The Joomlashack Blog - Joomla Tutorials and News

Here's Why We Use Recurring Subscriptions at Joomlashack

Steve Burge12 April 2017Joomlashack

Recurring Subscriptions are Key for Sustainable Joomla Businesses

It's not easy to build a strong and sustainable business.

That's true whether your business is in construction, retail, food, farming, or any other industry.

It's definitely not easy to build a strong and sustainable business in Joomla. The platform is over 10 years old and the user-base is active, but not growing quickly.

However, over the last two years, we've managed to grow Joomlashack. Our revenues have doubled every six months. This enables us to add more developers and support staff, plus push out frequent product updates. 94% of Joomlashack tickets get a reply inside 3 hours, and 90% of users say the support is "great".

Yes, we have some good extensions and templates, but one thing has made that growth possible: recurring subscriptions.

Some customers are upset about this, so I want to talk through the reasons behind this decision.

A New Version of Joomla 3 Explained is Coming

Steve Burge28 March 2017Joomlashack

The team behind Joomlashack wrote the most popular Joomla books.

Joomla Explained was published in 2011 and focused on Joomla 2.5.
Joomla 3 Explained was published in 2013 and focused on Joomla 3.

These books sold well over 10,000 copies each. However, we haven't been able to release an update in recent years. Finally, that's going to change.

Why release a Joomla 3 Explained update?

There are several good reasons to release a new version now:

Joomla 3.7 will bring major changes with fields, multi-lingual changes.
After 4 years, the book badly needs an update. The book is actually being used in classrooms around the world. I'm embarrassed to even think about what the students must think.
The Joomla certification project is underway, and there needs to be affordable, high-quality study materials.

New Class: How to Build Joomla Components

Steve Burge22 February 2017Joomlashack

Joomla development has been the most requested topic by Joomlashack University members.

So, I'm delighted to release another in a series of several Joomla development classes. We've worked with Cory Webb, a Joomla developer since 2005, to produce a series of classes on building extensions.

This new class is called "How to Develop Joomla Components. Part 1: the Administrator".

This class follows on from "How to Develop Joomla Modules" and "How to Develop Joomla Plugins".

Do you want to learn Joomla extension development? Click here to join Joomlashack University.

Joomlashack Clubs Now Have More Affordable Options

Valentín García20 February 2017Joomlashack

For the last year, Joomlashack clubs were sold only as 6 or 12 month plans, and they were a wonderful value for the money.

For example, you could get our Extension Club for as little as $129 for a 6 month plan. You could also get all our templates for $79 on a 6 month subscription.

Today, we're introducing a more affordable 3 month options for all Joomlashack clubs.

We Are Willing to Adopt Joomla Extensions

Steve Burge23 January 2017Joomlashack

Over the last few days, we've been contacted by several Joomla users. These users were customers of a particular Joomla extension developer. The developer seems to have vanished overnight, shutting down their website.

This is not the first time we've seen a situation like this. Life happens. People get busy, create new extensions and services, change jobs, or may need to stop development for 1,001 other reasons.

But, if you don't want to disappoint your existing customers, let me offer an option: Joomlashack is willing to adopt your extensions.

Important: Please Check Your Joomlashack Extension Versions

Anderson Grüdtner15 January 2017Joomlashack

Joomla has recently announced a new rule for extensions published on the Joomla Extensions Directory (JED).

Extensions on the JED must now support the Joomla Update System. This means that you can easily apply updates via your site's administrator area.

We're 110% behind this new rule. It will make your Joomla site safer and easier to maintain. The JED team wrote a great explanation of the benefits to website builders and extension developers.

Some of our extensions, especially the original extensions from Joomlashack, were still missing that feature. We've have been working hard over the last few weeks to make sure all Joomlashack extensions support the Joomla Update System.

Come Meet Joomlashack at JoomlaDay Florida

Steve Burge09 January 2017Joomlashack

Are you feeling cold this week? The absolute best remedy is a trip to Florida.

Why not plan to meet us in Florida for JoomlaDay Florida next month?

The second annual JoomlaDay Florida will be in Tampa on Saturday, February 25th and Sunday, February 26th.

Joomlashack's (Most of) 2016 Year in Review

Steve Burge06 January 2017Joomlashack

This can't be a complete year-in-review post.

The OSTraining team took over Joomlashack in April 2016, so we can really only talk about the last 8 months.

However, it's fair to say that the last 8 months were some of the most exciting in Joomlashack's 11 year history.

What Can Joomlashack Do Better in 2017?

Steve Burge09 December 2016Joomlashack

This year's Joomlashack survey consists of a single question: What can Joomlashack do better in 2017?

You might be thinking,

This seems like a very simple thing to answer

Yes, you're right! There's just a single box and you can write whatever you want.

The 2017 Joomlashack Roadmap

Steve Burge15 November 2016Joomlashack

In April 2016, the OSTraining team took over Joomlashack. This site was still running, but it needed an injection of fresh energy after 11 years.

So, we planned a 2016 roadmap to bring new life back to Joomlashack.

I'm delighted to say that almost all the items on the 2016 roadmap have now been completed: