Hi,

For new potentiel clients I want to put some demo templates on my website. So they have an idea from wich design and layout they can choose. My questions are about how I can add those demos to my website.
1. As I understand I can only use one template at a time, I have to add the demo templates in a subfolder. Eg:
www.mywebsite.nl = my 'normal' website
www.mywebsite.nl/demo1 = 'home' of demo template 1
www.mywebsite.nl/demo2 = 'home' of demo template 2
Is that correct? Or is there an easier way?
2. Is it correct that I have to install Joomla for every subfolder/demo template so I can login and edit each template? So in this case I install Joomla 3 times?
3. Imagine I have made demo1, what is the easiest way to copy all the content, imgaes, menu and modules etc to demo2?

Thanks,
Maurice

Hi Maurice,

Key question, will your module positions differ a lot from template to template? If not, give our "Different Templates for Different Joomla Pages" tutorial a try:
www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/different...tes-different-pages/

Using it, you can install one demo site and then install all your templates on that one site.

Kind regards,
Nick

Hi Nick,

I think in my case the module positions will differ a lot. So in that case, what would you recommend me to do and/or what would be your answers to my questions?
By the way, I'm using Joomla 1.5.

Kind regards, Maurice

Hi Maurice,

OK, in that case which templates will you be using? Are these custom created templates or templates from a template club (or perhaps multiple template clubs)?

What are the module positions like?

Kind regards,
Nick

Hi Nick,

Templates from different clubs: JoomlaBamboo, JoomlaShine, Cloudbase and maybe some other club(s). And in some cases I want to include their demo content.
I have looked at the module postions, but they vary pretty much.
What do you think, is the way I suggested in this first post the right way or (far) too complicated?

Regards, Maurice

Hi Maurice,

In that case, yes, what you were planning is the best plan and the least complicated to accomplish what you desire.

The answers to your questions are:
1) Correct
2) Correct
3) You can use the following tutorial to duplicate your site:
www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/how-to-mo...ocal-to-live-server/

Hope this helps!

Kind regards,
Nick

Hi
This would be the easy option! If you want to show your clients several sites with the demo content then just have then open in an iframe. If you make your site quite wide say 1200px then most of the club sites will open without a horizontal scroll bar. Very easy and quick to chop and change for different clients. And doesn't the demo content always look better than a finished site!!
Regards

Hi Mark and Nick,

Thanks.
About the iframe:
1. I do not see the advantage yet for using an iframe. Because when I use different subfolders, that is easy too, or am I mistaken?
2. Can you show me a site from a webdeveleoper wehre they use this Iframe?
3. How can I create this iframe?

Regards, Maurice

Hi
If you are happy to run 3/4 sites in sub-folders then I am sure it is the best solution but does take quite a bit of effort.
If you want to try iframes just go and create a new menu for menu type choose iframe wrapper; enter a url such as www.ostraining.com; view results in front end.
Regards

Hi Mark,

I've experimenting some, and yes, now I see the advantages! It seems a lot easier.
I still have some questions. In case you need to take a look, I have put my setup of the ifram menu at. The four links at the bottom of the page are links to different template demos.
1. Text under the title of the wrapper. I manage to add some text above the wrapper using an extra module and postion that is above the wrapper it self. But is there an easier way to add some text between the title of the wrapper en the wrapper itself?
2. Considering the width and the horizontal scrolling: some of the templatedemos are 'fluid'and they fit nicely. But some of them are not, so you have to scroll horizontally. I've set the width of my template at 1000px. I can change that, but then I have to rearrange quite a bit in my website. Is there a way to change the width of only one particular page, eg 1200px? Or is it all pages or nothing?
3. What would be nice, is that visitors can easily go from one templatedemo to the next (without going back to the list/overvieuw all the time). Eg, you are at the page with the lifestyledemo and you click a link or button and then you go to demo Epicure and so on. Is that possible?

Regards, Maurice

Hi
You could place navigation info (ie a menu) in the footer of your template.
You can "duplicate" your template in the template manager, alter the width then assign it to certain pages only.
The down side of this is that you do not see the template background which I think is often the make or break of a good site.
It really depends on how you are going to use these pages to inform the client. My preference has always been to ask a client to show me web sites that they like, general discussion on features that they want plus colours they like. After that I try to make the decisions. Template clubs often select content in order to display their product at its best - in real life it is hard to replicate the content.

Hi,

I'm not sure wich part of your reply reffers to wich question of mine.
1. If 'You could place navigation info (ie a menu) in the footer of your template.' is an answer to my question 1, then I'm afraid I don't understand. Can you explain?
3. In case this is an answer to question 3: why especially in the footer of my own template?
2. How do I duplicate a template? I do not see anything about duplicating in the template manager. (I use 1.5)


Thanks, Maurice

Sorry to confuse you. I did not realise that you use 1.5. With 2.5 it is easy to have 2 or more versions of a template running for 1.5 try this tutorial www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/adding-a-...-template-variation/.
It is much more complicated; why not convert to 2.5!
I have only used this method for a client that had an existing blog so rather than converting it all to Joomla it was much easier to open the blog up within the web site.
I suggested that you used the footer for the navigation from one template demo to the next simply to save adding a module above or below the iframe.
You do not have to use the menu option for this method you can add the frame to any article on any existing page with this code.
<iframe src="www.ostraining.com" width="200" height="200"></iframe>
If you want it to fill a page use width of 100%.
The other option if you simply want to display the demo sites with their content is just to provide a link that opens in a new window.
Sorry again to confuse but as you are using 1.5 and it is difficult to overcome the problem of not showing the background to the templates you first suggestion might be best.

Thanks Mark, clear enough for now! I'll go ahead experimenting further with the iframes in order to find the best solution for my demos.
Maurice