Web Design Tools and Tips

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1. Download the following sitemap component for Joomla ( version 1.5 ) by clicking on the following zipped xmap link ( Xmap Version 2009 October ).

2. Login to the administration end of your Joomla website.The url for this login can cause a little confusion for novice users of joomla but it will always be the following url :

www.yourwebsitename.com/administrator/index.php

The /administrator/index.php ending will always be the extension to your url when you need to login.

3. In your Joomla administration panel menu at the top you will see Extensions.Scroll down to Install/Uninstall and click on it.You will see Upload Package File and a Browse button.By clicking on the browse button you will be able to locate the xmap file, which you downloaded from this website, on your own computer.When you downloaded the xmap file from this website it was in a zipped file.The xmap file on your computer must still be in the zipped file for your upload to be successful.Thats the way joomla works and for novice users of Joomla this point can be hard to grasp.So when you locate the file on your computer just click on Upload File & Install beside the browse button.This uploading process should take a maximum of about 1 minute.

4. Now navigate to Menus within your Joomla administration panel, and scroll down to main menu and click on it.Now click on the icon New which is at the top in your administration panel.You will now see Select Menu Item Type, and you will select or click on the newly installed xmap

5. You now must fill in the Menu Item Details : (1) Title - This is your menu item name so call it sitemap because thats what it is (2) Alias - Leave this field blank - joomla fills this field in for you automatically (3) Link - This is automatically filled in for you, so don't go near it. (4) Display In - This will be Main Menu (5) Parent Item - Just leave this the way it is, because this means that the sitemap menu item will appear as the last menu item on your website. (6) Published - Tick on yes because it must be published for you to see it on your website. (7) Access Level - Make sure public is highlighted (8) On Click, Open In - Make sure that Parent Window with Browser Navigation is Highlighted.
The parameters on the right just leave as they are, and do not forget to click on save above, and thats it your sitemap menu item has been inserted into the pages of your website.

You can also submit the php generated sitemap within the xmap component to all the major search engines.To do this just click on Components within your Joomla administration panel and scroll down to xmap and click on it.Next click on Options and click on Preferences.Copy and paste the xml sitemap url and login to your various webmaster accounts, and submit the sitemap.