Hi Kim
I made an early decision not to rush into potty training. It seems to me that the earlier you start, the longer it can take. I also wanted to avoid potties, so decided to leave it a bit longer for this reason.
Anyway, Jack was 2 years and about 3 months when we bought him a toilet seat and started getting him used to sitting on it and after a couple of weeks he started having a wee before going in the bath and was always watching dh and I go and showing lots of interest in what we were doing. He was also telling me when he'd done a wee or poo in his nappy.
At 2 years and 7 months I decided to bite the bullet (terrifying!) and take his nappy off for good (he went straight into cotton pants (the pull ups were too much like nappies and he couldn't tell the difference). The first day, I sat him on care mats in the room when he was playing and took him to the toilet every 20 minutes. We had around 2 accidents that morning and by lunch time I was stressing, so decided he'd have a nappy back on. We then put him in pants for a few hours a day (usually in the morning when we weren't so tired) and nappies for the rest. After about 2 weeks he suddenly just went to the toilet on his own and announced that he'd been, and at this point we took his nappies off completely in the day time (whilst we were at home). He still wears a nappy to bed (and I think it'll be a few months yet before he's ready to stop this).
The next step was taking him out without a nappy and I did this for the first time about 4 weeks or so ago, when I was confident he knew when he wanted to go and was having no accidents at home. He was fine. He just asked for the loo when he needed it and I always make sure I know where the nearest one is so he can go. If there's not one nearby then, it's a bush

(only had to do that once though so far, and that was yesterday!). He can hold on. Apparently bladder capacity increases significantly between 2.5 and 3 years.
My tip is that if you're in no hurry, wait as long as you can. I reckon 2 and a half years is ideal (although I know many will disagree and do it earlier). I found that by waiting that extra bit of time (against all the naggings from my mother and friends), made life a lot easier. I've only cleaned up 2 puddles from my carpet and have had no other accidents at all. I was so scared about doing it and actually it was dead easy in the end. Also by waiting that extra bit of time, Jack was able to pull his own pants up and down and get on and off the toilet alone. He also has now learnt to do standing up wees, which is fantastic when you're out and about in public toilets as he doesn't touch them at all. He's a pretty good aim too
I also read somewhere that if you start at 2 you'll be done by 3 and if you start at 3 you'll be done by 3. Makes sense to me. Although I started at 2.5 and am done by almost 3 (in October). Saying that though, there's the night times to sort, and I suspect he may be done by 3 for this (but once again, I'm in no hurry to rush it).
Good luck for whenever you choose, the main thing is to stay relaxed about it and don't let you or Joe get stressed. Give it a go when you want and if it doesn't work put him back in nappies without a second thought and try again in a few weeks time. No rush!
Another tip is that whilst lots of praise is initially a great idea, I found that this praise led to lots and lots and lots of false trips to the toilet, so had to tone it down after a few weeks. At the end of the day, it's great to encourage them, but I think they also need to realise that it's a normal part of being human and not really something to cheer about every time. You have to find that balance of encouragement and normality.
Love
J