One of the great things about hosting a Joomla! website is how easy it is to make alterations and customisations to your websites. As a webmaster, there will no doubt come a time when you wish to make and test out changes to your website. Naturally, when you do this you do not want everyone viewing the changes whilst they are still a work in progress, so you will need to put your site in Offline Mode. Below we have outlined how you can do this.

Putting your website in Offline Mode

To put your site in offline mode so that no one can view it while improvements and alterations are being carried out, you will first need to login to your administration dashboard and go to Global Configuration in the system menu on the left-hand side of the screen.

Next, go to Site Settings and look for the Site Offline setting. By default, Site Offline is set to “No”; simply change this to “Yes” and click “Save” in the top left corner of the page.

Go to the front-end of your website and you will see that the site is in maintenance mode and displays the message:

This site is down for maintenance.

Please check back again soon.

A log in option will be provided for administrators to access the website in this mode.

Changing the Offline Mode message

Joomla! 3.0 makes it possible for users to change the Offline Mode message to a more suitable one for your site; for example, including the website name in the notice. It also lets users upload a photo or logo that can be added to a message.

To change the Offline Mode message, go back to Global Configuration > Site Settings and look for the field called “Offline Message”. Select “Use Custom Message” and enter a new message, for example “This site is currently being updated. Apologies for any inconvenience.”

On the same page, you will also notice a field called “Offline Image”; click on this to select a custom offline image or upload an image from your local computer to display in Offline mode.

When this is done, click on “Save” and your all done with a new customized offline message.

Hiding the Offline Message

Displaying an offline message to visitors is always recommended, but if you would prefer to hide it then this is also possible.

In Site Settings > Offline Message, you will see a “Hide” option alongside “Use Custom Message” and “Use Default Message”. Simply select this option and click “Save” to activate it. Visitors to your website will then only be able to see the name of the site and the option to log in.

For the most professional look, a message and company logo (if you have one) is the best way to display your site in Offline Mode. Using this tutorial, you will be able to accomplish this with ease.

HostPapa is one of the popular web hosting company right now and in order to help you save money, we’re happy to present the HostPapa Coupon Code 2013. We will make sure to keep this page updated so that if any new coupons should be offered by HostPapa, it will appear on this page. The HostPapa promo code below will work on any of the HostPapa website, be it HostPapa.ca for Canada, HostPapa.com for the United-States, HostPapa.eu for Europe, or even HostPapa.com.mx for web hosting in Mexico.

At the moment, the HostPapa coupon code gives you a Free Domain Name when you purchase a web hosting plan on their website. What is cool about this offer is that the price of HostPapa’s website hosting plan starts as low as $3.95 per month, even with the free domain. Not only is HostPapa affordable, you get to have a free domain name for the life of your membership with Host Papa when you use the coupon code featured on this page. To receive your free domain name, you will have to follow the steps outlined here:

Free Domain Name with 2013 HostPapa Coupon Code

HostPapa coupon code currently valid:

1. Visit HostPapa by clicking on the yellow HostPapa coupon code above – this will take you directly to HostPapa’s website and the HostPapa coupon code will be saved to your clipboard instantaneously;
2. On HostPapa’s website, click the button that says GET STARTED NOW which you can find in the middle of the page OR click the Sign Up top navigation link located at right corner of the page on the menu;
3. Select the free domain name you want to register in the bottom field on the new page;
4. You will also see a section named Coupon Code, where you will be able to input the HostPapa coupon code by pressing Ctrl+v on your keyboard, or by right-clicking your mouse and selection Paste.

This is the only valid HostPapa coupon code currently. We will make sure to update this page if another HostPapa coupon code in 2013 becomes available.

Want more information about HostPapa before making your decision? Look no further, here some useful articles about HostPapa:

• HostPapa.ca Review
• HostPapa.eu Review
• How to install WordPress on HostPapa
• HostPapa GoMobi Review
• HostPapa Reseller Hosting

The event will take place in New Delhi, India, over the 17^th and 18^th of October. It is the return of an event that saw great success in 2012. Last November, the event attracted over 1,800 people, making it the largest web-hosting event in Asia.

This year, reseller-hosting provider ResellerClub said it expected to attract 2,800 attendees. These visitors would come from domain resellers, web designers, web hosts, ISPs, and data centres. This diverse mix of companies has attracted HostGator to the event.

HostGator sees this as an opportunity to connect with some of the biggest players in the industry. Last year, over 30 major brands put in appearances. These brands included ICANN, Google, and Microsoft.

The summit is mainly a networking event where companies forge agreements and consolidate relationships. Special guest speakers will also appear. The ResellerClub have yet to reveal anything about the contents of the event for 2013, or its long-term future going forward.

The general manager and business head of ResellerClub, Shridhar Luthria, said, “The attendance, participation and the feedback we received at the event last year shows that there was definitely a need for a platform of this nature in India, where people could network, exchange ideas and discuss latest industry trends.”

According to a survey carried out following last year’s event, 97 per cent of visitors said it was worthwhile and they would return in 2013.

