Joomla 3.3 is soon ready for lift off and we can expect some great new features in this release. When combined with many fantastic features so far in the Joomla 3 series this is proving to be a true example of innovation and forward thinking in the world of content management solutions. On the projected release date of April 22nd 2014, jump over to http://www.joomla.org/3 to get a glimpse of new features and more information. In the meantime check out this teaser video for some highlights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCQw4UdbHYE
Joomla! 3.3 is all about “doing more” and this is exactly what you can do with Joomla!
Using Joomla to deliver online content to better your business, community or organization is not only a smart choice but using the Joomla! CMS just keeps getting better. With each release, you can always Do More with Joomla. However, with this release there are several new features that really will let you do more with your Joomla! powered website. In addition to five key features presented in Joomla 3.3, there are also many enhancements made to the user interface and core code of the CMS. Upgrade, demo or start building today and be among the first to take advantage of all the great new features and stability in Joomla 3.3.
New fortified Joomla Security in Joomla 3.3
The Joomla CMS v3 series has been the most secure version in history and with Joomla 3.3 they raised the bar even more by making PHP 5.3.10 the minimum supported version required to use Joomla!. While this is something that mostly just happens under the hood, it provides a number of security benefits, including stronger password encryption, and it prevents problems caused by vulnerabilities that can be triggered through earlier versions of PHP. With Joomla 3.3 you can build with confident that Joomla will always be a smart choice for protecting your web assets. Joomla is one of the most aggressive open source CMS’s when it comes to security and something to take note of is that Joomla is the first leading open source CMS to offer 2 Factor Authentication.
Get your Link Juice with new microdata features that can supercharge your SEO marketing
Joomla! 3.3 includes a new libraries which allows microdata to be used and implemented in Joomla! like never before. This is very exciting and useful for your online marketing needs because it will allow you to identify authors in articles and append micro data information to breadcrumb links. While this is a relatively new technique it is the way the marketplace is turning. Rich Snippets about your content can be generated for items like reviews and ratings, or to identify content as relating to people, events or creative works. This capability will significantly enhance your potential with useful marketing tools and allow you to take advantage of the latest changes by popular search engines.
Cloud Storage APIs can bring big data storage costs down
Joomla 3.3 comes with new APIs that will allow Joomla to access cloud storage services including Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Rackspace and Dropbox. You can now use these data storage services as content distribution networks without the need for third party extensions. This means you can reduce costs on data storage and maximize your investment when using this feature in Joomla. It also means that Joomla is poised better for more enterprise level implementations.
Making the user experience easier and giving more power on the front end
Managing content on your Joomla site just got easier. In Joomla 3.3 users can be granted access to manage specific content based on user permissions right from the front end of your Joomla site. You will have capabilities to configure options that were before only available from the back end administrative area. This new feature gives much more flexibility and control to site administrators while simplifying content management options for your subject matter experts. This means you have more control of your content while making it simple and easy for content contributors to accomplish more.
Code conflicts, “Don’t you hate it when that happens?”
When building complex sites with a lot of features and it is like putting a bunch of kids in a sandbox. They do not always play nice together. Joomla 3.3 hopes to help solve this. The CMS core in Joomla 3.3 will now use JQuery only. What does this mean? Well in the past there have been two libraries shipped as a way to leverage many of the groovy features in Joomla. When combined with templates and extensions interchanging between various libraries left the door open for surprises. Code instances that were using Mootools have now been converted to use JQuery. Since Joomla now comes with it’s own JQuery library this increases site performance and reduces conflicts from when individual extensions called multiple copies of the same library or clashed with Mootools. This means you can deploy sites with fewer technical issues, greater stability and reduce the time or cost troubleshooting.
Yes it is time to upgrade… Connect and Do More…. We are here to help
Remember that since the update manager was introduced in Joomla 2.5 upgrading your Joomla site is so much easier. Upgrading from Joomla 3.x.x to 3.3 is a one-click upgrade and is NOT a migration. The same is true is for any subsequent versions in the Joomla 3 series.
Of course if you have a Joomla 2.5 site or older you will want to consult documentation or forums and carefully review the requirements for a successful upgrade. There are also plenty of “Registered Providers” on the new Joomla Resource Directory http://resources.joomla.org willing to assist you.
Oh and helping folks be successful with Joomla… well that is what we are all about here at CNP too. I do not mind hearing our phone ring. :-)
Other interesting blog posts on Joomla 3.3 features
http://techjoomla.com/general/joomla-33-is-on-its-way-to-let-you-do-more-with-less.html
http://joomla.digital-peak.com/blog/164-working-with-the-new-joomla-3-3
http://joomlabe.at/joomla-advice/management/new-security-in-joomla-3-3#.UzQ9YVca3s9
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