Joomla 1.5 reviews: Templates, components, modules

The Valentine's Day template Siteground-j15-132 bursts with color and cliche images you would expect for a Hallmark holiday. Normally, I would penalize the candy apple red splashed about the template, but for a Valentine's Day template, Siteground has done a good job. It's cliche, but works well in this type romantic context. There is nothing particularly remarkable about the template. The graphics are OK - 2 half full wine glasses, a single rose and a red gift ribbon. One thing that caught my attention was that the image of the wine glass was cut a little short (see image 3).

The template appears to follow the standard default Joomla! positions. In addtion, there were no parameters to change color or other details. Any changes will need to be done by going into the code. There were no issues when we tested the template in Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Opera. Siteground has put together a timely Valentine's template that is a little cliche, but that looks clean, organized and is eye catching. Mission accomplished.

Restaurant by PC-Didi makes a Joomla! template with confidence. The header has a large graphic displaying wine, a chef and a nicely prepared dish of food. What more could you want from a template called restaurant? Next, I noticed the menu tabs are strategically placed at eye level so that they are easy to find. They also highlight on mouse over. The layout of the modules is good and the lighter color of the content area contrasts well with the dark, rich background. It also makes the titles and bullet points of the modules pop. As mentioned in previous reviews, the tiny graphics such as calendar, author, pdf, print bring clarity and structure to the modules.

The template appears to utilize the standard default Joomla! positions. There are no parameters to customize the template. Changes can be made, but will require going into the CSS. This template would work well for a fine restaurant, wine bar, or restaurant review site - there are plenty of more possibilities.

What I especially appreciated about this template is the attention to detail in the use of graphics (see image 3)  These are the little touches that most designers overlook. To sum up, this template is graphically attractive and the layout is well organized. Well done!

Moyoo's business template is another example of clean and sturdy design. For the most part the layout makes sense and is not overly complicated. The large header area focuses the attention of the visitor on your logo making it easy to communicate your brand. As each page opens, the menu tabs are positioned almost in the center of the page making them one of the first things the visitor sees. The template appears to be using the standard default positions which is good. There were no customizable parameters – changes will mean going into the code.

The fitting conservative styling matches the business theme well. I also liked the eye catching tiny icons at the top of each module - the calendar, author, pdf – making the template more graphically appealing (see third image in photo gallery). The choice of coloring – shades of blue, silver and white are a good start and can be changed to match your business by going into the CSS. Moyoo in my opinion, designs templates that permit you to communicate your business message in a clean, clear and unambiguous way.

Template4 by Joomla-Best was nowhere even close to being the best. My first impression of the template was cheap and amateur, dark and gloomy. The most obvious is the color scheme. While the brown background is just ok, when combined with the black background of the modules, it gets down right ugly. Not to mention that the font in the black modules is barely readable. This is all framed with a not so pretty border that reminds me of cheap cardboard. The lack of any graphics or creative use of color is also a weakness. Instead the header is a roughly cut railroad track – these guys were in a hurry!

The template seems to be using the standard default Joomla! Positions. However, it did not pass our cross browser test as the News Feeds link was MIA in Internet Explorer while present in Fireforx (see image 4 in photo gallery). Although there were parameters (see image 3) to customize the template the ones I used which changed a few of the colors in the headers were practically useless. There is a link to the designer at the bottom of the template, but I would stay away from a design like this.

Moyoo's Black Piano Joomla template is simply excellent - not a complicated template with lots of bells and whistles. However, a template that through its clear design and layout supports its theme – Black Piano. The colors, graphics and theme all support each other and contribute to the overall warmth and feel. This template could be used by a music school, piano teacher, piano bar or an individual music lover. Technically, the template appears to be using the standard default Joomla! Positions. The template passed our cross browser test in both Firefox and Internet Explorer. There are no customized parameters to make changes.

The layout was compact and well done. There is good use of space and the fonts are very readable. I also appreciated the highlighted effect on the menu tabs on top and how the white text on a dark background changes to dark text on a white background (see image three in the photo gallery) when mousing over - Nice touch!

The G Calendar created by Allon Moritz looked promising in the Joomla extensions as it had a 4 star rating and over 80 favorite votes. The final display of our Google Calendar was pleasing, but, getting to the final display was not easy.

My first point of departure was the download. When I clicked “download” on Joomla Extensions, I  expected to be taken directly to the download page. From there I needed to click through 3 more pages on the developers site before I could actually download the right zip package. I had to unzip the package first as there were multiple items which needed to be installed separately.  It would be nice if the developer added “UnZip First” to the file name. That always helps.

After install, I reviewed the documentation, which was difficult to find. While there is a support tab in the control panel for Gcal, it simply took me to the developer's homepage where I could not find what I was looking for easily. To find documentation, I had to go back to the Joomla site and follow the link to the developer's documentation page. This was really inconvenient.

