The Joomla! Extensions Directory ™

I have only been using this extension for a couple of days, but I am already so impressed I had to write a review. I tried other extensions on the JED, all claiming to be powerful tools to present data. NONE of them can match the power and simplicity of the ArtData.

Within minutes of installing, I was generating sortable tables, bar charts, pie charts, and progress bars based on my stored data. The Artetics website is absolutely LOADED with real-world examples of uses for this product. I was able to easily locate the code for exactly what I needed to do, and it worked flawlessly! No matter what I threw at the extension it simply worked as I expected.

However, like any piece of software, what really makes or breaks an extension is the support. I have to say that after 5 years working in Joomla, I have rarely found support as good as provided by Artetics. First of all, their forum is constantly monitored. The admins give answers which are thorough, and offer complete solutions for the question. I had a question about use of the ArtBar plugin for ArtData, and in less than 40 minutes I had a complete workable solution. To me, that is extraordinary support!! Just take a look at their forum and see how many unanswered posts there are. You will not find many, and they won't last long. These guys are on the ball!

This is the first extension I have purchased from Artetics, and I have decided it will certainly NOT be the last. Support like this is invaluable to me, and I have become a believer in ArtData and Artetics. Great work, guys!!

Rick

What more can be said? This plugin works exactly as the developer describes. I have used it in countless ways, and every time it performs flawlessly. It cannot be easier to insert articles throughout your site, truly harnessing the content resuability of a CMS platform like Joomla.

I have never once had to ask for support from NoNumber from ANY extension of theirs that I have used. They use clean, efficient, well-documented and easy-to-follow code. If every developer on the JED produced extensions like this, building sites in Joomla would be a piece of cake! Great job by NoNumber on this extension!!!

I have been using this extension since it was first published. Download, install, enable - that's it. It just WORKS!!! Many thanks to the developer.

I found this little gem WAY back at version 1.0, and I have used it ever since. It is extremely flexible and customizable, while still being simple enough for even a relative novice to understand. I have used this module on more sites than I can remember, and it has become a standard for every Joomla install I do.

Not only is the module itself great, but the developer provides incredible support. I have paid for extensions that did not give nearly the level of support I have gotten with this one. And, chances are, you won't even need support because this mod just WORKS!!!

I stumbled across this little gem a few weeks ago. The module does exactly what it says, and does it extremely well. Looks good and feels good!

Even better than the extension is the support from the developer. Caleb is right there to answer questions, which is rare - even for commercial or paid extensions.

I had used SIR from JoomlaWorks for years, but I have now found its replacement - CN Photos is a perfect fit for my needs. Great job, Caleb!!!

Rick

Tried four other translation modules on the JED. This one worked perfectly the first time. Very easy to use, translation without reload, and NO GOOGLE TOOLBAR!

Great job by the developers!

After years of using MyBlog, I switched to Easyblog and found it to be a refreshing change. For starters, the support is outrageously great! Chances are, though, that you won't even need it. The extension is so well laid out and simple to configure that even newbies should be able to get a great looking, incredibly robust blog up and running. Finally an extension that brings the power and ease of Wordpress to Joomla!!!

I do not do much when it comes to eCommerce. However, I had the need to create a storefront for my new employer, so I turned to the JED to find a solution. At first, I tried messing with Virtuemart (of course). I have been working in Joomla extensively for more than 4 years, and I have never experienced such a convoluted MESS. VM may be powerful, but it is a nightmare to configure and manage.

I happened to stumble on HiksShop and was initially impressed with the high praise found on the JED reviews. I decided to give it a try, so I downloaded and installed the free version on my site. I had LOTS of questions about functions available, and needs I had, relating to the Business edition of HikaShop. All of my pre-sale questions were answered promptly by Nicolas in the forums. Within 2 days I purchased a license for the Business edition, and I could not be happier with that decision.

HikaShop is incredibly feature-rich, and has been able to handle anything I've thrown at it. I have it up and running on a Joomla 1.6 site, and it works like a charm. Unlike many developers who purport to have J1.6 versions available, this one actually fully utilizes the new ACL features in nearly every regard. Kudos to the development team for that! Incidentally, there are some developers of HikaShop who also work at developing Acymailing, so for anyone that has worked with that product, I will tell you that you are dealing with a similarly robust and well-written extension here.

The absolute BEST thing about HiksShop is the support. It seems these guys never sleep! No matter when I submit a question in the forums I get a prompt reply. No matter how trivial my questions have been (and I know I've asked some pretty bad ones), Nicolas responds politely and thoroughly answers the question. In fact, when I have asked questions about a function I would like to have, Nicolas has time and time again gone above and beyond by actually telling me what code to insert in what file to do what I want! How many other developers out there will take that step without even asking? Not many!

For those of you that like to dig into the code to make changes yourself, this extension is a DREAM to work with. The code is clean, logical and well documented. The extension runs amazingly fast and easily fit with the Yootheme template I am using. Oh, and I must mention that the integration between HikaShop and Acymailing is phenomenal. Do yourself a favor and buy both!!!!

