Several months ago, I didn’t know what Joomla was, couldn’t even spell it, and now I am getting to be a huge fan of it.

I created a basic Joomla site to start with, and it didn’t take long to figure out what a powerful and versatile application that Joomla is.

I decided to have a go at creating a membership site using Joomla as the content management system. I found that there are a lot of components available for Joomla that can handle almost any task you can imagine.

I used a component called AEC to handle customer subscriptions and monthly payments. A component called Fireboard handled the member forum. A component called Docman and another called Remository handled all of the content distribution and downloads for members. A component called Community Builder handled the member community functions and profiles, etc.

After building the membership site, I stumbled across a component called VirtueMart, which allows a person to use Joomla along with VirtueMart to build a complete and professional internet storefront.

I installed Joomla along with one of the great templates available at Rocket Theme Template Club. This gave me a great looking site right from the get go.

Next I installed the Virtuemart component and was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get started setting up my storefront. The VirtueMart component has a very good help file right in the administration area, and also has a very good forum you can access to ask questions and receive answers.

In no time at all, I had some of my products setup and ready to display, I had my payment module configured to handle customer orders and payments, and I was ready to launch my site.

The Rocket Theme template I used had the Fireboard forum component already installed, so I had a customer forum setup and ready to go.

Since my products are all digital, Camtasia how-to-do-it videos to be exact, the VirtueMart component handles the download chores with no effort on my part.

I’m still adding more products each day, and learning how to use all of the features that VirtueMart offers. I added a plugin called Xmap that automatically creates a sitemap to submit to Google, and it updates each time you add another product.

All in all, I’m really pleased and impressed with the Joomla/VirtueMart combination, and for anyone wanting to create a product storefront, I would recommend you give it a try.

If you are new to Joomla, take a look at my storefront at http://www.CheapMembershipSite.com/Mall/ and check out my video on installing and configuring Joomla. It can save you a lot of trial-and-error heartache if you are just getting started with Joomla.

Cheers,
Lewis Poteet

How-To-Do-It Videos at CheapMembershipSite.com/Mall