ZOO
Version
3.0 (last update on Oct 15, 2012)
Rating
Compatibility
Reviews
85
License
GPLv2 or later
Non-Commercial
Type
Date Added
10 May 2010
KEY FEATURES
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* Create multiple app instances - Each one manages its own content like items and categories.
* ZOO provides a clean design with a JavaScript powered user interface to manage apps.
* Create your very own custom content types to fit exactly your requirements.
* Choose from a rich set of elements like forms, images, videos, ratings and more.
* Arrange your content via drag 'n drop by assigning elements to layout positions.
* Extend categories with custom fields and sort them using drag 'n drop.
* The slick comment system supports Akismet, Gravatar, Twitter and Facebook Connect.
* Adding tags is a breeze with text suggestion, auto completion and multiple selections.
* Use our form builder to let your users submit content via the frontend of your website!
* Trusted authors can review and edit their created content directly from the frontend.
* Import your content from Joomla, CSV files and popular Joomla components
Included Apps
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* Blog - Easily build your own weblog with features like comments, tags and social bookmarks.
* Pages - Need a static content page like a Copyright or Team page? Here you go!
Zoo 2.1 is the best CCK and the frontend submission is very nice looking. I tried Flexicontent and Jseblod, but think Zoo is much easier.
Zoo also comes with a free blog application, which is pretty nice!
It is even better than K2, although K2 has better third party support. But I am sure there will be the same support soon (for sh404sef, Xmap and so on ...)
Zoo also comes with a free blog application, which is pretty nice!
It is even better than K2, although K2 has better third party support. But I am sure there will be the same support soon (for sh404sef, Xmap and so on ...)
Hats off to You guys...Wat an Extension...simply awesome....No Installion errors....No usage Errors...I am using this Extension on my site to Show the Business Directory of Companies....And to my surprise what an UI...Fantastic....Tried a lot of other Extensions for the Same...but with very little success...But this extension provided me with what i needed the most...Simply awesome..
Thank You So Much....
Thank You So Much....
I have worked with K2 in the past, it was simple to use. However it lacked a lot of the extendability that I see with Zoo 2.0. The out-of-the-box functionality available from this program, and it's clean setup on any layout really gives it an edge above other CCK products.
Also, Yootheme's decision to develop applications themselves really gives members the needed benefit to want to pay for the premium content. I know that for my projects I will definitely build with ZOO.
Apart from being able to easily layout pages with point and click ease, I can also provide my clients with a super simple update method that is easier and more functional than the conventional Joomla Article Manager.
As I continue to explore the possibilities, I am sure I will learn more about functionality of the program.
Only time will tell how functional Zoo becomes, but for it's initial release, this program is second to none.
Also, Yootheme's decision to develop applications themselves really gives members the needed benefit to want to pay for the premium content. I know that for my projects I will definitely build with ZOO.
Apart from being able to easily layout pages with point and click ease, I can also provide my clients with a super simple update method that is easier and more functional than the conventional Joomla Article Manager.
As I continue to explore the possibilities, I am sure I will learn more about functionality of the program.
Only time will tell how functional Zoo becomes, but for it's initial release, this program is second to none.
Trying to be objective, I'm giving 4 stars.
Why not 5?
I've been following YooTheme for the last 2 years and this is my first review for them.
If a small company with small potentials could have managed to do such kind of extension (++++a lot of tools integrated with it) I would probably give 99 stars, but for a company who is considered to be one of the best in their field I'm giving 4 stars.
Product catalog...no shopping cart, no wish list and checkout system...at all. Can you imagine, say, huge 15000 item catalog without any possibility to even remember what you have been looking through. What is the point of such kind of catalog? Just to look at the items? Well...maybe
I understand that it's not e-commerce extension, but sometimes people don't need the complicated carts like Virtue Mart of Magento.
I don't know if YooTheme is going to develop the shopping cart for Zoo, and it's their choice of course, but if I hear the word "Product Catalog" I think it should be some way to get it ;)
Sorry for my bad English :)
Why not 5?
I've been following YooTheme for the last 2 years and this is my first review for them.
If a small company with small potentials could have managed to do such kind of extension (++++a lot of tools integrated with it) I would probably give 99 stars, but for a company who is considered to be one of the best in their field I'm giving 4 stars.
Product catalog...no shopping cart, no wish list and checkout system...at all. Can you imagine, say, huge 15000 item catalog without any possibility to even remember what you have been looking through. What is the point of such kind of catalog? Just to look at the items? Well...maybe
I understand that it's not e-commerce extension, but sometimes people don't need the complicated carts like Virtue Mart of Magento.
