New features, designs and frameworks in Joomla 4 - The next major release of Joomla, Joomla 4.0 along with its 2.0 Framework has undergone a lot of development so far, so we can expect a lot of improvements in this platform when it launches. Some of these improvements include the all-new Media Manager, even better event dispatchers than before, and support for prepared SQL statements.
In addition, developers have gone through a code-less-used system. All will be changed as a maintenance procedure until Joomla 4.0 appears. It has also been announced that PHP 7 will be a major requirement for the new Joomla and they are willing to support it for longer than Joomla 3.x.
Why did they choose PHP 7?
It is important to always choose the fully supported PHP version for a period of time that allows the new Joomla version to run for years. Currently, the only version that meets this requirement is PHP 7. The current list of supported versions back to PHP 5 will not be supported any longer. There was no point in choosing a version that was only supported for the first few months after Joomla 4.0.
There are great benefits to using PHP 7 instead of PHP 5. The PHP 7 version is 50% more powerful when using memory. Its overall performance has undergone a lot of improvements. Therefore, Joomla websites will be much faster with PHP 7 than PHP 5.
Let's take a look at the current supported versions of PHP. When a version is fully released, it will receive two years of full support ever since. Support includes fixing security issues and bugs based on reports. These fixes are released as updates quite often, so you can apply them and be assured that it runs well.
After two years, the specific PHP branch will only be partially supported for another year. This is only limited to fixing important security issues, nothing more. After that additional year, the branch is considered obsolete so it is better for you to choose the newer version as it will become more and more vulnerable over time.
Now look at the list of currently supported PHP versions:
- PHP 7.1 - Launched in December 2016, still receives active support until December 2018 and only supports security until December 2019
- PHP 7.2 - Launched in November 2017, still receiving active support until November 2019 and security support that lasts until November 2020
As you can see, they have extended both operational and security support for version 5.6 of PHP. However, newer versions do not follow the same fact.
Joomla 4.0 along with new features
Joomla 4.0 with many improvements and new features will completely change the user experience. It will have a better design and performance, while the entire panel will be neatly organized. We give you a list of some of the features that can be mentioned just to give you a sense of the difference of Joomla 4.0:
- Bootstrap integration 4 - The previous version in Joomla is Bootstrap 2, but eventually they will upgrade it to Bootstrap 4, the latest version. This is a key requirement that will help you create websites for mobile devices in the future. Not only is this a powerful tool for websites, but Joomla also wants to ensure that there will be no compatibility issues.
- Pages will load faster - We mentioned that the developer team is removing deprecated code. This maintenance process is also about improving code, using better technologies. This is a big step, as it will greatly improve the Joomla page load time.
- Framework 2.x - The 1.x framework for Joomla will soon be outdated. It's time to move on to the new one, as the 2.x framework has been released. We can expect major changes in the library packages and PHP 7 will be the minimum version to be supported.
In 1.x framework, there are many functions that are not really helpful or good. All of this will be removed and Joomla Framework 2.0 will return in much better form.
- Improve SEO - We don't know much about this, but at least it's clear that developers want to work with SEO before they release Joomla 4.0. SEO has always been an essential part of Joomla, as the platform provides many features just to ensure top SEO for users. In the new version, we can expect new SEO features to appear because they have a blueprint for it.
- No more jQuery - Joomla 3.x uses jQuery as the main library for JavaScript. Now it is clear that this solution is very problematic. To make it work smoothly, there are certain plugins that need to be applied to it. However, there will be no jQuery in Joomla 4.x. Instead of relying on jQuery, they simply removed it from Joomla's core.js and then changed it to plain JavaScript.
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New Joomla, new end
The first thing you'll see in Joomla 4.0 is the redesigned login screen is more flexible and attractive than the old one. You will be able to customize your login screen by adding a background image to it. There will also be major changes applied to the control panel. Because the Joomla dashboard shows the backend of the website that allows you to access a variety of functions, it needs to be as simple and flexible as possible.
There are a lot of negative reviews about the older panel, explaining how sometimes it's confusing. It's often messy and hard to work with, but the new control panel will be a lot more user friendly. In 4.0, you will be able to arrange shortcuts and modules in the way that best suits your workflow. All in all, there won't be countless options around this place, only the options you really need in the right place.
Besides the control panel, there's a clever little menu at the top of the screen that can also be personalized. You can put the most used menu items there like Media, New Posts, etc. But there are even more functions that are simplified or move to a better place and the overall picture will be quite impressive.
However, the section that received the most negative reviews in the old version is undoubtedly the Media Manager. The community has come up with so many details that are so stressful that they simply need to be changed. They are currently working to improve this part, while providing the whole CMS with a clean, user-friendly design.
Review the Support software for Joomla 4.0
The 3.x version of Joomla was released back in September 2012 and if we add all the support scheduled for the version, it will aggregate up to more than eight years. It will soon come to an end, but it will take quite a while and soon, Joomla 4.0 will need to be paid close attention. We can expect a similar time for the new version, which means that Joomla 4.0 will be supported at least from 2018 to 2025.
During this time, developers need to regularly work with fixes and improvements. Joomla is still one of the most popular CMS out there and people need it to become a reliable platform for building and managing websites. But there is no need to worry as the Joomla developer team is ready for future support needs of Joomla 4.0.
They have chosen the right one with PHP 7 that will provide long term support. However, the web industry is growing in a variety of ways and there are countless technologies on which Joomla depends fundamentally. To function properly, all of its building blocks need to be updated. With these rapid changes, Joomla 4.0 and its 2.0 Framework will be a great opportunity for Joomla developers to review the system and provide bug fixes, regular updates and extensive support.
Become a Joomla 4.0 tester
Joomla is now starting to monitor WordPress by significantly improving their installation process. It becomes simpler and faster to install new versions. With WordPress, it takes 3-5 minutes to fully install and test the platform we can expect something similar in Joomla 4.0.
You will be able to select the Custom installation option of Options. This will allow you to change the language of the setup and demo data will also be available. During the same installation process, you will be able to add the extensions you want available after the setup is finished.
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Joomla 4.0 has no set release date, but at least you can try it out. Just install the alpha version, login and start testing. It will be a version that changes the whole experience, so it's definitely worth a try. If you are curious about Joomla 4.0 but you do not want to actually install it, there is also a prototype version that can be tested online.
It is basically an online experience simulation application. We have been using the previous version for quite a while, but finally Joomla has something new and updated. The design is clean, the dashboard is well organized, the menu is smart, top performance and it will be completely beginner friendly. This will be the new era of Joomla, CMS in modern form.
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