In the world of Content Management Systems, Joomla is one of the most reliable and popular CMS platforms available. Stable, immensely configurable and extensible, it's used on some of the most highly trafficked websites on the Internet today. The recent release of Joomla 1.6 Beta gives a few tantalizing peeks into what to expect when the finalized version is released later this year. Experts are anticipating that the final version will be available by late summer 2010. While we're waiting for that to happen, we can take a look at some of the most important features and improvements expected to be included.

In terms of back-end requirements, Joomla 1.6 runs on no less than MySQL 5.0.4 and PHP 5.2 on the server side of things. With all the code work that went into Joomla 1.6, it needs serious, up-to-date software to run at all. Legacy mode has also been disabled so that all extensions and applications must run on Joomla 1.6 natively. Joomla 1.6 will continue the steady progression and evolution of the popular CMS with a focus on semantic markup and capabilities that take advantage of HTML5 and CSS3, standards which are increasingly being supported by all major browsers and streamline productivity for designers and developers.

Fortunately for extension and plug-in developers, reconfiguring older programs to conform to the new Joomla 1.6 API shouldn't take a lot of work and ought to be relatively easy. They haven't completely reinvented the wheel with the latest release, so it won't take a lot of modification to bring things up to snuff. In the short term, there may be some problems upgrading, but the long-term gains are worth it. In terms of SEO for websites that are upgrading from 1.5 to the latest version, URL rewrites are one of the major aspects to look out for, bu that's a relatively minor point.

A major revision from the previous version of Joomla is the redesign and simplification of the access control system, which has received a noticeable face lift. Semantic XHTML templates and pre-configured layouts for better Search Engine Optimization and site development are part of the package. The default themes and templates have been replaced, although the old 1.5 templates are available via legacy mode. So appearances will change a touch to reflect new design ideas, but overall nothing major will change in the layout department. The new templates reflect a more modern, up-to-date look for generic sites.

Possibly the most highly anticipated new feature coming our way is to the Access Control List which allows administrators to quickly and easily handle file permissions, add and delete groups and users and manage other capabilities of users and groups on an individual basis. The User Access Control center has been streamlined, with the old Sections being merged into Categories. Also, there will now be such helpful functions as automatic 404 error page reporting so that broken links can be fixed quickly if they happen to arise. Those are just a few of the new, under-the-skin transformations that are coming.

The beta version is shaping up nicely, and though it's not intended for production environments, it's relatively bug-free and functions smoothly. The upgrade process, legacy issues aside when it comes to extensions and add-ons, should be as relatively pain free as with previous editions. The main focus is to improve and expand upon Joomla as a versatile platform for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses looking for an easy to manage E-commerce platform with and open source background. Once Joomla 1.6 “hits the streets” so to speak, we'll be able to get a better grasp of what's possible, but the early outlook is promising.