If you are just starting out with Joomla! it can be overwhelming and at times frustrating. Here are five short beginner tips to help get you started.

Tip #1: Finding help

Luckily there is a massive amount of information available on the Joomla! content management system. If you need more information on a topic or need instructions on how to complete a task, the best place to start is by searching the official Joomla! Forums. These forums are accessed by thousands of daily users so there is a good chance that your question has already been asked by someone else.

Tip #2: Protect your Joomla! Back-end using htaccess

After installing Joomla! one of the first things you should do is protect the Joomla! Back-end (administration folder) using htaccess. Htaccess provides extra security for the Joomla! administration folder. Ensure the htaccess username/passwords you choose are not the same as ones for the Joomla! Back-end.

Tip #3: Choose a good hosting company

Today there are thousands of web hosting companies online. Before making a commitment do research on several hosting companies. Here is a short list of what to look for:

1. Is the hosting company running recent versions of PHP and MySQL?
2. Does the hosting company require advance payment? Be cautious with hosting companies that require you to pay for a year or more in advance.
3. What are other people's opinions about the hosting company? Search for reviews online.
4. Is the price reasonable? Hosting companies with low fees typically oversell their web servers and provide poor technical support.

Tip #4: Enable Joomla! caching

This will take you less than 1 minute to do and will make your site run much faster. To enable caching login to the Joomla! Back-end and click Site -> Global Configuration on the main menu. Click System on the sub-menu, set the Cache option to Yes and click Save.

Tip #5: Keep Informed

Stay informed and up-to-date by reading Joomla! news, installing the latest Joomla! updates and participating in discussions on the Joomala! Community Forums.

Vivid Tools is a growing design and development company located in Canada's Innovation and Technology Triangle. Vivid Tools offers an array of web design and development solutions including: hosting and installation, custom component and module development and professional site management.