I was planning to write a list of must-install-CMP(Component, Modules & Plugins) for Joomla 1.0.x and 1.5.x. However after a disastrous migration last night (I forgot to download a backup of my /images folder!), I decided to just list 1.0.x compatible first.

For new Joomla users, I reckon that its better for you to make yourselves familiar with Joomla 1.0.x first before moving to 1.5.x. The justification is simple, presently there is more components for 1.0.x available than for 1.5.x, and after some nights of testing 1.5.x, I came to conclusion that any new Joomla user who tried Joomla 1.5 straight without prior experience in Joomla 1.0.x / Mambo 4.5 will surely get detered away. Frankly, I think this is because:

1.) they dont know yet how to differentiate 1.0.x & 1.5.x version of the particular component (present classfication system in JED offers not much of help in my point of view),

2.) Most of 1.5.x compatible components still need to be under Legacy mode and not even work properly in that mode.

3.) Most good & useful components are still meant exclusively for 1.0.x where migration to 1.5 in the near future is still unforeseen.

Thus, combining these three facts will  result with countless error when new Joomla users tried to install any of the nearly 3000 CMP available at http://extensions.joomla.org. I write this article simply to list common and useful Joomla components and plugins to help new users in using Joomla. I hope you may find this article helpful and should you have any suggestion, feel free to give a comment.

Components

JoomlaXplorer

Extensions | Download | File Manager
JoomlaXplorer is a FIle and FTP  Manager component which allows you to edit files, delete, copy, rename, archive and unpack files/directories directly on your server. Since there is no FTP layer function available for Joomla 1.0.x, this component simply solves permission problem that clouded 1.0.x sites.  A fork of JoomlaXplorer worth considering is eXtplorer .

JosReplace Plugin

Extensions | Download | Content Improvement
With this plugin, you can define countless tags which are not limited to { } tags. Ever wanting to insert bunch of Adsense / Advertising codes inside your content without the hassle of manually inserting them by disabling your WYSIWYG editor? Use this plugin! The possibility is not limited to Adsense code only, you can define a new tag in JosReplace so that any text with :) or ;) will be changed into their respective emoticon OR to function as a bad word filter (ie changing any 'crap' text with 'cr*p')

sh404sef

Extensions | Download | Search Engine Friendly URLs
A major drawback in Joomla is the lack of human recognizable URL. Using sh404sef, you can change the default generated URL (which is not nice) into a readable one (from index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=63 into tutorials/joomla/joomla-1.0.x-the-must-installs.php). The change is trumendous in helping you to get more traffic and better Google PageRank. Why I choose sh404sef over other SEF components? Well, thanks to it being FREE, does not has any hidden advertisement link (you know which other SEF component has it), options to use apaches' mod_rewrite engine and the generated URLs work well with plenty of other popular components.

JomComment

Extensions | Download | Commenting system
JomComment is by far, the best commenting system available for Joomla. It starts as Azruls' proof of concept (Ajax tweak for AkoComment) and short time later evolves into a full blown commenting system for Joomla. The commenting system in my blog is JomComment. Presently I believe it is the only commenting system that works with Joomla 1.5.x natively. For USD35 (pro version), it does not come cheap, but rest assured that their support is world-class. I am proud to be Malaysian!

mXcomment

Extensions | Download | Commenting system
mXcomment is a free commenting system which is meant to replace the aging AkoComment. It is the best free commenting system out there with a good frontend interface (although a bit cluttered in my POV) and is stable functional enough to earn it 4 star in JED (Joomla Extensions Directory).

Expose4

Extensions | Download | Picture Gallery
Expose4 is a flash based picture gallery with a nice and clean interface. However, it comes with a strict system requirement, just be sure that your webhost has DOXML enabled otherwise you will not be able to upload pictures via the backend. I learn this the hard way, almost a year ago. View the demo here.

Ponygallery ML

Extensions | Download | Picture Gallery
Before Joomla, I used Mambo 4.5 till 4.5.2a. And that time, my gallery of choice was Zoom Media Gallery. However, after its developement stopped and countless bugs appeared later, I went for a search to find the best picture gallery available. Trust me, Ive tested ALL galleries available for Joomla (native & bridge). At the end, I met PonyGallery. It supports Community Builder integration, ligthbox, comments and most important of all, has the least amount of bugs and functions really well. View the demo here . There are two noticable bugs. 1.) Zip upload seems mulfunction. 2.)You will have to disable SEF for com_ponygallery, otherwise the pictures will not be shown.

MyContent

Extensions | Download | Content manager
The author wrote this component to give users a little more control over their content from the frontend. Authors can now see all their content in one list, which means they can edit unpublished items from the front end. If they have access to publish items, they publish content with one click from the mycontent list. It also allows users to create a content item for any section, instead of having to have multiple links from the usermenu.