I don't know if YooTheme is going to develop the shopping cart for Zoo, and it's their choice of course, but if I hear the word "Product Catalog" I think it should be some way to get it ;)
Sorry for my bad English :)
This component is simply outstanding! I have been playing with this component for about a week now and have replaced all other components in my website except for nbill. In short when you compare with other CCK's the only disadvantage I can see is no front end access but Yootheme states this up front so I'm not sure why anyone would complain. ZOO combined with ZOO tools (ZOO Tools is part of the paid subscription) will eliminate a ton of other components and they work seamlessly together. I highly recommend ZOO and yes it is worth the money if it will meet your needs. The documentation is some of the best documentation I have seen. It covers all the options very clear. I was in dumb mode and posted a question on their forum and after two exchanges Yootheme fixed it for me. All in all I'm extremely happy with this purchase. If you're not the expert coder like me. This is the way go. This is some of the best money I have invested!!!
Easy to install, easy to use and it can even import native Joomla articles and categories.
I love the product i see from you guys. Quite stellar work but for some reason i can never get this installed into my J! site
i dont get much of an error either
Personally i would me MORE than happy to pay for the full version IF i could ever get a demo version installed
i dont get much of an error either
Personally i would me MORE than happy to pay for the full version IF i could ever get a demo version installed
Owner's reply
Please send us an email to info[at]... and we will help you.
This is a great CCK particularly for those of us who's main skill is as a designer. I look forward with great anticipation to the future improvements. In the meantime I suggest the following would be great:
1. Allow the use of your default editor or if this is not possible implement 'Read more' as a parameter
2. Provide s separate forum for the free version so we can learn from each other and contribute ideas for improvement. This has to benefit everyone.
3. Sell the Zoo apps individually so we only buy what we need.
1. Allow the use of your default editor or if this is not possible implement 'Read more' as a parameter
2. Provide s separate forum for the free version so we can learn from each other and contribute ideas for improvement. This has to benefit everyone.
3. Sell the Zoo apps individually so we only buy what we need.
What i can say about zoo?
It's free to try
It's free to lear (a very good docs)
It's easy to use
It's easy to implement
It's easy...
sorry for my bad english
For work i search software for my client.
I test it in all part and i make report.
For Zoo i do the same for myself and this is my "short version" of report:
YooTheme Report:
- customer care : Very Good. Forum
- Documentation : Very Good. (just link up)
- Implementation during application life : Lot of wish are implemented.
- Staff : Amazing.
Application Report:
- Use very easy
You don't need to know php for easy implementation.
You need to know how to use google to advanced implementation.
- Good FrameWork
Just modify all time 3 files for all.
Also in xml file it's easy to understud what do (and are explan ALL in docs).
It's free to try
It's free to lear (a very good docs)
It's easy to use
It's easy to implement
It's easy...
sorry for my bad english
For work i search software for my client.
I test it in all part and i make report.
For Zoo i do the same for myself and this is my "short version" of report:
YooTheme Report:
- customer care : Very Good. Forum
- Documentation : Very Good. (just link up)
- Implementation during application life : Lot of wish are implemented.
- Staff : Amazing.
Application Report:
- Use very easy
You don't need to know php for easy implementation.
You need to know how to use google to advanced implementation.
- Good FrameWork
Just modify all time 3 files for all.
Also in xml file it's easy to understud what do (and are explan ALL in docs).
The new ZOO 2.0 is a great new component and is only going to get better. I am just now learning how to use it and get the most out of it. I really like the component because it is part of their integrated system of Yoo Tools and Yoo Templates that all work together very nicely. They have great tech support and are very active in developing their products. This is a new component and does have some rough edges but the developers are responding to these as quickly as possible.
At the moment ZOO 2.0 does not have front-end submission. The developers state this very clearly over and over again. This issue has been beaten to death in the forums and elsewhere. If you need this capability then ZOO is not for you, at least at the moment. I think ZOO started out as basically a catalog component and the developers did not feel front-end submission was real important. I am sure they have gotten the message and are working on it for a up coming release. Other than that limitation, which is a big one for a lot of people, this is a great component!!! Very excited to see what I can create with it and what others are going to do.
At the moment ZOO 2.0 does not have front-end submission. The developers state this very clearly over and over again. This issue has been beaten to death in the forums and elsewhere. If you need this capability then ZOO is not for you, at least at the moment. I think ZOO started out as basically a catalog component and the developers did not feel front-end submission was real important. I am sure they have gotten the message and are working on it for a up coming release. Other than that limitation, which is a big one for a lot of people, this is a great component!!! Very excited to see what I can create with it and what others are going to do.
Wow, another phenomenal product from Yootheme. I was already really happy with version 1.0, and am now through the moon happy with version 2.0.
These guys have a way of taking a type of application (in this case a CCK) and creating a version that is extremely simple, reliable, and easy to work with.
Although there are more powerful CCK's out there, for me, Zoo is almost always perfect for my needs.
I REALLY appreciate how streamlined it is in the backend. Learning my way around it was very quick.
The templating system was also extremely easy to pick up.
These guys have a way of taking a type of application (in this case a CCK) and creating a version that is extremely simple, reliable, and easy to work with.
Although there are more powerful CCK's out there, for me, Zoo is almost always perfect for my needs.
I REALLY appreciate how streamlined it is in the backend. Learning my way around it was very quick.
