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.

TemplateJoomla: your resource for Joomla 4 templates

November-TemplateDirectory

When you ask people why they haven’t migrated their Joomla 3 site to Joomla 4 yet, often the answer is that they’re hesitant because they haven’t found a template to replace their J3 one.

Continue reading
1
  40111 Hits

Explore the Core: Easily embed PDFs in your Joomla content

October-PDF

You probably know how to place images, maybe even videos in your Joomla articles. But did you know you can add PDFs that your visitors can read without having to open or download them first? It's super easy! And the good part: you don't even have to install an extension to do it. The functionality is built right into the Joomla 4 core. Here's how you do it.

Continue reading
1
  17528 Hits

Leadership Interview: Nadja Lamisch, Treasurer

Sept-NadjaLamisch

Nadja Lamisch fell in love with Joomla 2.5 when she was looking for a CMS to build larger websites with. She joined a Joomla User Group, attended and co-organized JoomlaDays and felt very welcome in the community. When she was considering ways of doing more, she decided to run for Treasurer in the Board of Directors of Open Source Matters, Joomla’s supporting organization - and got elected. Read all about Nadja’s plans and ambitions! 

Continue reading
0
  1388 Hits

Meet the Joomla Enhancement Development Team

Sept-EnhancementDevelopmentTeam

If you are a long term Joomla user, you’ve probably noticed new features from time to time. Where do some of these features come from? Who develops them? Well, this is what the Joomla Enhancement Development Team is for! Team members often evolve from Google Summer of Code student to… read further and you will find out :) 

Continue reading
0
  1342 Hits

Meet a Joomler - Louise Hawkins

Sept-LouiseHawkins

She didn’t like Joomla when she first came across it. Learning a new system in the middle of a pandemic while studying something else already was not very high on her fun list. But after Louise Hawkins dove into the documentation, took some training, discovered the Joomla User Group London and got help and support from the community on Facebook, she became more and more enthusiastic. Today she is Team Leader of the Joomla Marketing Team. Pleasure to meet you, Louise Hawkins!

Continue reading
0
  1419 Hits

Bearsampp: portable development stack

September-Bearsampp

What if there would be a completely free and open source, fully portable WAMP development stack, created with Joomla developers in mind? Guess what: there is! Two Joomlers are working on it. Troy Hall decided to create (or rather, fork) it, Jacob Waisner joined him in the project, and Bearsampp is now available for everyone to use. Find out what it is, who it is for and what you can do with it!

Continue reading
0
  2081 Hits

Get inspired! 17 Joomlers share 17 Joomla 4 sites

August-17websites

August is Pride Month in the Joomniverse! We’ve asked Joomlers to share the Joomla 4 sites they’re most proud of, and ended up with diversity at its best. In this single JCM article only, we discover a wide variety of sites that use Joomla: personal and blog websites, small business and corporate websites, sites for non-profit and governmental organizations and community websites. Check them out and get inspired!

Continue reading
0
  28167 Hits

My 17+ years old Joomla website

August-17yearsoldwebsite

What is the average lifespan of a website? I have absolutely no idea. But I figured: with Joomla turning seventeen, surely there should be some Joomla websites out there that are just as old, or even older. So I put a call out, and I found three Joomlers that actually have or maintain an “ancient” website: Peter Martin, Randon Myles and Rachel Walraven. How did their site evolve? And what is the secret to keeping your site alive for so long?

Continue reading
0
  25005 Hits

Volunteer burnout: how to avoid it

August-Burnout

Attention all fellow Joomla volunteers: we are Joomla’s most precious jewels. Without us, the volunteers, Joomla wouldn’t be what it is now, and without us you wouldn’t even be reading this article. We matter. We are precious.

Continue reading
1
  24851 Hits

How to translate JCM articles in your own language

JCM-Languages

Here at Joomla Community Magazine Headquarters we love it when someone comes up to us saying they wish to translate our articles in their own language. Maybe you’ve thought of this as well, but don’t know how and where to start. This article gets you going with three tips that might come in handy.

Continue reading
0
  1649 Hits

By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://magazine.joomla.org/