3 Reasons Free Extensions May Not Be Enough For Your Joomla Membership Site

Posted on 01. Jul, 2010 by Steve in Tips & Tricks

As with many content management systems, it is possible to create a Joomla membership website entirely from compiling a number of free extensions. However, there are several potential drawbacks that need to be taken into consideration.

Here is a quick example of which free extensions are most often combined. A common combination is the Account Expiration Control (Component/Module and Plugins), in order, the following AEC plugins must be uploaded: AEC Access, AEC Error, AEC Routing, and then AEC User. If this is done in the wrong order, there can be coding complications later. Next, you select Hacks & Commit Hacks, which is under the settings of AEC Access, and then install Docman. While this is a membership website, it does not include additional features such as payment processing and subscription management.

1. Complications

It is often essential to install of these components and plugins in a vary specific order. If this is not done, you can have compatibility problems which may require some tweaks to the coding. This can waste hours or days that could be better used on other projects. Using a commercial plugin, all of these problems can be bypassed. Additionally, if you have any problems, there is a good chance that support will be made available.

2. Ease of Use

Just because you can create a Joomla membership website with free extensions, that doesn’t mean that it will be easy to manage. In fact, because you have to deal with so many different 3^rd party plugins, it can quickly become a headache to make the simplest changes. With a commercial component, all of this should be able to be taken care of from a single place, which significantly increases the overall ease of use.

3. Updates

Since creating a free Joomla membership website requires you to use a large number of 3^rd party components, there is a good chance that the process of updating will be a hassle. This includes updating your version of Joomla and updating any or all of the 3^rd party components. This is especially true if you are using a component that was created by a developer that is no longer actively supporting the extension. This means that you will need to do all of the coding yourself or outsource it to someone else.

With so many potential problems, many people who have decided to create a free Joomla membership website, will quickly decide that choosing a commercial extension saves a lot of time, money, and headaches over the long run.