Top Joomla Training for Small Business Websites

It’s been a few weeks since I wrote my last blog post. After wrapping up a very busy term with my MBA at Simon Fraser University, I opted to take some time off from work for the better part of December. Needless to say, this past week has been crazy as I’ve been catching-up on various tasks and reengaging with clients to kick-off 2010. I’ve had a number of clients inquire about Joomla training recently and so I decided to poke around and see what Joomla training resources (both paid and free) I could find for you guys to check out. This is by no means a comprehensive list because frankly, there’s just wayyyy too many resources out there. But this will give new Joomla users a great place to start:

Free Joomla Training Resources

1. In-House Computer Services has put out a 5-part introduction to Joomla on Youtube that is not only well explained and moves at the right pace but it incorporates the Joomla Content Editor (JCE) which is Yardstick’s WYSIWYG of choice. There are several hundred more Joomla-related videos on Youtube that you can check out that explain the basics of Joomla. Here’s a link to a search that I just did for Joomla 1.5 Tutorials.
2. Joomla Tutorials has a whole bunch of great step-by-step tutorials that allow you to follow the presenters mouse as they do things like “Add a New Content Item” and “Install and Extension”. There’s no voice-over explaining the steps but the captions are adequate…oh and did I mention that they’re free!
3. Joomla for Beginners has a bunch of the same sort of introductory videos but also goes a bit deeper with some great videos on some of the more popular Joomla extensions – like Joomlapack, which lets you back-up your entire site with just a few clicks. These videos have voice-overs and are also free!
4. Of course, don’t forget to check out the Resources section of Joomla.org or the Joomla docs wiki.

Affordable Professional Joomla Training Resources

1. I came across OjoomlaTraining the other day and was impressed by their presentation and organization. I got onto a live chat with David and enjoyed talking to him…and his response time was excellent! They have a over 60 Joomla training videos (including some popular extensions) with a free trial if you’re interested in a more comprehensive and professional series of training videos. Their memberships go for $19.99/Month.
2. Argonaut Training is unique in that they provide one-day online training courses (9am to 4pm) plus a coupon for a free template. Their one-day courses go for $100.
3. Joomlashack University also has some great resources that cover everything from removing the default “Welcome to the Frontpage” title to build an entire W3C compliant template. Their 6-Month memberships go for $147.00.
4. And if you’re more into in-person classroom training, then check out Joomla Training which is a hub for professional Joomla trainers from all over North America. They have Beginner, Intermediate and Template classes in most major cities for $299.00.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. So if you’re just starting out or you are delving deep into Joomla administrative functions and customization, there’s a training resource out there for you. I don’t always have all the answer but because the Joomla network is so large, I’m always confident that someone out there does.