Maybe you’re using one already, maybe you’ve heard of them: no-code automation tools like Zapier, make.com and IFTTT. These tools are a way to automate tasks without using any code: define a trigger and an action and you're good to go. Wouldn’t it be übercool if you could have that for your Joomla website - oh wait, you can: Ane Miren Alvarez created a Joomla automation for make.com. Find out all about this!

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself? 

My name is Ane Miren Alvarez and I’m doing an internship in Acv Multimedia. I studied Web Development and know how to program in Java, Javascript, Php and Laravel. I’ve tried both frontend and backend development, being able to work both with app functionalities and design. This is my first work experience, but I’ve already done some projects in Java and Laravel. Apart from programming, I have also worked with databases and operating system management. I’ve been working with Joomla for a year, during my internship. 

What is make.com? Did you know it before you started on this project?

Make.com is a visual automation platform that allows users to connect and automate their favorite apps and services without writing any code. It is a powerful tool that can be used to streamline workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and create new and innovative solutions.
This was my first experience with Make, but it was quite easy to use, as it has a very intuitive interface, a strong documentation and a huge community.

Why did you decide to create an automation app?

We saw that there were other CMS platforms like Wordpress and Drupal in Make and after finding out that we could develop our own Joomla app inside make, we decided to do some research about the Joomla API. The research was successful, so after some tests, the app was ready to develop.

How hard was it?

Working in make was not hard at all, but it involved some more tedious tasks such as researching, tests and planning.

Could you explain to us how it works?

First we would need to enter our Joomla Token from our super user and our web url, then we will be able to access different actions, such as creating, deleting, getting, listing and updating articles, categories and menus; and some triggers, like watching new and updated articles. It uses the Joomla API to access different resources, and, if needed, there’s the possibility to make an arbitrary api call to do an specific action that is not included.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

I had some difficulties when searching for documentation about the Joomla API, but found a lot of help from the Joomla community having a lot of resources about it.

Can we use this for our own projects? Where do we find it?

Yes, this app is published and can be used globally, it can be selected as a module when creating a scenario. It can be found in https://www.make.com/en/integrations.

Any plans for creating connections for other tools as well?

I’m not planning to make connections for other tools, at least for the near future, but if the opportunity arises I wouldn’t say no, as the experience I had with make was good and I would be able to work easily.