Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.

What's a content management system (CMS)?

A content management system is software that keeps track of every piece of content on your Web site, much like your local public library keeps track of books and stores them. Content can be simple text, photos, music, video, documents, or just about anything you can think of. A major advantage of using a CMS is that it requires almost no technical skill or knowledge to manage. Since the CMS manages all your content, you don't have to.

What are some real world examples of what Joomla! can do?

Joomla is used all over the world to power Web sites of all shapes and sizes. For example:

• Corporate Web sites or portals
• Corporate intranets and extranets
• Online magazines, newspapers, and publications
• E-commerce and online reservations
• Government applications
• Small business Web sites
• Non-profit and organizational Web sites
• Community-based portals
• School and church Web sites
• Personal or family homepages

Who uses Joomla?

Here are just a few examples of Web sites that use Joomla:

• MTV Networks Quizilla (Social networking) - http://www.quizilla.com
• IHOP (Restaurant chain) - http://www.ihop.com
• Harvard University (Educational) - http://gsas.harvard.edu
• Citibank (Financial institution intranet) - Not publicly accessible
• The Green Maven (Eco-resources) - http://www.greenmaven.com
• Outdoor Photographer (Magazine) - http://www.outdoorphotographer.com
• PlayShakespeare.com (Cultural) - http://www.playshakespeare.com
• Senso Interiors (Furniture design) - http://www.sensointeriors.co.za

More examples of companies using Joomla can be found in the Joomla Community Site Showcase.

I need to build a site for a client. How will Joomla! help me?

Joomla is designed to be easy to install and set up even if you're not an advanced user. Many Web hosting services offer a single-click install, getting your new site up and running in just a few minutes.

Since Joomla is so easy to use, as a Web designer or developer, you can quickly build sites for your clients. Then, with a minimal amount of instruction, you can empower your clients to easily manage their own sites themselves.

If your clients need specialized functionality, Joomla is highly extensible and thousands of extensions (most for free under the GPL license) are available in the Joomla Extensions Directory.

How can I be sure there will be Joomla! support in the future?

Joomla is the most popular open source CMS currently available as evidenced by a vibrant and growing community of friendly users and talented developers. Joomla's roots go back to 2000 and, with over 200,000 community users and contributors, the future looks bright for the award-winning Joomla Project.

I'm a developer. What are some advanced ways I can use Joomla?

Many companies and organizations have requirements that go beyond what is available in the basic Joomla package. In those cases, Joomla's powerful application framework makes it easy for developers to create sophisticated add-ons that extend the power of Joomla into virtually unlimited directions.

The core Joomla framework enables developers to quickly and easily build:

• Inventory control systems
• Data reporting tools
• Application bridges
• Custom product catalogs
• Integrated e-commerce systems
• Complex business directories
• Reservation systems
• Communication tools

Since Joomla is based on PHP and MySQL, you're building powerful applications on an open platform anyone can use, share, and support. To find out more information on leveraging the Joomla framework, visit the Joomla Developer Network.

Joomla! seems the right solution for me. How do I get started?

Joomla is free, open, and available to anyone under the GPL license. Read Getting Started with Joomla to find out the basics then try out our online demo and you'll quickly discover how simple Joomla is. If you're ready to install Joomla, download the latest version here you'll be up and running in no time.