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[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#125203

Mr. Hung Dinh posted this poll:

Change to 1 template / month? JA need your feedback

perhaps in response to the many complaints from irate members who paid their $50-70 dollars and demanded a kingdom, if not, a deluxe service. Some even threatened a lawsuit because Joomlart would have committed false advertizing.

Others who are more realistic found that the it may be best if indeed Joomlart would scale down to “One template a month”. The reasoning behind this alternative is the possibility that by taking this route, Joomlart would then use the freed time to address some of the issues raised by the paying members:

1. Lack of staff support in the Forum (this must be differentiated from the generosity of some volunteers.
2. No QuickStart for many of the templates created. If there is, for each of the templates, the QuickStart kit is not included in the download page for the template.
3. Lack of well written instructions (Manual), for each step, that will allow, a neophyte or a non-geek to install a template properly.

The Joomla Core Team, should be saluted for creating one of the easiest installation process, I have ever encountered — assuming you know some basic stuff, like:

• a.) How to use your website Control Panel
• b.) How to create a database, username and password
• c.) Willing to read the well-written Joomla “Easy Install Procedure”

[You do not have to follow some arrogant know it all here who wanted you “to read the Bilble”, when you ask them how to pray. That is the most useless advice ever given in the universe.]

Anyway, back to the topic:

If indeed, the Joomlart Staff, use the freed time to address the issues listed in Items #1-#3 above, then the shift to a “One template per month” would benefit everyone.” Let’s be realistic, if you are just the average customer,more than likely all you need is one or two very good templates for the webpage you wanted to create — a family website, for your interest, for your personal page, or for your work, etc.

Again, if you look closely many of the templates that have been created are actually almost all the same — the features were just moved around, changed colors, background images, etc. This is akin to the statistics question: How many permutations would it take before you will repeat the same outfit — when you have n-set of shirts, pants,ties, shoes, socks, belts, etc.?

Many many many permutations. In reality, most of us tend to gravitate to a few of our favorite outfits. That is also true with webpages. If you place a gazillion templates, to give your visitors some whistles and bells to entice them, then perhaps your site is not worth visiting.

Content, worthwhile content, is what keeps visitors to come back.

The only group of customers that benefit from many many templates are lazy webdevelopers that would not want their customers to know that they are using “cheap templates” to create the sites for their customers.

• A. The QuickStart Kit, for each template with no bugs whatsoever be the most important form of support that the Joomlart staff may provide.
• B. The next is a well written manual of instructions, for the installation included with each template, and a more detailed one for unique features (see note #2).
• C. The instructions must anticipate also the potential “set backs” that a neophyte or non-geek would encounter during each step, if (s)he did not understand, or did not read the instructions properly.

If the Items A to C are provided by the Joomlart staff, it would eliminate perhaps many (95%) of the unwanted posts here. Then the Forum may be used to address actual issues — like isolating the bugs of templates with truly new features, or expounding on what really makes a good webpage.

Cornelio

Notes:

1. The charge of false advertising may be valid, but to threaten litigation is quite a ridiculous threat — akin to the behavior of the lawyer who sued a hardworking South Korean family for millions of dollars because the laundrymat misplaced his pants for a few days.

To counter these ridiculous threats, all Joomlart has to do is stop advertising the two-template a month, and wait for the duration after which membership of the average customer will lapse. After that, Joomlart could go to the One Template per month with no fear whatsoever.

2. Writing the manual may seem repetitive and cumbersome, but in reality it is not, if the staff, volunteers and the members band together. As stated above, Joomla has one of the easiest installation procedures concocted.

The QuickStart Kit is one of the best time savers that Joomlart provide customers — if the QuickStart Kit is bug free.

If customers report the bugs, and Joomlart takes the conscious effort to read the forum, or use tap the army of volunteers to help alert Joomla of these bugs, most of the frustrations of customers — who would not know why they could not finish what would otherwise be an easy installation — would be avoided.

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#237119

It is assumed in the poll cited in the main post that if Joomlart reduces down to one template per month, we will all end up with the templates that we wanted.

The reality is that we may or we may not get the template that we wanted.

RocketTheme for example has some very good templates. I was first attracted to them because RocketTheme created a very elegant free template that serves as the default template for Joomla 1.0x.

RockketTheme, if I am not mistaken, had the “One template a month”, I believe since they started.

So, when I read Mr. Hung Dinh’s poll, I was trying to recall why I chose Joomlart over RocketTheme. What I realized is this:

As appealing as quite a number of the RocketTheme templates, specially for personal webpages, RocketTheme did not have the features of the template that I needed.

I needed a very clean “news portal” that allows for flexible layouting, and easy on the eyes. I have been looking for this template for quite sometime, when I decided to try Joomla. If possible, what I would like actually is more that of newsmagazine, with the possiblity of creating volumes and multiple sections.

I ended up buying iJoomla magazine based from their demo page. As it turned out however, the BackEnd of iJoomla magazine was rather cumbersome. I might be able to learn it, but it would be a pain for others who have less technical background. As it turned out, iJoomla also is not in the business o fcreating templates.

Merav, the Founder of iJoomla, after I outlined to her what sort of template I wanted recommended JA Teline. When I saw the features, it is not perfect and does not have some of the key features that I wanted, but JA Teline turned out to be the “cleanest” and most elegant newsportal templates I have seen among Joomla template makers.

I bought it immediately. In fact, while initially I needed only one template, I decided to register for one year membership — thinking that Joomlart will develop similar more innovative templates within a year. And, if I like the templates, I would continue renewing my membership.

The blunt assessment so far is that except for one or two of the recent templates created, I am not as enthused with the other templates, so far — both old and new.

So, what makes a good template? Or, I should ask: What features of a website would entice the visitor to keep coming back?

Content, Content, Content, of course, is the answer.

While the template is mainly about the layout and appearance, the template created and rhe features included must help achieve the following:

1. Ensure reliable content to populate the webpage.
2. Ease of use.
3. Make the site dynamic.
4. Ensure that the site is interactive.
5. Encourage members to participate in creating content.
6. Secure.

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