Wouldn’t it be great if Joomla could automatically generate meaningful SEO data, so you don’t have to do it manually? Mohd Shahzan, one of the two very first students to join the Joomla Academy, is working on this. Let’s find out what this project means for you as a Joomla user, administrator or developer!

My SEO Project: Enhancing Joomla’s Metadata Generation

I’m working on improving Joomla’s SEO capabilities by developing a smart system that automatically generates Open Graph (OG) tags and Schema.org structured data for articles, categories, and global settings. This system uses content analysis and fallback strategies to ensure every page has optimized metadata without requiring manual input for every article.

The system uses a three-level fallback approach - first looking at article-specific metadata, then category-level settings, and finally global defaults. If values are missing, it can automatically extract key information from the article content itself, like titles, descriptions, images, and keywords, to generate rich OG tags and Schema.org data. This is implemented as a Joomla plugin that hooks into article creation and page rendering, making metadata generation seamless and dynamic.

This project is being developed with guidance and support from my mentorship team - Martina Scholz, Philip Walton, Louise Hawkins. I’m also leveraging existing Joomla APIs, content parsers, and metadata standards to ensure the solution follows best practices and works smoothly across different Joomla setups.

With this project, Joomla sites will have richer, more consistent metadata that improves how their pages appear on social media platforms (via OG tags) and in search engines (via Schema.org structured data). This enhances click-through rates, search rankings, and overall user engagement without extra manual work for site administrators.

What does this project bring to Joomla

Improved SEO out of the box

Managing metadata consistently, especially across many articles and categories, can be a struggle. Automating OG tag and Schema.org data generation simplifies this process and ensures Joomla sites are ready for social media sharing and rich search results immediately.

Better user experience and higher visibility

Open Graph tags control how shared links look on platforms like Facebook and Twitter - with images, titles, and descriptions that catch users’ attention. Schema.org structured data helps search engines understand page content deeply, enabling rich snippets like ratings, breadcrumbs, and event info in search results. Together, they boost traffic and engagement.

Flexible and scalable solution

By supporting metadata at global, category, and article levels - plus auto-generation from content - this system adapts to diverse Joomla setups. Whether you run a small blog or a complex portal, your metadata stays accurate and optimized without heavy maintenance.

Empowering all Joomlers

This enhancement empowers Joomla users - from beginners to pros - to leverage modern SEO standards effortlessly, helping the Joomla ecosystem grow stronger and more competitive in the digital landscape.

A little bit about myself

My name is Mohd Shahzan, and I’m a third-year student at Delhi Technological University (DTU) in Delhi, India, where I’m pursuing a Bachelor of Technology with an overall CGPA of 9.1. I’ve always been deeply curious about how software can shape the way we interact with the world from streamlining everyday tasks to building entire ecosystems that power businesses, communities, and even education.

From the beginning of my engineering studies, I’ve been passionate about building real-world applications and solving problems that go beyond the classroom. I enjoy diving into both frontend and backend development, working across the full stack to build scalable, secure, and user-friendly platforms. I’m especially drawn to projects that involve cloud infrastructure, real-time systems, and AI integration.

I’ve worked as a Full-Stack Developer Intern, where I helped develop a scalable eCommerce system using TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Express (Bun runtime).I also played a key role in Razorpay payment integration and system security enhancements.

Outside of software, I’m passionate about education, mentorship, and community service. I participated in the Desh Ke Mentor Program, where I personally mentored 5 students, helping them build academic confidence and navigate their goals.

My journey into open source started with a simple goal to contribute meaningfully to something larger than myself. The more I learned about open-source collaboration, the more inspired I became. It was this drive to make a broader impact that eventually led me to Joomla Academy, a place where I could grow not only as a developer but also as a contributor to a globally trusted CMS.

I’m excited to be part of a program that values clean code, mentorship, innovation, and community and I look forward to contributing features that help Joomla users around the world.

How I got involved in the Joomla Academy

My journey into the Joomla ecosystem started in an unexpected but meaningful way. While I was exploring organizations for Google Summer of Code (GSoC), I was looking for a project where I could not only write code, but truly contribute to something impactful. That’s when I first came across Joomla in the list of GSoC mentoring organizations.

At that point, I’ll be honest I didn’t know Joomla in detail. I had heard of it as a CMS, similar to WordPress, but I had never used it. However, once I started looking through its GitHub repositories and documentation, I became really curious. What I found was a well-architected, community-driven platform with a clean modular system and a plugin structure that was actually enjoyable to understand as a developer.

Although I wasn’t able to submit a proposal for Joomla in GSoC, I had already joined the Joomla Mattermost community to stay in touch. A few weeks later, something unexpected happened. I received a message in Mattermost saying Joomla was looking for students for its new initiative: the Joomla Academy.

I immediately checked out the details. What attracted me the most was the mentorship-driven format. This wasn’t just about contributing code blindly, it was about learning Joomla’s internals under the guidance of core contributors, solving real user-facing problems, and building features that would actually ship in Joomla.

The values of Joomla Academy openness, mentorship, quality code, and community collaboration matched perfectly with what I was looking for. So, I filled out the application with genuine excitement and a strong desire to grow through this experience.

A few weeks later, I got an email saying I had been shortlisted for a technical test. I immediately knew this was my moment to prove myself. I dedicated myself to the task not just to pass, but to really understand how Joomla works under the hood. I studied its plugin lifecycle, metadata system, and the way it handles rendering and content logic.

Thanks to the mentors’ guidance and the effort I put in, I was thrilled to hear that I had been selected for the Joomla Academy. What made it even more special was knowing that they saw potential in me not just from the code I submitted, but from the dedication, curiosity, and enthusiasm I showed throughout the process.

Now, I’m part of a vibrant open-source community, contributing to a global CMS, and working on a project that I believe will make Joomla even more powerful for its users.

I love how this project automates what can be a tedious, technical task for content creators. It bridges the gap between quality content and discoverability by making sure the right metadata is always present and optimized. It also deepens my understanding of SEO standards and Joomla’s extensibility, helping me contribute meaningfully to the community.

Thank you Sponsors and Mentors!

The Joomla Academy wouldn't exist without sponsors. Together, they raised over $17,000 to support student stipends, resources, and programme operations.

Platinum sponsors: JAB eV and reDim - thank you so much!

Gold sponsors: djumla – David Jardin and tec-promotion – Stefan Wendhausen, along with Yootheme.

Please take a moment to check our full list of Amazing Sponsors. 

We'd also like to thank our mentors: a heartfelt thank you for your donating your time, sharing your knowledge and guiding and supporting our students.