Before I got my current job as Coordinator Communications & Digital, I ran my own company for 25 years. The first 15 years I was a writer / editor / journalist / writing coach. 

In 2009 I started working with Joomla, not knowing anything about webdesign. I joined a JUG in 2012, two months later I was co-organizer :) (and stayed co-organizer for about five years).

I loved working with Joomla so much that I started projects, just to be able to create a website for them. That's when I thought: hey, maybe it's time for a career switch. In 2014 I decided to go pro with Joomla and switch to webdesign instead of writing. 

Volunteer work

I already mentioned the JUG. After that I did a number of other things over the years:

  • Writer: I wrote articles about Joomla in a Dutch webdesigner magazine.
  • Speaker at JUGs and JoomlaDays.
  • Member of the Dutch JoomlaDagen team for three years.
  • Member of the team that organized all three editions of Joostock (a Joomlacamp/unconference event).
  • Editor of the Dutch Joomla web agency brochure, a brochure webdesigners can use to convince their potential clients that Joomla is the right choice for them.

In 2020 I've started contributing to the Joomla Community Magazine, first as an author, and since 2022 I'm Team Leader of the wonderful Joomla Community Magazine Team. 

Why I contribute to Joomla

To many people Joomla is just a tool. But if you look a little closer, you'll notice it's much more than that. It's a living system, raised and nourished by a community of volunteers dedicating their time to make it the best CMS ever. Without volunteers, Joomla wouldn't exist. It's not 'just a product'. Everyone who uses Joomla, can do so because someone, somewhere, contributed to it. I want to give back to the community that keeps Joomla alive.

And, probably needless to say: I love being part of that community. 

Contributing to Joomla by volunteering brought me so much: valuable experience, more knowledge and a better understanding of Joomla and its community, and the opportunity to work together with a crowd of lovely people all over the world.

Getting extensions ready for Joomla 4 - Olivier Buisard (Simplify Your Web)

Simplify-your-web

With the stable version of Joomla 4 getting closer, the Joomla Community Magazine is interviewing Joomla extensions developers to find out what path they are following towards Joomla 4. This month we had the chance to interview Oliver Buisard from Simplify Your Web, who develops extensions for Joomla only and is fully committed to making our lives as web designers easier.

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Meet a Joomler - Nicky Veitch

FEB-Nicky-Veitch

Nicky Veitch had a career in IT, and she came across Joomla when she was searching for a solution to sell digital products. Creating her first website was so much fun that she decided to make a career switch. Nicky is quite active in the Joomla Community, which she describes as ‘friendly and welcoming’.

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How I learned Joomla - Julie Steffers

Feb-Julie-Steffers

We all learn in different ways. Some of us learn by following written step-by-step instructions with or without screenshots, some by watching tutorial videos, some by asking others, and some by clicking around to see what happens. For Julie Steffers, it was a bit of ‘all of the above’. When she needed to create an intranet website, she started out by launching a website on launch.joomla.org, the platform that enables you to build fully functional Joomla websites and experience how Joomla works (for free!). And she learned a lot along the way.

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How to keep the fun in working together

January-Workingtogether

Working together as a global community can be fun. It can be rewarding. It can make you feel part of something bigger than yourself. And at times it can be frustrating, tiresome and infuriating because in every community there can be disagreement, misunderstanding and lack of comprehension. The question is: how do you deal with that? Or, better, how do you solve it before it turns into conflict, and keep the fun in working together?

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How I learned Joomla - Eoin Oliver

Eoin Oliver

Eoin Oliver can’t really remember when he made his first Joomla website, but he does remember that it was a very cool one, and how amazed he was to have professional software to build it with. He played around with several different systems before he decided to go with Joomla.

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New to Joomla? Great tips for newbies!

January-Tipsfornewbies

OK, so you’re about to create your first Joomla website. But where do you start, and what do you do after that? Who can help you? Where do you find good resources? Do you need to install a template? Will you need extensions to add functionality? Getting to know Joomla and all its possibilities can be a bit overwhelming. But we’ve all been there, and we got your back! For this article, Joomlers from all over the world share their golden tips with us to get you going. Dive in, explore, be patient and have fun!

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19 common mistakes about Joomla extensions - Part 1

November-ExtensionsMistakes Choosing and using extensions

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself,” is a famous Eleanor Roosevelt quote. In this article series, we list the most common mistakes users make when choosing and using extensions for their Joomla website(s), and how you can avoid them.

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Meet a Joomler: Viviana Menzel

December-Viviana Meet a Joomler: Viviana Menzel

Viviana Menzel is co-organizer of JoomlaDay Germany, a member of Joomla’s CMS Maintenance team and, together with Christiane Maier-Stadtherr, team leader of the Frontend Template Working Group. Would you like to know how this Argentinian biology graduate ended up in Germany building websites for a living? Read her story below!

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Joomla becomes CVE Numbering Authority: what does this mean?

December-CVE CVE number meaning

You may have read about it in the official announcement: Joomla has been authorized as a CVE Numbering Authority. But what is this, you might wonder, why is it such a big deal, and what does it mean to the average Joomla user?

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19 common mistakes about Joomla extensions part 2

November-ExtensionsMistakes Choosing and using extensions

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself,” is a famous Eleanor Roosevelt quote. In this article series we list the most common mistakes users make when choosing and using extensions for their Joomla website(s), and how you can avoid them. 

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  4001 Hits

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