Hi from Joomla Bliss web design firm in Ottawa,

The Joomla! Development Team has just released version 3.4.7! This is a security patch that, as before, requires immediate attention, but only for a smaller target group. The fix this time follows up on the 3.4.6 fix, and patch a vulnerability on Joomla websites that are running on the older PHP 5.3. It is recommmended every one updates to 3.4.7 though, just to stay up-to-date.

Version 3.4.7 only contains security-related fixes, so in general, it shouldn't affect templates or frontend experience.

If you are using Joomla! 3 (which we recommend all our clients do, as Joomla 1.5 and J2 are no longer supported), you can update your site in your Joomla admin panel, or download the packages on the Joomla! site. Since Joomla 1.5 and Joomla 2 are no longer officially supported, you will have to download the hotfix here, then apply the patch manually.

If you need any assistances with Joomla! upgrades or need to restore a hacked Joomla website, we at Joomla Bliss are ready to help you. Give us a call!

Hi from Ottawa,

Designing websites is always fun, but it is also important to stay abreast web design industry news. The Joomla! Development Team has just released version 3.4.6! Like Joomla 3.4.5, this is a security-only patch. This time around, the vulnerability discovered affects even broader - anyone using Joomla 1.5, 2.X and 3.X for their websites, are at risk of being compromised, and need to update immediately.

Version 3.4.6 only contains security-related fixes, so in general, it shouldn't affect templates or frontend experience.

If you are using Joomla! 3 (which we recommend to all our clients, because J1.5 and J2 are no longer supported), you can update your site in your Joomla! admin panel, or download the packages on the Joomla! site. Since Joomla 1.5 and Joomla 2 are no longer officially supported, you will have to download the hotfix here, then apply the patch manually.

If you need any assistances with Joomla upgrades or need to restore a hacked Joomla site, we at Joomla Bliss are ready to help you. Give us a call!

Hi from Ottawa,

Designing websites and following industry news here, which we want to share with you. The Joomla! Development Team has just released version 3.4.5! This is a very important security patch, everyone using Joomla 3 for their websites need to upgrade immediately. The security holes in question exist in the Joomla! core codes, meaning every unpatched Joomla! 3 website, regardless of setup and configurations, are at risk of being compromised. Publishing the patch and security vulnerabilties on the web would also have the undesirable side-effect of making the exploit more well-known - so it is imperative that everyone update asap.

Version 3.4.5 only contains security-related fixes, so in general, it shouldn't affect templates or frontend experience.

You can update your site in your Joomla admin panel, or download the packages on the Joomla! site.

If you need any assistances with Joomla upgrades or need to restore compromised Joomla site, we at Joomla Bliss are ready to help you. Give us a call!

The 3.4 release introduces new features into the CMS such as improved front end module editing, decoupling of weblinks, composer integration, Google new reCaptcha and security improvements by implementing UploadShield code which can detect most malicious uploads by examining their filenames and file contents.

This release was possible thanks to a hard work of over 130 different volunteer contributors.

Over 700 bugs have also been resolved with the 3.4 release of the Joomla! CMS.

December 31, 2014 is the last day of Joomla 2.5. It is the official End of Life for this version.

Though 2.5 may have had what felt like a rushed lifetime, in many ways it leaves behind its own legacy. It helped the Joomla project to demonstrate its ability to grow quickly and produce a stable product along the way, demonstrated that the Joomla! team has taken steps to improve an already fantastic platform even further, and in many ways has served as an effective bridge between two releases which will have truly lengthy lifetimes with focuses on long term support and stability.

If you are running an earlier release of the current version (for example, you are running 2.5.1 and the current version is 2.5.6), you should upgrade to the current version. Each minor release fixes a number of bugs and/or security issues. It is always good practice to upgrade to the latest maintenance version as a first step in troubleshooting a problem and fixing any newly discovered security issues.

Download the latest Joomla version or call us for help at 613-2316308.

