Easier to Customize Back End

[crystalenka]

Problem we're trying to solve:

The Joomla back end is highly customizable and can be fully white-labeled. This is a feature that very few people seem to currently take advantage of.

Part of this may be because the places where this can be done are scattered around the CMS - global configuration, admin template styles, admin modules, admin menus, user settings, etc. Some of these things are accessed through the same points as front-end content, which can be unintuitive.

Things that are possible in Joomla which anywhere else would be part of a premium white label package:

• back end brand settings (logos, colors)
• fully customizable email templates
• admin modules (rearrange or add your own)
• custom admin menus
• custom admin dashboards
• extremely flexible user groups and permissions
• configurable help links

If we make it easier to find all these options, it could be promoted as a feature. Additionally, making the back end feel a little more personal increases the sense of ownership from a site builder or end user and if we encourage that to happen early in the site build process people are less likely to abandon it.

Possible solutions include:

• A group of links under system dashboard - maybe "Customize admin interface" ?
• After a new install, offer to select the back end logo and color as part of the installation process (or skip).
• Back end favicon selection (new feature)
• Default email templates could be nicer and include basic styling based on the default admin logo and colors (new feature)
• Provide thorough guides in the end user documentation oriented around white labeling the Joomla admin experience.

Things to remember as we discuss this issue:

(I've run out of steam, will come back to this later. Feel free to comment if you think of things we should be cautious of or keep in mind.)