MemberCare System

Extensions | Download | User Management
Whats cool about this component is, it allows you to keep track with your users. It invites your users to log into your site if they dont login for a given time span (by sending an automated email), you can sort users by the time span they last logged in, or perhaps for you to delete inactive users (which is helpful in keeping your site clean of ghosts)

JoomlaPack -  AJAX powered site backup

Extensions | Download | Site Backup

JoomlaPack is an open-source Joomla backup component. What differs this backup system compared to other systems is that it creates a full site backup in a single ZIP archive (yes, including all your files and database). The archive contains all the files, a database snapshot and an installer derived from the standard Joomla! installer. The backup and restore process is AJAX powered to avoid server timeouts, even with huge sites. Alternatively, you can make a backup of only your database. If you want a reliable, easy to use, open source backup solution for your Joomla! site, try it out.

Plugins

JCE Joomla Content Editor

Extensions | Download | WYSIWYG Editor
This is surely a must have. JCE is a WYSIWYG Editor specifically for Joomla with advanced Image/Media and File handling, plugin support, and an Administration interface for editor configuration. What I particularly love about this plugin is that it allows you to upload/resize image while editing your content. Simple and easy.

AllVideoPlugins

Joomla Content Obfuscator

JomBackup

DocMan Search Bot

JomComment Search Bot

Extensions | Download | Search enhancement
Same with DocMan Search Bot, this one allows searching in JomComment comments.

KD Content Search Plugin

Extensions | Download | Search enhancement
Does your Joomla search result ever make sense to you? For me, never. By activating this plugin, it overrides default Joomla search settings and it put the most relevant content (which is defined by having the most search keyword) at the top. So, visitors waste no time in looking through the search result, and go straight to the appropriate article.

Read all for registered users only

Extensions | Download | Content manager
As what the name says, this mambot allows you to set your articles after the 'read more' tag to be private, where only registered users can read it. But beware, this kind of permission level is not 'friendly' for blogs (like mine). 

Modules

Landing Page module (Keywords 1.0.1)

Extensions | Download | Search enhancement
Imagine this. Your visitors come from a search engine (Google, perhaps) and they are looking for an article that you are very sure available in your Joomla site. However, the link that is being redirected from Google is wrong or probably no longer exists due to changes in SEF. Why dont you automatically greet them and redirect them to a proper article that they are looking for? To see an example, google for 'fuqaha' and follow that link. You will notice a module greets you. 

13 Comments

zemang April 14, 2008 http://zemang.com Votes: +1	thanks for the docman search bot and the sh404sef components report abuse vote down vote up
fuqaha April 14, 2008 Votes: +0	No prob. Ill add some more soon. report abuse vote down vote up
Aisyah April 18, 2008 http://aisyahrozi.com Votes: +0	LOL. all these while I never knew what Joomla is. hahaha. report abuse vote down vote up
p.crew April 19, 2008 http://www.pembaris.com Votes: +0	thanks for sharing this fuqaha greatly appreciate this. Maybe myblog should be in the list perhaps? hehe report abuse vote down vote up
sallehy April 19, 2008 http://www.layarbiru.com Votes: +0	thanks fuqaha..a gud compass 4 joomla user.. report abuse vote down vote up
fuqaha April 19, 2008 Votes: +0	@zemang Some new components added @aisyah LOL.. hope you can try it someday. @p. crew well, this is list of must-have components. So, i dont think myBlog is suitable. @sallehy thanks. am glad it helps. report abuse vote down vote up
p.crew April 20, 2008 http://www.pembaris.com Votes: +0	@fuqaha, I see. Yeah I think you're right. Myblog isn't for everyone hehe. Anyway I love this article. Will be useful especially when I couldn't think of solution for my site @aisyah, I think I got just got blocked from ur site or either there's some maintenance going on report abuse vote down vote up
kingbt April 24, 2008 Votes: +0	tnx, add some more report abuse vote down vote up
flue April 28, 2008 http://walkima.blogspot.com/ Votes: +0	try drupal ... !!! report abuse vote down vote up
fuqaha April 28, 2008 Votes: +1	Ahaa.. a drupal fan here. As far as im concerned, Drupal is better in term of ACL (access control list) and its much more developer friendly (thanks to its superb _frame_work). Joomla however, edged in different task. If you are looking into rapid deployment with good looking and functional result, use Joomla. However if you are into future expansion, use Drupal. Joomla 1.5 is good and it is a move to give Joomla much needed upgrade over its aging Mambo 4.5 _frame_work (FYI, current Joomla 1.0.x is a direct fork of Mambot 4.5.2a). The best move i think is the implementation of MVC in its _frame_work. But frankly, its ACL is nowhere near Drupal and lead devs are hinting that Joomla 1.6/2.0 will take care of that. Is Joomla 1.5 more powerful? In a way, yes. Its _frame_work is good. But is now lacking support from 3rd party developers as some of them think that Joomla 1.0.x is still good. report abuse vote down vote up