In short, this is a fantastic product with unbelievable support. Look no further when you need a robust, well-supported and feature-rich storefront.

What can I say? Watching everything move forward into Web2.0 and beyong, and all the added complexity and conflict, it is refreshing to see an extension that just provides what is needed. Nothing fancy and nothing more than needed. Just a simple, small plugin that works flawlessly and correctly. Love it!

I was searching for a shopping cart extension for a client's site. Of course, all I ever hear about is VirtueMart, so I gave it a shot. I will not lodge my complaints about that extension other than to say that I was very disappointed. It was after this that I found redShop.

Right from the start, I was impressed with the response times I saw in the forums. And not just from other users, mind you - from the development team themselves. This was extremely important to me. I have found this same level of response once I purchased a subscription. The entire crew is extremely helpful, and I never felt degraded when I made stupid mistakes. A+ support!

Unlike VM, this extension played perfectly with the RocketTheme template being used. No issues at all, and it fit right in like a glove!

The administrative control panel is clean and well designed, something that is definitely lacking in VM. The layout is intuitive and well planned, making it easy for a webstore novice like me to get my site running.

The extension is very feature-rich, including coupons, vouchers, a robust shipping system, gift cards, shopping groups - the list goes on and on.

I did hit some snags along the way, but the team was right there to help me - even logging in to my site and correcting mistakes I had made. I cannot express how completely happy I am with the decision I made to purchase redShop. It comes very, very highly recommended!!!!

I had been using QContacts for a long time on websites I built. While it worked better than the core Contact extension in Joomla, it was still very limiting.

Then I stumbled upon Contacts Enhanced. I looked at the demos and decided to buy the extension. I could not be happier with the purchase!

First of all, there is integrated Google mapping, built on the 3rd generation Google API (no key required!). And the display of the map within the contact form looks incredible. Time and care was taken to ensure the map looked good, and wasn't just inserted as an afterthought.

The next powerful feature is the ability to add custom fields to your contact forms. Not only this, but Douglas took the next logical step by allowing you to designate fields based on the contact category! What does this mean for you? It means you can use this extension for FAR more than just a basic contact page. Douglas has included most of the field types you would want or need.

Another bonus is the ability to create custom HTML or plain text email confirmations - again based on contact category. So I can have one nicely formatted HTML thank-you email go out to the submitter of the form for one type of contact, and a completely different one for other contact types. Get in and play around with this and you will see what a fantastic feature this is!

Better than all of these, however, is the support from Douglas. I posted a feature request in his forum, looking for a Contacts Enhanced advlink plugin for JCE. In less than 2 hours Douglas had emailed me the plugin for me to test, and told me to donate to him if I wished! Amazing service!!!

Please, if you are struggling with other contact extensions on the JED, stop wasting your time. Buy this extension and you will NOT be sorry you did. It is WELL worth the money!!

Rick

Anyone who develops Joomla sites for others to use NEEDS this extension. The level of granularity for restricting access to the admin panel is extraordinary. Very simple to use, while also amazingly robust. Best part is - THIS IS NOT A HACK! Don't want to use it anymore - just uninstall. Trust me, though, once you have worked with this extension you will never be without it.

Couple that with amazing support from Carsten and you have a perfect extension in every way. Example - I made a post in the forums asking about redirecting to a specific URL after logging into the back-end of the site. I made this request on 10/27/2010. By 10/29/2010 Carsten had released an upgrade which included this function. Can't ask for any better than that. He is immeasurably helpful, patient and timely in his responses.

I would encourage anyone who develops Joomla sites for a living to buy this extension and help support its continued development and support.

Thanks, Carsten!!
Rick Stoffiere

A simple solution to a nagging issue! These are the types of extensions I really LOVE to come across. Something simple that solves a problem - without creating more issues!! Thanks to the developer for this much-needed little gem.

The team at Akeeba have put out another gem. Not content with providing the ULTIMATE backup solution for the Joomlasphere, they have decided to tackle another administrative headache.

The extension was absolutely simple to roll out to my sites. And, just like Backup, it JUST WORKED!!! Exactly what the developers promised is what was delivered.

Whether you administer one J! site or 100, you MUST HAVE this extension. Many, many thanks to the dedicated group of developers at Akeeba!

If I told you how many of the menu extensions I have tried over the years, you probably would not believe me. The ones I tried either did WAY too much (and did nothing well), or dis WAY too little. Both were useless to me.

This extension worked the first time, exactly how the developer said it would. No template changes necessary, no CSS to screw around with. And, best of all, uses the built in Joomla menus to populate itself. So many of the other extensions in the category require the user to manually create an XML file with the menu options and links. Tell me, what good is that? Doesn't that go against why we are all here using Joomla in the first place?

