I know many of you out there struggle with this one. When using the SEF extension sh404SEF, it's quite easy to set up search engine friendly URLs. For the core joomla components and supported third-party extensions, that is.
If your extension does not have a plug-in for sh404SEF, you're basically stuck. Unless you apply some sort of work-around. In this case, I will show you how to create SEF URLs that show forms created by ChronoForms. It's easier than you would think.
Not a basic tutorial
I assume that you have some basic knowledge of ChronoForms. I won't go into the details of setting up the component now. It's a very nice component, though. ChronoForms makes it very easy to work with custom forms and Joomla. At the same time, it's got plenty of advanced features for those of you who want to tweak everything.
The challenges
As I mentioned, the ChronoForms component will give you non-SEF URLs, even with sh404SEF installed. This is if you use the normal way of showing a form created with ChronoForms. Normally, you would create a menu item and link to the form, displaying it as a component. This is not working if you need SEF URLs.
Also, I find it cumbersome and counter-intuitive to have text, pictures etc in the ChronoForms Form Code field. Many times I would like to have the form show with text and pictures, and be able to edit those parts easily.
Existing Plug-in is lacking
There is actually a small sh404SEF plug-in available for ChronoForms. As of now, it's not good enough for my use. It creates URLs without section and/or category even if they're activated. And it creates an all lowercase TITLE tag, which is not good enough at all. It's just not flexible enough. Here's the discussion about the plug-in. Until someone steps up and improves on the plug-in, I need to find other solutions:
The work-around
After looking around a bit, I stumbled upon the fact that the latest version of ChronoForms (3.1 RC) comes with a new plug-in. The plug-in enables you to put a form into a content article. And that's the solution right there:
When you have downloaded and activated the plug-in, create an article which will work as a placeholder for the form.
Give the article a name that corresponds with the form, or whatever fits your need.
In the article, enter the following:
{chronocontact}FORMNAME{/chronocontact}
Save the article and preview the page in your browser. The page you have made will have a SEF URL because it's an article - showing a form inside.
I think this solution is so much better than the other options available - enjoy :)
PS.
If you want to learn how to set up sh404SEF for Search
Engine Friendly URLs, check out this tutorial: How to Set Up sh404SEF