Top and Best Joomla Extension for Easier and Better Websites

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Joomla is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) for publishing web content. It is built on a model–view–controller web application framework that can be used independently of the CMS.

It’s an opportune time to take a look at some of the more popular Joomla extensions and see how they perform. Specifically, I looked at how they run on Joomla 2.5, the current “stable” release of Joomla. Joomla 3.0, which was released on September 27, 2012, has a lot of great features going for it, but the module ecosystem will still need some time to catch up. If you have moved to version 3.0, check with each specific extension’s website to make sure it’s compatible.

Community Builder:

Includes: Component, Module, Plugin
Compatibility: 3

Community Builder (CB) is an extremely flexible and robust social networking solution for Joomla. CB has a huge user base, a long history and a great future. Social websites go far beyond Facebook look-alikes and CB has literally hundreds of built-in features and can be extended with extra (free or commercial) add-ons from the CB Team and other parties that will help you realize your very own – tailored to your specific needs – social networking website.

There are lots of community-oriented packages out there for Joomla, with many different approaches to introducing elements of community site management into a site. For flexibility, Community Builder from Joomlapolis seems the current favorite.

Details: http://extensions.joomla.org/extension/community-builder

JCE:

Includes: Component, Module, Plugin
Compatibility: 3

An award-winning, configurable WYSIWYG editor for Joomla! based on Moxiecode’s TinyMCE. Includes advanced Image/Media, File and Link handling, plugin support, and an Administration interface for editor configuration.

I like my writing tools very simple and free from distraction. I need to focus on the words themselves, not all the dandified formatting and alignment tools that can be a big distraction. That’s why I like tools like GNU Emacs or iA Writer depending on the platform I’m using, and that’s why I can appreciate using the default editor within Joomla, TinyMCE. TinyMCE is simple, has some straightforward formatting tools, and there you are.

Details: http://extensions.joomla.org/extension/jce

K2:

Includes: Component, Module, Plugin
Compatibility: 3

The powerful award-winning content extension for Joomla with more than 2 million downloads (and counting)!

K2 is an advanced component for creating more detailed Joomla! articles with images, videos, image galleries and attachments. It is developed by JoomlaWorks. K2 steps in to fill the gap that exists in the Joomla framework. It offers a robust and expansive set of features that allow you to manage your content more easily than you would with default Joomla. The K2 extension for Joomla supports article management, tags, comments, image galleries and video management, content modules, and a cool drag and drop Media Manager. Besides that, K2 comes with a set of friendly templates that allow you to implement a module without messing around with the template’s code. Equipped with more plugins to create rich content, K2 even enables converting a normal news site into an author’s blog, product catalog, download manager, product showcase and many more magic to amaze your clients.

Details: http://extensions.joomla.org/extension/k2