Well, Hardik got it right with this one! Installed the mod, selected my existing menu, set my colors (includes a color picker - YEAH!!), and published the mod. Looked and worked perfectly the very first time!!

Don't waste time with other extensions in this category. Spend the paltry amount Hardik is asking and be up and running in NO TIME AT ALL!!

Thanks, Hardik!!!

Rick

I tried many other modules to retrieve tweets, some with a load more features. However, this one simply worked the right way the first time. Thanks to the developer!!!

I have been using JEvents for several years (way back to Joomla 1.0.x) in my site development. I have seen and tried numerous other calendar components, but not one can match JEvents in any category - functionality, ease of use, solid and clean code, customizability, continued development, and last but NOT least - developer support. All this, and the core component and modules are FREE!!!

JEvents has become one of the few extensions that I install in nearly every site I develop. The only time I do not use JEVents is because my client did not need a calendar. The simple reason is that this extension JUST PLAIN WORKS as intended, right away. No tweaking, no messing around, just install and go.

The administrative user interface is very clean and easy to understand. You will have no trouble setting up a very robust calendar for your site without even reading a support doc. The configuration options are many, but the most standard options are already set, leading to expedites roll-out. An extremely helpful feature is the interface between the core component and the Latest Events and MiniCal Modules. You can set all display defaults for each of these modules in the configuration, making the addition of these modules on different pages very easy to manage. All of the basic display settings are already configured - all you need to do is choose which calendar categories to display. Simple! You can, of course, change the settings at the module end as well, overriding the config defaults. Another win!

While this core extension is free, the meager cost of a subscription with JEvents is absolutely the best money you will spend. The add-ons available to subscribers are extremely powerful and well worth the cost. Please, please support Geraint so that he can continue providing this necessary component!!

Speaking of Geraint, I would like to address support for JEvents. I would be surprised if you could find a more responsive, accurate, or KIND developer of any Joomla extension. At least I have not in 4 years. No matter what idiotic mistake I've made (and I've made my share), Geraint always guided me through a solution without condescension. If you think this is the norm, you have not been around the Joomla community long enough! My queries in the forums are answered so quickly that I am unsure if Geraint even sleeps!!

To sum up, this extension is the best of its kind you will find - PERIOD. The developer is extremely active and committed to this product, and is continually adding new features. Do yourself a huge favor and buy a subscription at the JEvents site. Download, install, and feel the love!!!

Rick

Let me start by saying that I have been using Acajoom for years, and never found a good or even decent replacement. That was until I tried AcyMailing!

This is one fantastic package! An important feature for me is the ability to create different lists, then develop newsletters that can send to one list or a combination of lists. This was sorely lacking in Acajoom, but is integrated perfectly here.

Another huge benefit of AcyMailing is the front-end mailing interface. Simply put - it just works, and works beautifully! I am waiting on some enhancements due in a release on Dec 8 that will add the ability to tag Joomla content (which can be done in the back-end now), but other than that this is an excellent product.

After testing it on the demo site, I rushed out and purchased the Enterprise edition. I am not sorry I did. The support in the forums is unbelievably fast, accurate, and FRIENDLY - something you don't often see. The developers actually care about their client's experience.

If you have been using Acajoom (even the Pro version) and are sick and tired of the inherent limitations and slow support - take my advice and try AcyMailing.

I am happy to review this excellent product. I found AceSEF while looking for extensions for sh404SEF, so I of course went to Denis Dulici's site. It was only through email exchanges with Denis that I discovered AceSEF. I am very happy that I did.

For anyone who is frustrated with the less-than-user-friendly interface provided by sh404SEF, this product will be a breath of fresh air. The UI is well thought out and logical, which makes it so much easier to find what you need. It is much more aesthetically pleasing than other packages I've tried.

But the real power of AceSEF lies in the fully modular design, built upon a plugin framework. Unlike sh404SEF, where you are forced to copy files to specific folders on your server and the function remains hidden, AceSEF allows you to install plugins to support your site components - right from the back end, and just like you're used to doing! Each pluing is configured right through the back end in modular fashion.

This is not just a URL rewriter, either. It also generates and manages metatags for ANY component you may have running!

If you've ever used any extensions created by Denis in the past, you should be familiar with the combination of excellent work and superior service he provides. I have found that to be the case yet again with AceSEF. Denis has always been very responsive, polite, and very patient with those of us who are less technically-literate. I can guarantee you will not get this level of service with any of the other SEF extensions out there. To me, that sealed the deal. I love this extension!

I can confirm what other reviewers have said. This plugin is incredibly useful and works absolutely perfectly. I have a school district client, with each building in the district having their own area of the site. Each building has similar modules, but each module point to their own content. Without this plugin, I was struggling to find which module went where (i.e. - 8 modules all titled "Upcoming Events"). You get the drift. Now, I can easily describe my modules, making my job (and my end user's) SO much easier.

Many, many thanks to Bigshot for this AWESOME plugin!!!!!

Rick