Afterburner Joomla Template by RocketTheme

Afterburner is a new free template developed by RocketTheme. We are normally a bit skeptic about the quality of templates offered by template clubs, but we are happy to report that Afterburner is a quality template you want to check out.

The developers claim it to be the fastest Joomla template ever, balancing speed and search engine optimization. Afterburner 's features include:

• Speed Optimization
• SEF Optimized Layout
• Advanced Color Selection
• Suckerfish Dropdown Menu
• 8 Preset Styles - Light / Dark Variations
• 18 Module Positions
• FF3.5, Opera 9.6, Safari 4, IE6,7,8 Compatible
• W3C XHTML 1.0 Transitional. W3C CSS 3 Valid

We particularly like the minimalistic and clean approach the developers have taken and the 18 module positions the template provides:

You can download the template here.

JSN EPIC Joomla Template by Joomlashine

As one of the best templates available for the Joomla CMS, JSN EPIC by JoomlaShine provides you flexibility and outstanding graphics to develop a professional website.

We are using the JSN EPIC Pro version for many websites including this site (we bought an unlimited domain license for $50). The template comes in two versions: JSN Epic Free which has many basic features and the JSN Epic Pro version with more advanced features. We worked for a while with the free version, but could not resist buying the professional template.

Source: Joomlashine.

Version 3.3 provides RTL support, meaning that it supports websites that use language scripts that run from the right to the left (such as Dari and Arabic).

Note: Joomlashine is also the developer of JSN Image show, the free flash image slideshow. Client service is good: the developers responded immediately to an inquiry.

Update:

JoomlaShine has released a new version of the high quality JSN Epic template. The new version is of particular interest to developers of multi-lingual websites that use both RTL and LTR languages. The template automatically moves the position of the header to the left or the right when text directions change and bullet points in menus on left and right positions are correctly rendered.

In JSN Epic version 2, the header would not move. In JSN Epic version 3.3, 4.0 and above, the header moves correctly as demonstrated below.

This shows the header aligned to the right for the Arabic version of a site we developed:

This shows the header of the English version of the website aligned to the left:

In JSN Epic version 2, the bullet points were incorrectly placed for RTL language.The bullet points should be on the right side of text for this language (Dari) since it is read from the right to the left (RTL).

This shows the menu of a website in Dari with the bullet points on the left of the text (this is incorrect - it should be on the right):

In JSN Epic version 3.3, 4.0 and above, the bullet points are correctly placed for RTL text. The bullets points are on the right side of the text for this language (Arabic) as it should because it is read from the right to the left (RTL)

This shows a menu of a website in Arabic with the bullet point starting from the right (this is correct):

Using Quality Templates For Joomla Sites

Although there are many templates available for Joomla, finding a good one is not easy.

We have been scouting the Internet for a while to find high quality and preferably non-commercial templates for our clients. Surprisingly, we have found only a few that meet the following criteria:

1: Template is suckerfish menu enabled.

2: Is available for free (or has a free alternative) and can be used for commercial sites with no strings attached.

3: Has many module positions.

4: The template is accessible to the disabled.

5: Is available without the need to be a template club member.

6: Does not have hidden links to commercial sites other than to the developer.

7: Has preset styles and color themes.

8: Loads fast and in plain English works!

The templates in our collection meet these criteria and we recommend that you visit the developers' websites for more information. Please contact us if you have developed a template, or know of one, that meets these criteria and that has not been included in the template portfolio.