|---|
1.5 | 11/03/2017 | * Add Auto Update |
1.0 | 21/10/2015 | * Initial release |