I’ve been wondering a lot about the Joomla! back-end interface since starting the MSIT program that I’m in. I especially wonder about it in terms of how I’m used to building a static Web site using Dreamweaver. So, a few days ago, I took the step of signing up for a 30-day trial using Joomla! on a hosting service couldaccess.net. It provides a painless way to see the Joomla! environment and to poke around in it creating pages and menus and so forth. It’s a sneak peek for now.

I have a few projects in mind for it. However, since I don’t plan on continuing hosing on cloudaccess.net, I expect that I’ll need to install Joomla! on my current host farily soon and before putting effort into creating anything that needs to go live. I’m a little apprehensive about that, and I hope the installation goes smoothly when the time comes. But getting this sneak peek lets me know what to expect when things are running right. That’s comforting and I’m glad the option of the 30-day trial is available.

It’s also exciting to start exploring the potential of an unfamiliar technology. One of the projects I am hoping to undertake with Joomla! is putting my project plan online for my Project Management 1 class. I think it will be a good initial use of Joomla! and may add a bit to the work of the project, but it will be killing two birds with one stone: completing a class project, and getting a head start on learning a new technology.