This is now my third installation of Joomla. The first was on my Macintosh and was preceded by an installation of MAMP so that Joomla! could run on my Mac. I used that site to tool around a bit in Joomla! and practice the process before installing on an actual Web server. My second installation of Joomla! was at www.dedanaandesign.com/pm1/. I used that site to post my final class deliverable for Project Management.

This third and current installation (at www.innerphoenixtest.org) puzzled me in the same places as the first two and mainly having to do with password usage:

When following the Wizard and entering the database username/password, the correct combination to use is from an earlier step — the cpanel username/password, which in this case, I was given from rochen.com hosting.

There was not htaccess file to delete per Jen’s instructions (my first two installations used guides from Joomla! and were much longer and confusing. Jen’s one-page, ten-step instructions were pretty simple, but the process had some familiarity.

I could not immediately get into the administrator area after setting up the site. As with the last times, I felt a twinge of panic. It took me a few times to get the right combination of super administrator name/pass, and I swear the correct one was the same as the first one I tried and got a big red INCORRECT.

There is a usability problem I thought was pretty clear when asked if I want to install sample data. A radio button is ticked on with a button below labeled “install sample data.” There was another radio button labeled “migrate data …” or something. It seemed I had two choices, neither the one I wanted. The correct path was to keep the “install sample data” radio button ticked and in the far upper right corner of the browser window, click “next step,” ignoring the “install sample data” button. It seems I should have been able to uncheck both radio buttons before clicking “next.” Or the dialog should have been completely rethought.

So, the new site is running at www.innerphoenixtest.org, and I’m looking forward to building the site!