Is Joomla Right For My Business And How Do I Manage The Webmaster?
(This is an outline for a free class Jerry will teach at the Chamber of Commerce, Kalamazoo, Michigan.)

Joomla Intro:
Joomla is one of the most powerful open source content management systems on the planet. It powers everything from government and corporate sites to ecommerce and hobby sites.

There are over 20 million websites powered by Joomla on the web. Some of them look great and are successful sites. Some of them don't and are a money pit for the webmaster.

What Is CMS And Why Joomla?
A Content Management System (CMS) allows you to make changes to your website easily with just a few clicks. The modifications you make are instantly applied to your website. The days of updating outdated links or content  on every page of your website are over. Joomla offers a user friendly interface that can be learned within a few hours so that basic updates can be performed in-house.

What Types Of Sites Can I Build With Joomla?
Joomla is scalable as well as extremely customizable. Whether you are creating an online store or a simple 5 page company overview, Joomla offers the flexibility to change applications on the fly. Some of the types of websites you can run with Joomla are:

• Portal websites
• Member Based Websites
• Online Stores
• Blogs or News Sites
• Corporate Websites
• Personal Websites

How Is Joomla Going To Help Me Personally?
1. Are you paying a webmaster to update basic sections of your website? Why?

2. Would you like to be able to add/delete/modify the articles (pages) of your website including graphics and videos?

3. Would your company benefit by obtaining emails from interested customers who register on your website?

4. Would your company benefit by having a secure login section and the ability to access business critical information by authorized users only?

5. Are you using or plan to use an Email Marketing Company like iContact or Constant Contact?

6. Would you like to see an actual demo of how easy it is to add, modify or delete a website page in Joomla including menu navigation?

7. How much should my web hosting cost me? Unless you are paying for a dedicated server, anything more than $25 to $50 per month is likely too much.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ROI or High Tech Rip-Off Jargon?
1. Is SEO just another money pit for those who understand just how simple SEO really is? It easily can be, but there are honest providers of this service. You can find them if you know what to look for and the right questions to ask.

2. What are the top three things that will improve my website SEO? You will be shocked to find out how easy they are and how little time they require to implement.

3. What is Google Analytics?

4. Does one have to be a scientific programmer or a marketing guru to understand Google Analytics? If you can read, add and subtract you can learn Google Analytics.

5. How much should SEO cost? With a little training you could maintain most if not all of your own SEO in-house.

6. Should I pay a monthly fee for SEO? Be careful here and require your service provide to clearly demonstrate what you are paying for. Do not accept just a sales pitch unless you are the kind of person that buys used cars sight unseen. It is wise to require a clear and detailed demonstration before you make your decision.

If an SEO service provider says they will spend twenty hours or more each month fine-tuning your SEO, an alarm should go off. If you think this is normal then maybe I can sell you the Brooklyn Bridge! Not only do I not own it, it will require very little time on my part to collect your cash.

7. What is "Pay Per Click" sponsored advertising and do I really need this? This service does help and for most websites even a modest budget of $10/month will improve your SEO.

What Should I Know About Managing My Webmaster?
Great question. You should be the one managing your webmaster, not the other way around.

1. Have they documented your site?

2. Do you have a disaster recovery plan including what happens if your webmaster's service is unacceptable?

3. Do you own a complete, current backup of your website?

What Are Some "Best Practices" That I Should Expect From My Webmaster?
Here is where the good, the bad and the ugly come into play. As a twenty year former scientific programmer for Upjohn's I have seen it all. Whenever a programmer is asked to take over an existing program from a previous employee one is never excited. The question that we all ask is what kind of a mess am I getting into, and is there any documentation? How many unsolved bugs are there that I do not even know about and the list of Murphy's items go on...

1. The webmaster should clearly document the layout and design of your proposed website so that a non-programmer can understand it. Then if someone else has to take over your website for whatever reason, they will have the original webmaster's documentation.

2. Make sure you purchase and own your website URL.

3. Remember, you are not just buying the design services of a webmaster, you are also purchasing ALL of their work including documentation, backups, URLs and basically everything you need should you wish to change webmasters in the future.

4. What is the most important thing a webmaster must do for their customers? Provide you with a BACKUP of your site and the ability to perform your own backups. If a webmaster is not willing to relinquish control of YOUR coded website - do not hire them. Information is power, but using information to protect ones job security is dishonest at best. The best job security plan I know of is great customer service and excellent work ethics.

A client once complained about a marketing company charging them a couple of thousand dollars a month to host their website. When I recommended to the client to take control of their own website and find a reasonably priced hosting company, the old marketing pitch kicked into high gear. Using scare tactics the client was asked, "Just who is going to support the CMS PHP, MySQL, CSS, XHTML and so on?"

Unfortunately high tech computer programming jargon was misused, scared the client, and the wondrously profitable hosting agreement and ambiguity continues to this day. However, it was interesting that the marketing company voluntarily reduced their hosting fee by 50%.

In summary if a webmaster is willing to provide you with excellent documenation, a transparent explanation, and a meaningful demonstration of their services, then you are off to a great start. Be sure to take the necessary time to acquire comparative quotes. A responsible webmaster will take the time to explain, document and demonstrate what they are charging you for.

You do not have to spend countless hours trying to learn everything a webmaster knows because that is what you are paying them for. However, find one that is transparent and willing to teach you enough to where you feel you are getting a fair ROI. You are the one paying for their services. Great webmasters will work with you, as well as for you.

Jerry enjoys writing and teaching for the purpose of helping others to excel in whatever topic he is teaching including avoiding unecessary obstacles.

Jerry Angeletti is a former Scientific Oracle Warehouse Developer for Upjohn/Upjohn Pharmacia/Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Jerry's career included responsibility for assigning doctors, hospitals and HMO's to specific territories for Sales and Marketing. He was also a Medical Programmer coding efficacy and adverse event algorithms for FDA submissions for new drug approvals. Finally he was fortunate to be chosen as a Scientific Programmer for Oracle Warehouse Modeling and Development for a new Genetic Informatics group. After a twenty year career he accepted an early retirement, paid off their family's outstanding debt, (Thank you Dave Ramsey!) and started his own business Angeletti Pictures in June of 2004. Jerry credits his understanding of Marketing and Branding to Charlie Wicks who is the late CEO and Founder of Pro Co Sound (http://www.procosound.com). Charlie was more than Jerry's mentor and first major client, he was and always shall be a treasured friend in this life who took the time to share his thirty plus years of Marketing and Sales wisdom. Charlie passed away March 11, 2010 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. He will be missed.