The templating system was also extremely easy to pick up.
I really like zoo and the functionality is great from the front end. No real support for the component as mentioned below. While the urls are seo friendly, the structure is not good enough to to build a site around. The url structure presents serious problems down the road if you migrate content elsewhere from a search engine perspective. For zoo to be used seriously on a site that is setup as a legit info or affiliate portal, the category and item slugs need to be removable. If i wanted these, i would simply use wordpress for a cms. There is also no meta data control for categories and tags and such. At this stage zoo is not usable for building a search traffic site around but if these problems were to be resolved, i would definitely be using it. I would not use this component even for free at this stage of development.
Owner's reply
Sorry, we simply disagree. The ZOO extension is perfectly scanned and rated by Google.
Did you know that Google does not use the keywords meta tag in web ranking? Learn more here: http://bit.ly/dzJwYz
Unfortunately, we selected ZOO as our CCK for a clients site. Once we started customizing zoo for our client we discovered that there are NO resources online for the free version. Their support forum is behind a paywall, and unfortunately we were too far along to switch to a new CCK.
If you're looking at the free version, and you need to make any customizations to the front-end, look elsewhere.
If you're looking at the free version, and you need to make any customizations to the front-end, look elsewhere.
Owner's reply
Sorry for your frustrating experience but we have a comprehensive documentation at http://docs.yootheme.com where you can also ask questions in the comments.
It also seems that you are using ZOO 1.0. Please upgrade to ZOO 2.0. There is only one free version for ZOO 2.0 and it is the same as for members who purchased the app bundle.
Besides this you doesn't mentioned any real issues you had...
This is so clean and easy to use! I've been wanting a good excuse to move my wordpress blog to joomla and this is it! The blog app almost perfect! Just needs a few tweaks here and there (i.e. navigation, etc). I can't wait to start adding recipes with the cookbook app and my favorite movies with the movie app.
Thank you YOO!
: )
Thank you YOO!
: )
Zoo2 is beyond good - I have hardly words for it!! I have been using Zoo since the first release, but Zoo2 is just a giant leap. It is so versatile, and without being a programmer, it is so easy to create and present my site in all the different ways I want it to look like. I make page types for products, galleries, articles, write-ups, FAQ, downloads, testimonials - with drag and drop.
The price is nothing, compared to the application you get, and the support yootheme gives in their forum.
I was looking at alternative CCK's a while ago, but now there is nothing that matches Zoo2.
The price is nothing, compared to the application you get, and the support yootheme gives in their forum.
I was looking at alternative CCK's a while ago, but now there is nothing that matches Zoo2.
Sorry, but i give you just 3 stars for a avarage product.
What is the sense behind a content construction kit? Exactly, a frontend submission/editing. You can build a predefined Contentstyling with various fields, so that can a not-webexpert submit his content and it looks allways in the same style. If this feature is missing, for me this is just a better templater for the backend, like the tiny "templater" from nonumber.nl on JED.
Now you have the same problem like flexicontent, but flexicontent will add this feature very soon. And if you compare your extension with the jSeblod solution, then you are very far away from it. And jSeblod is totaly free, without any commercial components and more powerful.
I say absolutly nothing against the quality of this product, but i can't see a sense behind a "Ferrari with three weels".
ps:
I do not work for jSeblod :-) . But I know all the CCK's for Joomla
What is the sense behind a content construction kit? Exactly, a frontend submission/editing. You can build a predefined Contentstyling with various fields, so that can a not-webexpert submit his content and it looks allways in the same style. If this feature is missing, for me this is just a better templater for the backend, like the tiny "templater" from nonumber.nl on JED.
Now you have the same problem like flexicontent, but flexicontent will add this feature very soon. And if you compare your extension with the jSeblod solution, then you are very far away from it. And jSeblod is totaly free, without any commercial components and more powerful.
I say absolutly nothing against the quality of this product, but i can't see a sense behind a "Ferrari with three weels".
ps:
I do not work for jSeblod :-) . But I know all the CCK's for Joomla
Owner's reply
It is clearly stated that ZOO 2.0 has currently no frontend submission. See the IMPORTANT note in the extension description above.
Why you are complaining about this and giving a bad review when it is clearly stated? Why don't you just go with another extension which fits your requirements?
Zoo 2 is an amazing system, but without frontend submissions, many developers will find it useless for clients that need to be able to post their own content without accessing the admin side of things. The Zoo team says it will be added when Joomla 1.6 is released.
The other thing I thought was kind of lame was the 'Free Release' with only Blog and Pages, and you have to pay 99Euro (Same Price as Zoo 1) to get anything useful out of it (the Apps). They should really sell the apps individually since 99% of purchasers are only going to use one, maybe two of them.
The other thing I thought was kind of lame was the 'Free Release' with only Blog and Pages, and you have to pay 99Euro (Same Price as Zoo 1) to get anything useful out of it (the Apps). They should really sell the apps individually since 99% of purchasers are only going to use one, maybe two of them.
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