Once I found the documentation, I moved onto configuration. I was making progress.  The first two steps were clear, but then the language on the 3rd step about Sharing Calendars gave me a headache because they didn't clearly indicate they were referring to a setting in Google Calendar itself, not their component. It took a good half hour to figure out what they meant.

The other option that frustrated me was setting the 'Magic Cookie'. This too was also difficult to find as it's an item in Google Calendar, not Gcal. After adding the Magic Cookie in Gcal and linking to the component for front end display, I was pleased by an exact presentation of my Google Calendar and specific events. In fact, it looked EXACTLY like the Google Calendar, which is nice when I'm in Google, but not so great with the aesthetic of my site. In the back end I looked for color and layout parameters. There are none. The reason is this component is really modifying the Google Calendar iFrame variables. If this is all one needs, it would probably be easier to just visit Google, generate the HTML iFrame code and paste it directly into an article vs going through all the labor of installing the component, and configuring it.

After testing the component, we moved onto the modules. The Overview module looks nice, but some bug is causing the module to only show the Google holidays. This is very odd because the component, when displayed via the front end, does show all of our specific events, not just holidays. Unfortunately, the other modules were bug ridden as well. We suspect there is probably a simple fix in their forums, but our expectation as “reviewers” is that modules should work out the box.If we had more time to test and debug, this component and modules do look promising and may be useful in future projects. But, for now, we'll just stick with using the iFrame code available in Google Calendars directly.

* SEO Note - From a seo perspective, the G Calendar utilizes iFrames and has no seo value.

Super Hero by free-templates.pl is all about action.  The changeable header graphic (see image 4 in photo gallery) seems to read like a story out of a comic book with Spiderman swinging from left to right and other characters coming in and out of the foreground.  This template dazzles you with color, design and action.  It would perfect for a comic book store, club or enthusiast.  In sharp contrast to the blast of color from the header, there is a blue monochromatic spider man graphic on the left-hand side and a black background on the right (see image 3 in photo gallery).   The fact graphic on one side and the black on the other leave the page a little unbalanced, but on the whole fits together. 

The template passed our cross browser test in Firefox and Internet Explorer.  In addition, it appeared to utilize the standard default Joomla! positions.  There were no parameters to customize the template besides the header changer at the top of the template.  I also found the small white spider as a bullet point pretty difficult to see (see image 5 in photo gallery).  Other than that, I thought the template while aimed specifically at a small targeted group had good design and functionality.  Well done.

Immoblien designed by PC-DIDI is a great template for a real estate company, broker or rental agency.  The large graphic with a big beautiful house and the For Sale written down the side of the template clearly communicates the purpose of this template.  Above the graphic, there are four very small menu tabs which were not easy to spot because the font is too small.  It might also be an idea to have tabs so that they are easier to see. 

I like the use of color -one side blue and the other yellow.  Also, the large text written down the side is a nice touch.  The fade of the border as you scroll down is also appreciated as it tapers at the end.  The template passed our cross browser test in both Firefox and Internet Explorer.  It also appeared to utilize the standard default Joomla! positions.  There were no parameters to customize this template.  I see the Immoblien template by PC-DIDI being easily adapted to a real estate site with houses or apartments for sale.  The  template could also be adapted to a bed and breakfast site or a directory!

Blue Beach designed by webstyles is a template dedicated to sun, surf and sand.  The template is framed by an aqua-marine background that fades from dark to light.  The header with its large beach graphic is a nice visual.  Just below, are located 4 functional menu buttons which direct the visitor to the template's resources.  In my opinion, I found the spacing of the font on the menu buttons to be too compact causing the font to appear blurred.  The template passed our cross browser test in both Firefox and Internet Explorer and also appeared to utilize the standard default Joomla! positions.  There were no parameters to customize the template.  Overall, I liked the template and could see it being  widely accepted in both tourism (tours, bed & breakfast, dive school), but also as a community website.  This template is coming to a beach near you!

Yoga VI by pc-didi will get your Yoga website in shape.  The graphics - sky, grass, trees and flowers with the seated girl stretching and meditating - work well together.  The colors, graphics and theme all come together to create a calming and natural feel.  While I like the theme of the template, it does have a distinctly Asian feel which limits its use to a wider audience.  For example, changing the girl in the background and the header would require going into the back end to make modifications. There are no customizable parameters and this template appears to utilize default Joomla! Positions.  There is also a link to the template designer in the footer.  The template passed our cross browser test in both Firefox and Internet Explorer.

The layout was well done.  However, what appears to be a poor use of space (image 3 in photo gallery) is easily remodeled via the module manager.  The template had some good aesthetics like the flowers hanging down from the top of the page.  I also liked that the static background.  Overall, Yoga VI was a little cliche, but well put together.  If I had an easy way to change the girl or add a different girl without going into the back end, it would of been excellent.