HostGator sees this event as a sign of the growth, and potential growth, in the Indian market. The company wants to make its presence known and gain exposure so that it can push its products in this part of the world. Doing so would enable it to unlock a large source of revenue.

WordPress is a truly universal blogging tool and content management system, used and viewed by millions of people from around the world every day. By default, WordPress is installed in the English language. Now, if English is not your first language, understanding the different elements of the dashboard can prove quite difficult and customizing your website will be hindered as a result. Fortunately, among its many powerful features, the WP CMS allows users to blog and manage content in a multiple languages, and modifying the dashboard so that it appears in your native tongue can be done in just a few steps.

Using the WordPress Language Plugin

As always, the easiest way to do anything in WordPress is to use a plugin. The plugin I recommend using to run a localized WP site is the “WordPress Language” plugin. This plugin is powerful and easy-to-use and will change the language of your dashboard in just a few clicks.

To install the plugin go to Plugins > Add New on the left-hand menu of your dashboard and type in “WordPress Language.” When WordPress has found the plugin, click on “Install Now” and “OK” and let WordPress take care of the installation. Once installed, click on “Activate plugin” and locate the plugin amongst the list of others that are installed.

The WordPress Language plugin will provide your dashboard with a language switcher at the top of the screen, next to the “+ New” option. To change the language, simply click on the switcher and select your preferred choice from the drop-down list.

Changing the Language Manually

Using the plugin to change your WordPress dashboard language is always the preferred method; however, for those that like to dabble with the code, the process can also be done manually.

To change the language by modifying the code, the first thing you will need to do is visit: http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_in_Your_Language. Here you will find the language files you need.

Languages are displayed with two lower-case characters and two upper-case characters; for example, fr_FR.mo for French/Français and es_ES.mo for Spanish/Español. You will need to download the .mo file for your language and copy it to the “wp-content/languages” file in your server directory. If you have used no language other than English, you will need to create a new /languages folder.

Next, locate the “wp-config.php” file in your WordPress directory and open it up in “Text Editor”. In the file, find the line that says:

define ('WPLANG', );

And enter you language code so that the line looks like this:

define ('WPLANG', 'fr_FR');

Close the file and visit your WordPress dashboard; it should now be in the language that you require, making it easier to produce and manage content.

The successful licencing is already helping the company in what are potential new products for the near future.

ScaleArc helps Liquid Web by optimising its databases for availability, scalability, and performance. It announced that the patent had been filed successfully at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent portfolio protects the company’s database acceleration technology, which includes its connection pooling creation.

Other technologies covered by the patent include query routing and technologies, and its unique method for reading and writing splits.

The founder and chief executive officer of ScaleArc, Varun Singh, said, “ScaleArc iDB was built to solve the challenges facing high-growth relational database environments by providing database traffic management, dynamic clustering, transparent caching, and more, to accelerate database performance and improve uptime.”

He went on to say this strengthened the company and would help it better work with its clients in future. This is one of many similar patents ScaleArc is pursuing.

The company’s technology works with cloud-based companies. This makes it a natural business partner for Liquid Web. They also work with major corporations such as Amazon.

Liquid Web wholeheartedly supports the patents being filed by the company. By licencing and protecting them, the web host can use any new products and offer its customers an enhanced service. These new technologies put it ahead of its competitors and attract customers who want more direct control over their operations.

Observers say it is vital the web host continues to remain on the cutting edge of new technologies. After recently making a pledge to help the next generation of developers in Michigan, this forms the foundations for a strong base of customers and the staff members needed to service them going forward.

The company expects customers to benefit from being able to resell Bare-Metal, Storm on Demand, SSD VPS, and Liquid Web VPS products with greater ease. Some customers had complained about the lack of integration before.

Reseller customers can easily automate many menial tasks, including cancellation requests, emails, and deployment of services. They can also integrate merchants into Maxmind, PayPal, and eNom.

VPS deployments can be automated and pre-figured for the reseller’s customers. They can also make sure specific services are attached, such as load balancers. This allows for greater control over their services.

Customers also benefit from this plugin. When they purchase a service, they can enter the client area and review their bandwidth and other information in a simple management interface. They can take control, and reboot or restore their servers.

Overall, Liquid Web said the WHMCS plugin makes reselling simpler than ever before. It runs throughout the whole billing, support, and installation processes. It is a far more efficient answer to many of the reselling concerns customers raised in the past.

This tool has been available for use with Liquid Web products previously. It did lack some of the automation features, though. Those resellers will benefit from these updates.

A spokesperson for the company said on the Liquid Web website that it would add value to the services on offer from resellers. They said the company hoped it would convince more resellers to sign up with Liquid Web.

This is the latest in a number of new platforms and plugins in recent weeks.  Just recently, the company announced a new mobile platform. Observers predict this latest move will make Liquid Web even more competitive in the web hosting industry.

Drupal by nature is a hugely customizable platform and comes with a powerful menu system. Menus have been around since the early days of the CMS and remain one of its best features, making it easy for visitors to navigate and find specific areas of a website. Menus are also very intuitive, updating automatically as pages and paths are edited.

In this guide, we’ll look at how you can create custom menus of your own.

