Send SMS messages from Joomla with Ozeki SMS module
On the
Overview page you have read the
major benefits of adding SMS functionality to Joomla
On this page you will get detailed information on how to implement
SMS services to Joomla web sites with the help of Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway in practice. The Ozeki SMS module (available below on
this page) needs to be installed on your computer and you can
immediately start to operate your SMS system. Learn more about
this solution, its requirements and functions in this article.
A video tutorial and helpful screenshots will also help you
configure this solution.
Prerequisites
In order to setup this solution you need to find a way
to connect your system to the mobile network. You can do this
by using an Internet connection or you can
setup a wireless connection by attaching a GSM phone/GSM modem to your computer. To help you make a
decision, we have prepared a webpage for you:
Internet based SMS connections vs. GSM modem based (wireless) SMS connections.
Depending
on what you select, you need the following prerequisites.
Prerequisites for Internet based connection to the Mobile network
If you wish to connect your system to an SMS service
provider over the Internet you need the following components:
Figure 1/a - Prerequisites for Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway IP SMS connection
In this case you need to find an SMS service
provider who can reach the mobile phones in your area. This SMS
service provider should be able to provide SMS service through
the Internet. To find such a provider, you can check our
website where we list some of them:
SMPP SMS Service providers.
Once you have found such a provider, you need to sign up for
their service to get the connection parameters. You can use these parameters
to configure your Ozeki NG SMS Gateway software.
Prerequisites for wireless (GSM modem) connection to the Mobile network
If you wish to connect your system to the mobile
network wirelessly, you need a GSM modem or GSM phone, that you
can attach to your computer with a data cable. In this case your Ozeki
NG SMS Gateway software will operate this phone and will send and receive
SMS messages wirelessly. To setup this connection method, you need the following
components:
Figure 1/b - Prerequisites for Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway GSM modem connection
Your checklist (for GSM modem connection):
*The SIM card will come with a plan, that will
determine how much money you will spend on each SMS.
How this solution works
If you meet all the above listed requirements you can
learn how this SMS solution works in practice. Figure 2 demonstrates this
simple but effective process.
To be able to send SMS messages from Joomla first you need to
download and install Ozeki NG SMS Gateway
software. You also need to download
Ozeki SMS module,
as well. After the installation processes you need to follow the steps of our
configuration guide below on this page to configure your SMS system.
After a few steps of configuration a form will appear on your web site
that can be used to send SMS messages. Visitors just need to enter the
phone number of the recipient or recipients, compose a message and click
on "Send message" button to send out the message.
As you can see on Figure 2 Ozeki NG SMS Gateway forwards SMS messages
from Joomla web sites to mobile phones. It connects to the mobile network
either with a GSM modem attached to the
PC with a datacable; or it connects directly to the SMS center of mobile
service provider over the Internet (IP SMS
connection).
Figure 2 - How to send SMS message from Joomla with Ozeki SMS module
Configuration of this solution
To send SMS messages from Joomla with Ozeki SMS module
please follow the steps of this installation guide and watch the video
tutorial, as well.
Installation steps:
First of all, Joomla and Ozeki NG SMS Gateway software
need to be installed on your local computer. (Please find the
installation guide of
Ozeki NG SMS Gateway on this page.) If you have installed them,
log into the administrator side in Joomla (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Log into administrator side
Select "Install/Uninstall" menu item in "Extensions"
menu (Figure 4).
Figure 4 - Install an extension
Then browse for the downloaded
mod_ozeki_sms_module.zip
file by clicking on "Browse..." (Figure 5).
Figure 5 - Browse the zipped module
If you have found mod_ozeki_sms_module.zip file, select
it and click on "Upload file & Install" button (Figure 6).
Figure 6 - Upload and install the module
After the installation, select "Module Manager" menu item
from "Extensions" menu (Figure 7).
Figure 7 - Module manager
Click on "Ozeki SMS Module" in the list (Figure 8).
Figure 8 - Installed module
Now, specify the parameters of the module on the right
side of the interface:
IP address - the IP address of the computer to which Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway has been installed.
As I installed Ozeki NG SMS Gateway to my local computer it will be
"127.0.0.1" in our example.
HTTP Server Port - It is the HTTP Server Port of Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway. As I do not change it, it will be the default port: "9501"
Username - I use the default "admin" user of Ozeki NG SMS Gateway.
Password – I use the default password of the admin user ("abc123")
(Figure 9).
Figure 9 - Module parameters
Enable the module by checking "Yes" option next to "Enabled"
and then click on "Save" at the top right corner of the interface.
Figure 10 - Enable the module
Now on the front page of the web site a form appears. Define
the recipient in the form, compose a message and click on "Send message"
button to send the message (Figure 11).
Figure 11 - Send a message from Joomla site
If you take a look at "Sent" message folder in Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway you can see the sent message (Figure 12).
Figure 12 - Sent message in Ozeki NG SMS Gateway
Thank you for reading this guide!
Related pages:
Further readings:
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