Installing the Joomla plugin

Learn how to search for and install the Joomla plugin, including enabling the plugin.

Are you new to Joomla? Please read the first article in this series for an introduction to our Joomla integration. 

Accessing the features mentioned in this article

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

Manage > Integrations > Website Integration > Joomla
 

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Admin permissions to manage integrations.
• A hosted website with the free Joomla software.
• Ability to copy and paste into your website code or have some helpful person do this for you!
   

Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic items, classic products, or both?

• This feature is available in both our classic items version using classic items (Inventory > Items) and our classic products version using classic products (Inventory > Products).  → Learn more about products

Version support Currently, our integration supports Joomla versions up to and including 3.8. If you need support for a higher version, we instead recommend using the Booking Widget to display your Checkfront booking page on your website.

The first step is to locate the Checkfront plugin within the Joomla Extensions area. Start by navigating to your Joomla dashboard.

1. Click on Extensions from the main menu.
2. When the dropdown appears, select Manage and then Install.
3. Choose the Install from Web tab.
4. Enter Checkfront in the search field.
5. Either press Enter or click the Magnifying Glass button to begin the search.
6. When the Checkfront plugin appears, click on the hyperlinked title.

The screen that follows presents you with some information on the Checkfront plugin. You see a green button labelled Install. Click on this to proceed with the installation.

Next, you are asked to confirm the installation by clicking another Install button.

Downloading the plugin file manually If you experience trouble installing the plugin from the Install from Web tab, downloading the plugin file manually from GitHub is another option. Next, choose the Upload Package File tab and upload the downloaded file instead.

Once the plugin is installed, you see a confirmation message on the screen. Before you can use the plugin, though, you first need to enable it.

1. Click on Extensions from the main menu.
2. When the dropdown appears, select Manage and then Manage again.
3. Enter Checkfront in the search field.
4. Either press Enter or click the Magnifying Glass button to begin the search.
5. Select the Checkfront plugin by checking the box to the left when it appears.
6. Click the Enable button to continue. The plugin's status now shows a green checkmark rather than the red 'x' displayed before.

The plugin is now active. The final stage in activating the plugin is to select it from the Plugins manager page by clicking on the hyperlinked plugin name.

You can do this anytime if you'd like to change the host URL.

After clicking on the plugin name, you see a field to enter your Checkfront URL. This is the URL by which you access your Checkfront admin area, which you chose when you first created your account. It is most likely [BusinessName].checkfront.com.

In our example, we use demo.checkfront.com.

1. Enter the Checkfront URL.
2. Click Save.

The plugin is now fully installed and enabled.

Checkfront host URL Pay close attention to your Checkfront URL. Depending on where you are located, your URL may not end with .com. It may, for instance, end with .co.uk. Entering this incorrectly is a common mistake, so double-check your entry.

Next, we look at generating the shortcode to use with the plugin.

< Introduction to the Joomla plugin     |     Generating the shortcode for use with the Joomla plugin >