CorFun launched our Visitme.biz line a few weeks back to cater to small businesses and ministries that need to get into the Joomla space, and then grow their Websites on an ongoing basis. We decided to branch into this level of service because, in a tight economy, many organizations just can't afford a big Web effort all at once. But many can do so over time, which is why getting into a Joomla-powered site is so important.

Let's start with an example to show how critical this is. A relatively small church in Florida came to us needing a Website. Their initial budget was modest. However, that was fine because our Intermediate Visitme.biz Package fit their immediate needs, and even with some upgrades, was within their price range.

What did they need? Here's a list:

• 10 pages
• A Slideshow for announcement slides
• Mapping to their location
• A blog for the pastor
• A calendar
• Membership management
• Ability for authenticated users to enter articles/announcements and have those show up on the frontpage
• A Contact Form
• An RSS Feed
• Automatic updates to the Church's Facebook page

To accomplish just their minimum requirements required a system like Joomla. They had already looked at some designers who use Static HTML, and just their basic requirements were beyond what was possible using that kind of technology.

They had also looked at some of those "do-it-yourself" frameworks, and had quickly realized that those services wouldn't meet their requirements. A DIY online framework gives you a template based on your industry, and lets you create some pages of Static HTML. It just isn't an option for organizations that need more than an online brochure.

But with Joomla, we were able to meet all of the church's requirements within their budget, and do it all inside of a week.

From the time they picked their service level, hosting option, and made their payment to us - the project took five days total.

What is more important, however, than what we have already done for them is what we can do next. Joomla is infinitely expandable. The list of requirements above just got them started. Here is where they plan to go next:

• Podcasting
• Videos
• Facebook Integration
• Search Engine Optimization
• Online Donations

And those are just the near term goals. Because this church has gone Joomla, the next phases of development will simply be additions to their base system. As money is available in the budget, they will simply go back to us (CorFun) and do smaller projects to expand their site's capabilities.

When you think about it - that is truly amazing. The Joomla system is so robust and so flexible, that you can literally start with a small site and then build it into whatever you need. No matter where your business or your ministry takes you, the Joomla system can be scaled up to support your needs.

In lower cost Web development, there are other solutions that you can have for about the same money you would pay for a Visitme.biz package from CorFun. But how scalable are those other solutions compared to Joomla? If you spend $500.00, and then have to start over because you achieve some real online success, then was it really a good investment? On the other hand, you can spend a comparable amount of money and get into a system that can be your platform for future growth for years to come.

As developers, we are totally sold on the idea of businesses and ministries having sites they can self-manage with expansion over time as needs and budgets change. Our customers are sold on this concept as well. Do yourself a favor, and find out more about how getting into an affordable Joomla plan can help you!