General Joomla Question

[Paper Tiger]

I read that Joomla uses PHP and is used frequently to produce websites with a content management system.  Which is kind of what I am looking for.  However  I also see (on google) a number of companies offering "Dedicated Joomla Hosting".

 

So -

 

Does Joomla generate an entire website in PHP or does it require the host server to be running Joomla or either?

 

If it requires a joomla hosting server does this mean any potential customer has to learn Joomla in order to use any site I create with it?

 

I have a potential client that wants a simple catalogue website which will display images and descriptions of items from a searchable database with the ability for him to log in and add(with image upload) or delete items.  eCommerce is not needed for this application.

 

I'm new to PHP and I figure this is a good solid project I can get my teeth into that's not too complicated - It's a while since I've done anything like this and the last time I did it in ASP for a government website ( TIP - don't do a gov't website if you don't have to they give you a 300 page document of "guidelines" they'll assure you they're not "rules" but just you try not following one or two - it's soul destroying they love nothing better than to crush good ideas and creativity)  I know I could do this in ASP though, I still have lots of code snippets I could use, I just want to do it in PHP,

[sysgenmedia]

Hi there,

 

Joomla is a Content Management System (CMS) that runs on php. Basically any web host that supports php and mysql can host a Joomla website. Joomla will essentially be the backbone for your website, manage menus and links, content pages, and extensions. There's a ton of Joomla Templates out there, which you'll find with a simple Google search. "Dedicated Joomla Hosting" is essentially just a sales buzz-phrase.

 

Joomla has a huge userbase, and tons of templates and extensions. It's generally great to work with, but has a bit of a learning curve to figure out how everything works. Once you're comfy with it though it drastically reduces development time.

 

To do something like your client is looking for, I'd recommend setting him up with a Joomla site and adding an extension to get his catalog set up. We're actually releasing a site later this week that's similar, and we used VirtueMart (an eCommerce extension for Joomla) to manage the catalog. VirtueMart has a setting that allows you to switch it into catalog mode, which removes the eCommerce features and allows you to use it to simply list products.

 

The great part is that once you've got it set up, you can create a user for the Joomla admin area for your client and he can manage the catalog and even the content area of the rest of the pages on the site, and he can contact you for help with adding new features.

 

Hope this helps.