Creating a menu

Before customizing a menu, a menu structure must be created. This is simply a blank canvas that is added to with menu items as it progresses.

Login to your Drupal administration panel (dashboard) and go to Structure > Menus. To create a new menu, click on the “Add menu” option.

On the next page you will be required to give the new menu a “Title” (i.e. My Menu) and “Description” (i.e. this will be my menu). The information given in the description section is for admin area use and not front end. Once this is done, click “Save” and you now have your basic menu structure.

Customizing the menu

With the menu structure in place, you can now begin adding items that will appear on the front end of your website to help visitors navigate their way to specific pages.

To begin, go to Structure > Menus, find your newly created menu and click on the “add link” option next to “edit menu” on the far right of the page; this will take you to a new page where you can begin adding the data for the link.

Options on this page are as follows:

• Menu link title – the anchor text that will displayed on the screen
• Path – can be an external URL such as http://drupal.org , or an internal path such as /node/8
• Description – provides visitors with a description of the menu when hovering over
• Enabled – tell whether item will be displayed in the menu (on by default)
• Show as expanded – displays subcategories under the parent menu if applicable (off by default).
• Parent link – a dropdown that allows the menu item to be placed under another item or menu
• Weight – a number used to set menu item order (lowest numbers first).

Only the Menu link title and Path are requirements here, the other options can be used entirely at your discretion.

When you have inputted the data that you require, click on the “Save” button at the bottom of the page to save your link. A green link message will confirm that work has been saved.

Your new link can now be found under “Menu link” in Menus, where it can be placed in an area of your site, or used to replace primary or secondary menus to provide your visitors with enhanced functionality.

The IT scholarship program will teach students about the Linux Operating System and how it works in a business capacity. They will take these skills onto further educational courses and career roles afterwards. This is available to fifteen people who demonstrate outstanding skills, according to their schools and colleges.

The training course lasts for three weeks and will take place at the Lansing Community College at the Business Institute. It is an intensive course, which is why there are so few scholarships available.

Working together with Capital Area Tech, the initiative won $4.4 million in grant money from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Following their successful graduation from the program, students will have the chance of being hired as an apprentice by Liquid Web. They also have the opportunity of working at other IT companies around the country.

Andrea Ragan, the executive director for the Capital IT Council, said the Linux Operating System was a popular system utilised by multiple IT employers in the region. She said the idea to set up this scholarship was to fill the gap between open roles and experts available.

She continued, “We also know this is a skill set that participants can use in their careers and at multiple jobs.”

Observers say this will provide a big boost to the state of Michigan and its prospects as an IT heartland in the future. In exchange, Liquid Web also gets the pick of the latest crop of talent. This fits in with Liquid Web’s growth plan and could pay major dividends over the next few years.

Permalinks (permanent links) are an important part of WordPress hosting set up and are used by anyone and everyone that has ever posted new content. If you are unfamiliar as to what a permalink is, it is the URL that points to a specific post on a site. If you want to get other people linking to, referencing, and sharing your content, you are going to need to make the permalink structure as “pretty,” or as visually appealing as possible.

Pretty WordPress permalinks

Whenever you publish a post, WordPress will automatically create a permalink for it; however, the permalinks that it creates are visually horrible, featuring URLs crammed with numbers and question marks. Fortunately, WordPress knows that its default option is not too pleasing on the eye and provides users with the ability to change them, which is what we are doing today.

Pretty permalinks are attractive to look at and, more importantly, are visually pleasing to search engine spiders. To achieve a pretty permalink the URL must provide the topic of the post and the date that is was created. Ideally, it will need to look something like this:

http://www.yourwebsite.com/2013/12/01/my-topic/

Creating a permalink

To create a new permalink, you will first need to decide whether you want your website to show with or without the www, for example, www.yourwebsite.com or simply yourwebsite.com. It really comes down to personal preference.

To change how the URL is displayed go to Settings > General in your Dashboard and type in the required WordPress Address.

Next, you will need to select the permalink configuration you wish to use going forward. This is done by going to Settings > Permalinks. On this page, you will notice six different options, some more appealing than others are:

• Default – URLs are assigned an ID and creating in the following format: http://www.yourwebsite.com/?p=100. This is known as an ugly permalink.
• Day and Name – includes date and post name in the following format: http://www.yourwebsite.com/2013/12/01/my-post/. This is a pretty permalink.
• Month and Name – also includes date (but no day) and post name in the following format: http://www.yourwebsite.com/2013/12/my-post/. This is also a pretty permalink.
• Numeric – each URL is given a numerical value by WordPress and displayed in the following format: http://www.yourwebsite.com/archives/123. This permalink structure is not recommended.
• Post Name – the URL is generated using only the name of the post and displaying in the following format: http://www.yourwebsite.com/my-post/. This is a popular choice for many people and is great for posts being shared via social media.
• Custom Structure – allows you to use your own tags and variables to create a custom permalink.

Having selected the permalink structure of your choosing (one of Day and Name, Month and Name or Post Name), simply click on the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page and WordPress will automatically generate all permalinks in the chosen format, giving your site desirable URLs that offer improved search engine optimisation benefits.