With each new version Joomla is getting easier and easier to use, so if you are wondering if the upgrade is worth it, the answer is definitely a big YES, especially if you are still using oldies like 1.5 or 1.7. Those versions are no longer supported officially (no security patches or big fixes are issued), and while your site can still work perfectly if you are not adding any new functionalities to it and only adding text and images – any new feature added, as small as RSS or a photo gallery, and you run a security risk. Plus, many plugins and components no longer run on the old versions. So, again, if your site is very simple and you are not adding any features to it, you can run your Joomla 1.5. version indefinitely. But if you plan on adding something functional to it, then you are running the risk of seeing the teeth of software security and compatibility.

Read more on the release of Joomla 3.3.1

5 Things you need to know about the Joomla upgrade

1. Upgrading to a subversion of a major release is a relatively simple task that your website manager can do with a click of a button (well, almost always), but we advise “walking one step behind”. Do not rush to upgrade to the latest subversion, wait until it becomes mature. We prefer to stay on the last but one subversion.
2. Upgrading to a major version is never a simple DIY task. Do not attempt to click that “upgrade now” button. If you really can’t help it, at least make sure to backup the site first (use Akeeba backup ).
3. If your site is more than a restaurant menu, upgrading to a major version is always worth it. Every new version of Joomla makes things easier for end-users. There are more new bells and whistles that come with it that can enhance your site’s functionalities for free. Security is less of a threat as new versions always improve on previously found vulnerabilities.
4. Before the upgrade, check what components, modules and plugins your site is using, create an inventory and then to go here and verify that each of these extensions supports the new Joomla version. If you are hiring a web design agency, they would do it for you.
5. When asking for quotes from web design agencies, you are likely to see a much larger variance between different quotes. The price can range 400%. We do not have a scientifically proven answer for why this is the case, but our guess – as arrogant as it maybe – is this is because some agencies d not have the right expertise and take much longer to do what needs to be done. The other possible reason is because they know there are no “standards” for upgrade projects and no typical range of hours that can be estimated, so they can crank up the price as much as they want. What’s interesting is that consumers are “afraid” of the low price. Whereas the funny part is that – with the upgrade projects, as opposed to the new site development, the risks are much fewer. At the end of the project, your site is either working or not. So if your site, which will be sitting on a development server, is working, which you can test by clicking around, then whether you paid $2000 or $4000 for the update is pretty much circumstantial.

Halloween Special Edition

Google and other search engines include Twitter profiles and messages in their search results. Search engines use "signals", such as the number of social media shares of a link, to determine how that link ranks for a given keyword. This is now called a "social search". 

It is official. Social media matters now more than ever. it matters for SEO and it matters for Marketing in general. You've got to get on top it.

This post concisely describes how to use Twitter for website marketing and SEO.  We explain how to use your Twitter smartly to get higher ranking for your website on Google and other search engines. 

If we could tell you one thing and one thing only about how to use Twitter and social media in general to get higher ranking of your corporate website on Google and other search engines, this will be the following: "Create and tweet/retweet only highly useful and valuable content". If you don't have time to learn or do anything else, applying this rule alone will eventually generate a social following for you and will establish you as a thought leader in your field.  If you'd like to do more, here are 13 quick and easy tips you can employ:

Every web marketer uses their own tools, but there is a list of tools that all marketers use or at least are familiar with. Moz published the results of their 2012 survey on the status of SEO and web marketing industry. These results are very useful, especially if you are just starting with SEO and website marketing and looking for some benchmarks.

Below is the Moz list of the most important website marketing tools by category and by percentage of respondents (out of 1600 respondents in total, if we are not mistaken). Joomla Bliss in Ottawa adds one category to this list at the very end.

Every two years, one of the leading web marketing firms and tool developer Moz produces results of their survey on search ranking factors. Below are their findings. Note that it is not clear how exactly they estimate the values and the total points, but in general, their guidelines are valuable.