There is huge selection of Joomla! extensions available as either free or commercial products. This article lists some extensions which will help everyone, regardless of the type of site you have. And for those of you with more specialist needs some advice on how to choose the best extensions for your site.

Joomla Xplorer - File and FTP Manager

joomlaXplorer is a File- and FTP - Manager. It allows you to edit files, delete, copy, rename, archive and unpack files/directories directly on your server. You can - Browse Directories & Files - Edit, Copy, Move and Delete files - Search, Upload and Downloading files - Create new files and directories - Change file permissions (chmod) and much more.

sh404SEF - SEO Extension

sh404SEF rewrites Joomla URL to a more user-friendly format (SEF URL or URL rewriting): mysite.com/index.php?option=com_content&Itemid=69&id=34… becomes mysite.com/en/sh404SEF-and-url-rewriting/list-of-available-plugins.html). It is also a security component and manages title and meta tags : automatic tags, or manual for every page. It works with or without .htaccess file.

Phil Taylor’s Phil-A-Form - Form Management Extension

Phil-A-Form allows you to generate forms in Joomla, easily create dynamic forms using this component and no programming knowledge needed! Results can be emailed to anyone, or saved in a database - or one of many other actions!

Social Bookmarking Buttons Plug-in - adds social booking links to your site.

This highly customizable plug-in adds social bookmarking links, icons and “smart” buttons to your website and has several new features.

JCE - WYSIWYG editor

A WYSIWYG editor for Joomla! based on Moxiecode’s TinyMCE.

SmoothGallery + Lightbox Joomla Mambot Ajax - Gallery Extension

SmoothGallery Mambot allows you to easily and quickly add slide-shows to your content items.

LxMenu - DHTML Menu Extension

A DHTML menu component and module for creation of pop-up menus. It simplifies the creation of vertical or horizontal pop-up menus. Component and module are needed to be installed. XHTML compliant.

JoomlaPack - Backup Utility Extension

JoomlaPack is an open-source backup component for the Joomla! CMS, quite a bit different than its competition. Its mission is simple: create a site backup that can be restored on any Joomla!-capable server.

Joomap - Site Map Extension

Joomap is a sitemap component for Joomla that shows the normal Menu Structure, Content Categories, Sections and Virtuemart Categories in a hierarchical list.

What to look for when choosing a Joomla! Extension

Here are two important questions you should ask when selecting a Joomla! extension for your site.

What kind of support is available?

Can the supplier be easily contacted in the event of a problem? Do they have support forums? What’s the word on the Joomla! forums? Do your homework - it’ll save tears later. Don’t be surprised if they don’t always work as expected. Just make sure you have someone to contact in the event of a problem.

Is the extension secure and bug free?

Free extensions in particular are not necessarily coded very well. More developers = more chance of bugs. ALWAYS back up your site before adding any new extension and ALWAYS keep your extensions up to date by applying security patches, bug fixes, etc.

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