I spent a decade stuck on the extensions and template hamster wheel. It did not fail all at once. It never does. The more paid dependencies I added, the more there was to break, and the failures came more often. The worst part was the constant dread. Every component update, every template update, a held breath. A major Joomla release often risked things getting worse before they got better.
Most of us do not have an extension problem. We have an understanding problem. Core Joomla and the Astroid Framework already cover about ninety percent of what you actually need. Once you see that, you stop subscribing to fixes for problems you do not fully understand.
That is why I am building Joomla.Solutions. It is for beginners finding their footing, DIY site owners keeping things running, and people building sites for clients. That last group feels it most, not just fixing their own work but answering to someone who paid for it.
If any of this rings a bell, I would genuinely like to hear the story. Which component or template it was, what it cost you, how you got out, if you got out. You are not the only one, and it helps me work out what is actually worth building.
No launch, no course pitch, no hard sell. I am just collecting real stories from real people first. Leave an email if you are happy to swap a few words.
Or carry on watching me do it the hard way, free:
My name is Paul Staub and here is my story in three acts. Act one: once upon a time I set out to build a community site on Joomla 1.5. Act two: I spent a decade extending, building, and breaking it, in that order. Act three: I went back to the drawing board and built something far simpler, with Astroid. In a parallel life I am a video editor and Apple Authorized Trainer of 30+ years, which is probably why I care this much about doing things properly. Last but by no means least: none of this would be possible without the wonderful people in the Astroid Discussions Group and the wider Joomla community.