Many years we have developed extensions and sites thinking of a simple way to control all plugins, modules and templates in one place. Now this solution is implemented into all our 3 extensions in free platform with add-ons.

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Just to make it clear we call a Platform a free extension (FW Gallery, FW Real Estate or FW Food Menu) which has Add-ons. Add-on can be Joomla! Plugin, Module or extension specific Template, designed with its own system which can be still overwritten in the main Joomla! template.

Benefit 1 - Free extension

Despite demo website we have it was harder to get an idea if our porduct is the right tool for you. Now being completely free we offer functional Joomla! extension with some free an paid add-ons which extend functionality in a way you need exactly for particular website. Every add-on can be downloaded and installed separately adding its own parts to a platform and extending platform possibilities or changing its look.

Benefit 2 - Quick start

All you need to have the latest Joomla! installed and a free component. As soon as you install a platform you must link it to your account on fastw3b.com and you can instantly download and install all available add-ons instead of individual download and installation.

The next tool you may use would be Batch operations available in all our free extensions. Batch operations allow to input data in a very simple way to get a skeleton or your extension categories and items ready in few clicks. Just copy paste key elements following suggested format and you can add as many items as you need to fill in your website with data within minutes.

Benefit 3 - Centralized management

Add-ons section is now available in every extension. It helps to see all available and owned add-ons when you are signed into Fastw3b account by using Access Code. It is a fast and convenient way to track available functionality and design and update your add-ons in one place. Whatever is available or comes out would be listed in Add-ons section of your extension. No need to visit website every week to see what is new. All the information you need will be listed right there in your Add-ons section.

Benefit 4 - Ease of configuration

Add-ons has a huge benefit of selecting what exactly you need for a particular project. It does not only mean less add-ons it means less configuration in a platform. Add-ons architecture  helps to exclude parts of code that relates to a certain functionality and keep you platform clean. The only functions and settings you will see would be those that come from the platform itself and enabled add-ons. Pretty cool, right?

Benefit 5 - Designs

With a new concept we introduce a new design system which has its own set of layouts allowing to assemble design from different bits. This system is very important to provide another level of flexibility in data presentation. Now we can use totally different design approaches in different designs as they may redefine core layouts and have theis own CSS files which adds another level of flexibility and control. This year we plan to have a design release at least every other month.

Benefit 6 - Detailed demo and documentation

Since every Add-on is a separate unit with its own releases it will have its own page, example page on demo website and documentation section. Breaking down bigger product into smaller parts allow to take a closer look of every bit and its functional purpose. Through the years we had numerous situations when people asked in support about features we had for years just because they were poorly described or hard to find. Now when every add-on is a single item customers will have a chance to read all about it and browse documentation before they use it.

Benefit 7 - Quick releases

At this point we have platform and add-ons as totally independent parts which do not affect each other. Of course, platform is a ground for all add-ons, but changes in a platform will not affect add-ons and vice versa. So now it is extremely easy to release a fix or an update as we don't have to test the whole system from scratch as we use to do. We only test parts that relate to add-on or a platform and release a new version. Get ready for a regular monthly releases this year.

Benefit 8 - Customization independence

Customization has always been tricky in terms of future updates as there were simply no way to factor in all changes made in different files of different projects. With new concept all customizations can be wrapped as a customer add-on and keep all needed modifications there without affecting other parts. This innovation means no more worries about updates after customization. From now on update will never wipe out all changes made or break the main part. Forget to write the notes on which files to rewrite after updates and pray they don't break anything. It is all much simpler and safer now.

As you can see new concept came out as a result of our decade in Joomla! development with all out best practices and observations of hundreds of projects made through the years. We are happy to finally release it and share all the benefits of this innovation with our customers.

We are always glad to hear your comments and suggestion either in social networks or on our website.