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General CMS Issues
Oct
26
2009
Local Joomla Installations Are Not Worth The Effort

MAMP, XAMMP and JoomlaAm I alone in thinking that we're doing Joomla beginners a big disservice by recommending that they start with a local installation?

Almost every Joomla tutorial starts with a description of how to install Joomla on your computer and it nearly always causes complete befuddlement amongst learners.

Last year I had the interesting experience of agreeing to be the technical editor for a Joomla beginner book. After a brief introduction, the next 50 pages were taken up by a detailed explanation of how to install XAMPP, troubleshoot Apache and configure ports. After thoroughly intimidating the poor beginner using a PC, users on Linux were given two paragraphs, and Mac users got the same treatment.

Its just a confusing process and people have so many different configurations that there always seem to be problems.

  • Run Parallels or VMWare? There's issues with that.
  • Run on a Mac? There's issues with that.
  • Forget you've already installed a version of XAMPP and try another version? There's issues with that.

Over 30% of the posts made on the Joomla Training forums are about problems with local installations. Oh, and don't forget that when people have built their site locally they'll then need to master the techniques needed to migrate their site onto a live server.

Is there any reason why we shouldn't tell beginners to install Joomla with their hosting company and just set "Site Offline" to "Yes" in Global Configuration? We can leave local installations to more advanced users.

Local Installation Tutorials (In Case You're Stubborn)

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Comments  

 
#1 Jen Kramer 2009-10-26 09:43
I totally agree. The only time I've ever used a local Joomla install was when I was presenting at a conference and expecting poor/bad/non-existent internet access.

I have always had my Joomla students register for hosting, a domain name, and install Joomla there. It makes grading easier for me (I don't have to visit their individual computers to grade), plus they'll eventually have to get hosting and a domain name anyway.

I also emphasize the importance of collaboration when building a website. At a minimum, it's you and the client. You could also involve a bunch of others in the process (a team on the client's side, a graphic designer, a project manager, a content writer, an extension developer, and much more). Local installations don't really foster collaboration.

Jen
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#2 Scoop 2009-10-26 09:49
I think it depends, to some extent, on the host. Back in the dark ages when I didn't know any better and used GoDaddy hosting, it took me forever to get anything done. Once I learned to setup a local environment with XAMPP, my productivity increased significantly and opened the door to more learning. Also, there may be reasons for not wanting to be logged in to view the front end while you're developing.
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#3 Cory Webb 2009-10-26 09:58
For beginners, I agree. For me, it's totally worth it. It saves me a lot of time over having to upload files to the server every time I want to add something.

It would be nice if there were something like a Joomla Sandbox where beginners could log in and play around with super administrator without having to learn how to install Joomla.
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#4 Kyle Ledbetter 2009-10-26 10:03
I agree. Local installs just present problems for casual users. In contrast, local installs are absolutely key for Joomla! template/extension developers and creating Joomla! training/tutorials.

This kinda goes along with a bigger problem: Joomla is almost too easy to install whether it's locally or a 1-click install on a server. Most casual users that have a 1-click install have no idea how/why to keep Joomla! and 3rd party extensions updated. This is why hosted/maintained services like SimplWeb are great (yes that's a free spot for Barrie :-) ). Casual users just aren't responsible/knowledgeable enough to maintain a Joomla! installation.

Of course on the other side of this coin is the fact the the 1-click install is probably one of the main reasons for Joomla's popularity...
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#5 JoeJoomla 2009-10-26 10:04
I agree with you that it makes more sense to develop on a live server, especially the one that you plan on hosting the Joomla! site with. This is not always an option for the beginner though.

Much of the content on my website is about developing Joomla! on your Macintosh computer using MAMP. Many of the people that come to my forum are using MAMP for localmachine development. Someone has to provide help to this group of people. While there are some issues related to developing Joomla! using MAMP they are really no harder to master than anything else when you have experienced people answering the questions when you are stumped. The biggest problems I come across for people using Joomla! for the first time are not MAMP issues, but they are related to them trying to relate using a CMS like Joomla! to their Dreamweaver or other system that they were using. It's hard for people to drop what they know and simply learn it anew when it comes to Joomla!

So if you have the luxury of using a live server for development or experimentation with Joomla! then that is the way to go. If you can't, for whatever reason, then there is no better way than to use MAMP on your Macintosh computer. I can't vouch for XAMPP since I am a Mac user.

I must have 20 Joomla! sites in the htdocs folder of MAMP on my computer. Lots of things get tested there before I commit it online. MAMP's not perfect, but the creators of MAMP have made a wonderful tool that probably account for many Joomla! users first experience with the best website software available - Joomla! of course!
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#6 Barrie North 2009-10-26 10:06
Depends how fast your internet connection is ;-)
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#7 Brian Teeman 2009-10-26 11:15
I agree and disagree. ;-)

Developing on a localhost is definitely the easiest thing to do, if you have a localhost, but when you don't then the instructions for setting one up can be very daunting.

Like you I've been concerned that many "beginners" books for joomla often scare the user away with a big introduction to xampp before they get to anything about joomla.

I strongly suspect that most "beginners" will be doing their first install on a hosted webserver and all the talk about xammp etc is scary and off putting. Far better to put this information in an appendix, as my favourite "joomla beginners" book does.

It's also a bit galling that I'm yet to read a book that advocates using localhost and includes instructions how to move that local site to a live site.
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#8 Cihan Sevil 2009-10-26 12:04
I agree to some extent. If you have a constant Internet connection (at home or at work) then the way you tell is the best. On the other hand not all users can access Internet 24/7, thus they will still need a local installation for development/testing.
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#9 Wayne Kraska 2009-10-26 12:12
Well since the discussion is about beginners I have to agree also.

It took me some time before I jumped into the localhost environment and what mainly prompted that was the less than average chance a potential client had wireless configured. Even worse they fire up their own pc and they are running old versions of IE.

I have been using WAMP for some time with great success and to be able to have a test site live in a matter of seconds even when I'm sitting in some out of the way place is a big bonus.

With the myriad of server configs out there these days I can see how pointing beginners to a localhost set up might be the best way to go but as they mostly I would think are new to the process and the related jargon, a first time online setup would still be a better way to teach them the basics.

At least with that they get the tutorial and the 'enrichment' of learning all about shared server hosting bundled with it by default. 8)

Cheers
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#10 buildbuyer 2009-10-26 12:32
I would definitely recommend paying the 4 bucks a month for a test site - this was a couple iterations ago but joomlapacking site over was a directory permission pain in butt on wamp and xamp for me - but a breeze within live server environment. I think it's important for new admins to feel the joy of joomla packing up and unpacking a site, it really gives you that mad rush of 'what's possible' with joomla site
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