It's been a busy day, read it last night and I wanted to actually follow the instructions on a blank J! site, step by step, so I knew for certain it was good. Honestly, I see this getting a lot of action.
It's not going to give ANY DEPTH AT ALL, which is EXACTLY what I hoped for. It's is intended for people to go through, first, just to have seen it all. Then, there are a number of other resources we can point out that show a lot more detail about parameters, or what authors do and how work flow happens, or how to correctly configure SEF URLs, or customizing a 404, etc., etc., etc. This is the jump in and get wet guide that will even be useful for people to see if they WANT to use Joomla! or if it could possibly meet their needs.
So, yea, I wanted to spend some time with it.
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Hat's off, Kevin. This is really good stuff. You nailed it!
MINOR things:
On page 4, add the red text (or something like it):
In order to set up Joomla! for this website, you first need to have a server installed on which Joomla! can run. The easiest way to set up a server on your own computer is to use XAMPP. If you are installing Joomla! on a web host, see the Official Joomla! v 1.5 installation Guide at help.joomla.org. Do not install the sample content and skip ahead to the Sections, Categories and Articles chapter after your installation is complete.
On page 12, I think you should add a bulleted item that briefly points out how the image button beneath the editor can be used to upload and image to be inserted into an article.
On page 20, I would start with something like this : If you look at the front end of your website, you can still only see the frontpage articles. The contact information, weblinks, newsfeeds and articles not published on the frontpage are not visible. That is because...(and then the rest of what you have.)
On page 21, I would add the red text: For this website, enter “Landscape Smart”, replacing “Welcome to the Frontpage” text.
On page 38, change RSS box to Syndicate module. I know what you mean, but since you have not talked about the box on the template yet, it might throw some people.
At the very end, I recommend you add a brief conclusion. A couple of sentences that tie back to your intro - and remind the reader that you did what the Landscape company asked to have done - this, that and the other thing.
Then, BRIEFLY point out these resources:
- forum.joomla.org - Sign up for the forums, search, and ask questions, even helping others if you are able;
- help.joomla.org - Find more documentation and training information;
- extensions.joomla.org - Find lots of very cool extensions to further enhance their Joomla! websites;
- joomla.org - Find a way to give something back to the community!
Sincere thanks! To your dad, as well!
Amy
PS - not a single item, above, is grammar or spelling related. Just new ideas that I think will enhance the guide that is so well constructed.
