Best free Joomla extensions that supports Joomla 3
Joomla is currently both available in a 2.5 version and a 3.0 version. The reason for that is that Joomla 3 still have some bugs, that should not disturb all Joomla websites around the internet. So Joomla offers to versions – version 2.5 that is well-known for most webmasters and stable and version 3 that is new and fancy, but has a few bugs.
One big disadvantage of using Joomla 3 already now, is that not so many themes and extensions yet support that version. In this article I have listed some of the best Joomla 3 supported extensions, that you can download. All of them are available for free.
JCE – content editor
The default editor that you use, when you write articles is simple and support the most important features. But if you want to edit with more features (e.g. text color), then you should consider installing JCE (Joomla Content Editor). This is a very popular editor for Joomla and it is completely free.
You can download JCE from here.
BT smart search
Don’t you like the default search module for Joomla. BT smart search deliveres a more pretty search result page and allows you to index your site.
Another reason for using BT smart search, is that the default Joomla 3 search module might not fit perfectly into the default Joomla 3 theme (the text field has too big width).
You can download BT smart search for free here.
SP Share
On any website, it should be possible to share the article to minimum Facebook, Twitter and Google+. SP Share gives you buttons to do this for a lot of different social networks. It also looks pretty, when the buttons is viewed on your website.
Modules anywhere
With Modules anywhere, you can insert a module into any article. That could be a list of other articles, share buttons and customize your pages on your Joomla 3 site.
Nice Google Analytics
If you are using Google Analytics for the statistics of your website, the easiest way to insert the tracking code into Joomla, is by installing Nice Google Analytics, that will let you insert the code very easy.
Community builder
Do you wish to build a more advanced community, than is default for Joomlas user system? Then you should take a look on Community builder, that gives more advanced profiles.
Xmap
With Xmap you can automatically create a Sitemap for your website, that is supported by Google. Just install the extension and add the sitemap URL for Google Webmaster.
K2
K2 is a free article writing extension that is essential for all Joomla installations. It also provide you with a social sharing feature, author box, rating etc.
Read my article about K2 here
Download K2 here.
Akeeba Backup
A great backup service for your Joomla site. With this extension you can take a complete backup of your site including the database.
These where some of the Joomla 3 extensions that I currently use. I still need some extensions that has the following features:
- A download extention: That supports a download section where users must be logged in to download files. I have previously used Phoca Downloads, but this is not yet supported by Joomla 3.
- A favicon extention: That puts a Favicon on your website. I have previously used Phoca Favicon, but this is not yet supported by Joomla 3.
- A SEO extentions: Like WordPress SEO by Yoast. I have not yet seen any extention for Joomla, that can do the same for Joomla, that WordPress SEO by Yoast did for WordPress.
- A discussion board extention: Like Kunena. Kunena is unfortunately not supported in Joomla 3 yet.
If you know any extentions that has these features and supports Joomla 3, please let me know. Can you recommend any Joomla extentions.
You should definitely mention the FREE version of COBALT CCK by MintJoomla.com It adds so much versatility to Content type creation and advanced search/filtering. The limit is the sky.
by the way, you could build a download repository and even a discussion board with COBALT CCK. Have a look at the pre-build packages “forum” and “downloads” and the advanced (commercial) fields!
Regarding Download extensions:
– Attachments 3 (almost ready, email developer for preview release)
– Edocman by OS Solutions
Not free, but worth a look! Supports Joomla ACL. Feels like DOCman 😉
Thank you for your comment and for your suggestions, which seams interesting 🙂
I think Akeeba Backup http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/access-a-security/site-security/backup/1606 should be included in the list,
Regards,
Juan
Good choice! Can´t live without it. Just compare the usual time-consuming FTP upload of thousands of files and the all-in-one install by Akeeba backup. Not to speak of the FTP timeouts and possible file permission issues. A-must-have!
You are absolutely right, it is a great backup extension for Joomla 3. I have added it to the list.
Hay peter, it is really helpful to any new Joomla learner like me. Thanks for your sharing. I tried lot of third party search module but all were not the same what i was looking for. At last i tried BT Search which is awesome for thanks. Thanks again and keep up the good job.
You should add JSN PowerAdmin: http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/extension/administration/admin-navigation/jsn-poweradmin in this list. It helps Joomla users save a lot of time on website management:
– Search for any Joomla item instantly
– Manage menu, component and modules in one place.
– Drag-n-drop to change the position or edit Joomla item
Free and super powerful. I installed it on all of my Joomla sites.