If it turning people away, I think it is obvious that something needs to be done about it. Were you aware of these problem prior to choosing Joomla?

Seems like the easiest thing would be to manually stick a php script that creates the rss feed directly out of your joomla database. Shouldn’t be too hard. Then you don’t have to worry about integration issues.

If you’re going to buy a theme design, why should it look different? But FWIW I don’t mind blogs having a different appearance, as long as there’s some common elements.

With regard to your second questions, this site may be of interest:

http://themeplayground.com/

I have found them literally only today, so can’t vouch for them, but they may have what you need.

Good luck!

David, I am more of a Java guy and PHP is not my area of expertise. I was looking at the two Joomla modules already available to generate xml feed. I am wondering why they are not successful. I am afraid that going down the path of creating the feed via php will create more headaches.

I noticed that in your RSS feed that instead of creating links to anchor text, it actual writes out the link address.
Example:
The response to our $400 give away in RSS contest has been great (blog/marketing-sales/subscribe-to-invesp-and-win-400.html).

Shawn,

I just noticed that too. More reasons to consider the move.

Chris,

I guess it is difficult to match the current site design since most of it is my own customization. So, I have to buy a WP theme and then customize it to match what we have. I will definitely check out themeplayground, thanks for the recommendation.

Khalid, WordPress is very easy to use and I’m sure within a few days you’ll be glad you’ve made the switch. I used to publish partial feeds myself, but after some research realized that full feed was the way to go.

I do customize WordPress themes. Feel free to send an email my way. My blog is WordPress and you can see I created a theme to match the rest of the site.

I prefer to see blogs match the rest of the site. At the very least it should be immediately obvious that both are the same, though I think it’s fine if there’s a little difference.

You might be able to customize the theme yourself. Knowing how to read PHP helps, but you don’t need to be a PHP expert to edit WP. It will take a little time to understand how everything is put together.

i noticed there was no trackbacks, lol I tried to leave several

Khalid: Sorry, i’m not a php fan either. I just prematurely assumed Joomla was php based. my bad. In that case s/php/Java

@Steven, I might just take you up on that. I spent this weekend playing with wp. And I think I am almost there.

@Matthew, I will fix that when I move to wp

@David: Joomla is actually in PHP. I meant to say that my software experience is in Java so I would not know how to create a feed using PHP

[...] Partial feed vs. full feed: When technology is an obstacle Subscribe to INVESP and win $400 Can I trust you? 13 quick tips to increase online conversion rate via building trust [...]

Hello,

I’d like to offer my services for your WordPress theme thoughts. I have been designing WP themes for several years now, and blending them in with currently existing sites is not a problem (see http://www.grssigns.co.uk/ and associated blog as an example).

As for new designs, or special bespoke designs, take a look at http://www.balancednewsblog.com/ - this is four columns off the bat, WP didn’t have this before I created it. Something similar can easily be done, brand new, or tailored from an existing design.

Thank you for your time,
Richard Dows, The English Guy
http://www.theenglishguy.co.uk/

I don’t understand why people don’t like partial feeds. Personally, I use the reader only to see what’s new, but I like reading the posts in their original layout, so it doesn’t matter if the feed is only partial.

However, taking into consideration that I’m sort of a dinosaur, and most readers want full feeds, I suppose you could do better if you did so.

I don’t mind to see blogs with different layout than the main site.

[...] who is willing giving away $400 to a random RSS subscriber, is receiving a consistent complaint about the fact that their blog is a partial [...]

You name me a blogger that’s not in it for the money. I’m not talking about 14 year old kids that heard that a blog makes you cool. I’m referring to the veteran bloggers that realized they can make good easy money out of this.

I want to clear this problem about CMS Joomla. First, You have to know that Joomla and Wordpress are very different Engine.

Wordpress is focused for blogging system. Joomla is focused as framework bussines. Joomla, I think is not blog machine.

So we can separate this problem and focusing what kind of application do you need and do you want.

Thanks