GETTING STARTED WITH JOOMLA!

copied from: http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla/getting-started.html
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Joomla makes creating and maintaining Web sites easy for everyone, from total beginners setting up their first site to IT professionals managing enterprise installations.

Get the Basic Details

If you have never used Joomla! before, you might want to read What is Joomla? first. If you are evaluating Joomla for use on a project, you may want to review the materials for evaluators on the Joomla Documentation Wiki.

Test Out the Online Demo

You can really test out Joomla using our online demo at demo.joomla.org. Don't worry, you can't break it! You'll quickly discover how easy it is to create and manage content as well as learn your way around the Joomla administrator interface.

The demo site content is refreshed every 30 minutes. There are security precautions in effect to protect the privacy of other site users and to better ensure site stability. To test drive the demo site, you need to:

1. Create Account
   You must create an account with a valid email address. Once registered, your account is created, and an email is sent to your email address. This email will contain an account activation link.
2. Activate Account
   To activate your account click on the activation link contained in the email.
3. Use Demos
   Once your account is activated you are free to login to the public frontend and the administrative backend.

All user accounts are given Super Administrator access and can perform all functions except those that could be abused. Each demo user account remains active for one month. Feel free to use the new demo resource and to share it with others interested in exploring Joomla's capabilities.

For more details about the operation of the demo site, visit demo.joomla.org.

Find Documentation and Help

Documentation for Joomla is available on the Joomla Documentation Wiki at docs.joomla.org. Choosing a user type will help you find the appropriate resources on the wiki. The wiki page The Absolute Beginners Guide to Joomla contains lots of information, advice, and links for first time users. If you have more questions, visit theJoomla forums.

Get Ready to Install

Getting started on your Joomla Web site is easy to do. Many hosting services offer a simple one-click installation, but if you'd rather be more hands-on, have more control or are your own host, all you need is a Web server with PHP and MySQL. Most commercial hosts provide these as part of their basic package of services. Then download a copy of Joomla.  The Joomla Installation Manual (Download PDF) takes you through the installation process step by step, The Joomla Quick Start Guide (Download PDF) should get you running quickly, and the accompanying video is a nice resource.

What to Do Next

Start creating your site by adding content, images, and, if you wish, any of the thousands of extensions to the Joomla! CMS.

If you're looking to get started in Joomla development, developer.joomla.org is the best place for you to start. There you'll find tons of information on Joomla, the APIs and much more.

If you're a designer and want to learn more about creating Joomla templates, the Joomla Template Tutorialshows how easy it is to design in Joomla and even convert an existing Web site to Joomla.