Joomla! is a free Open source platform for website development and content management (CMS). Like all other content management systems, Joomla handles! Much of the technical aspect of creating and running a website.
In recent years, Joomla has become a household name among web developers and in the world of content management systems. Joomla offers your company the possibility to Management and creation of new pages and products at the push of a button.
Using the Joomla CMS will save you money in the long run, because Joomla is based on a so-called template ”framework", which means that the content and design of the website are clearly separated. This allows website content to be edited, moved or deleted without affecting the appearance of the website.
In this article you will learn everything you need to know about creating a homepage with Joomla.
What you should consider before creating a Joomla website
- Set the target of your website
If your website has the goal of informing people about the existence of your company and encouraging them to contact you? Is your goal to sell your products online? Or do you want to showcase your creative work? A clear focus will help you and your visitors.
- Research and competitor analysis
Take a look at other websites in your area. Identify the ones you like and make notes – which features do you like? What do you like about the design and layout of competitor websites? - Know your customer needs
The basis for the success of any business is the fact that it recognizes and meets relevant customer needs with its own product or service. Focusing on the content, promotions and messages for your identified target audience filters out unnecessary traffic and attracts potential customers.
Understanding Joomla
You can choose Joomla! as an operating system such as Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS or Linux.
Most similar is that both the operating system and Joomla! Are not really intended for immediate use. Both provide only a basic framework, which can be implemented by installing programs (in the case of Joomla! Extensions) is added to do something useful with your computer or homepage. And like an operating system, Joomla includes! already some "central Extensions that perform the most important tasks.
The Joomla system toolbar
The toolbar of the Joomla system is always structured the same, so it does not matter in which menu area you are (z. B. users, posts, menus, modules). By default, the Joomla Toolbar uses the following buttons, which are explained using posts:
- New – Clicking on the green "New-button, a new post can be created.
- Edit – To edit, you must first make a selection in the list.
- Hide – Select a post and click on the "Hide" button. The post will now no longer be displayed on your website.
- Main entry – Main posts are posts that are displayed on your home page.
- No main entry – With the option "No main entry revoke the selection as start page contribution.
- Archive – Joomla also offers a way to archive old posts.
- Share – If a post is disabled or hidden, this will allow you to unhide it in the frontend.
- Batch processing – The batch processing option allows you to edit multiple selected posts.
- Recycle Bin – In the recycle bin you will find posts that are not yet finally deleted.
Creating Joomla Website: Step-by-Step (Guide)
This step-by-step guide shows you how to install on your server and gives you an overview of the basic functions. To conclude, we want you to feel able to discover Joomla by yourself and create a Joomla website to your liking.
Hint: If you already have a domain name and web hosting, proceed with Step 3 fort.
1. Secure your domain name
Before the first consideration to create your Joomla site, you need a good domain name. It is a key element of your website that gives your website visitors a first impression, influences your search engine optimization and defines your brand. This should be as short and crisp as possible, so that the visitor does not encounter any problems even if he enters the link directly.
2. Make sure you have a reliable web hosting
Besides a domain name, you also need a good Joomla hosting service. When searching for a suitable hosting partner, you should ask yourself the following questions: How fast is the hosting provider? Your website should load within 500ms. How good is the customer support? You will need to solve possible problems with the help of support – that’s why you should choose a Joomla hosting service that has high-quality and responsive customer service. What is the price-performance ratio? Feel free to compare several hosting providers and find out the one that offers the best conditions for your purposes.
3. Install your Joomla system
Once you have a domain and a hosting provider, the first thing you should do is install Joomla. This can be more or less complicated depending on which company you host your website with. For example, most hosting providers offer one-click installation for the CMS. All you need to do here is log in to your account, find the Joomla icon in your control panel, click on it and follow the instructions.
Download the latest version of the free open source here:
Joomla! Core – Overview of versions
A detailed guide from us on how to install Joomla 3.x installed, you can find it here:
Joomla 3.x – Installation Guide
4. How to access the Joomla administrator interface
To sign in to Joomla 3.x log in and access the administrator interface (also called backend), you need to open your browser and go to http://beispielurl.navigate en/administrator. On this page you will find a login screen where you will need to enter the username and password you chose during the Joomla installation process.
5. Familiarize yourself with the user interface
The next step in learning how to create a website with Joomla is orientation. Many of the menus you can see in the control panel below are mostly used directly and intuitively, but it helps to have a bird’s eye view of the first steps. You can learn more about the orientation and basic settings of your Joomla system in the section "Understanding Joomla".
6. Choose a template for your homepage
Joomla provides a way to change your website design without programming. The tools needed for this are called templates here. The look, function and feel of your entire website is totally dependent on the template. So don’t underestimate this decision – first impressions count!
7. Install Joomla template
Installing a template in Joomla is in principle quite simple. After you have made a choice, you will usually receive the template in the form of a zip file. You can easily edit them under Extensions> Install upload.
Either by drag& Drop in the field or by clicking the button or search for file on your hard drive. Select it and Joomla will do the rest on its own. Alternatively, you can install the template via the URL if you know where the package is located.
Afterwards, the template still has to be activated under Extensions> Templates> Styles. Click the star to the right of the template name here to make it the default for the entire site.
8. Add users and manage user groups
The superuser as well as the author, editor and registered users are user groups. Basically, a user doesn’t even need an account: A visitor is also a user. Users must be assigned to one or more groups. Permissions cannot be assigned directly to users, only to groups.
Permissions can be created for the user groups. These permissions include:
- Login to the frontend
- Log in to the backend
- Access when the page is offline.
- Accessing backend components and menus
- Superuser access to the configuration in the backend
- Create new content
- Delete content
- Editing the status of content
- Edit your own content
You can assign permissions to Configuration> Permissions set and edit.
9. Create a menu and have it appear on the home page
To create a menu that will display on your site and navigate to each section of your site, follow the next steps:
- In the top menu, under Menus, click Menu Manager.
- Click the New button in the top right menu.
- Enter a menu title, a type and a description. Then click in the upper right corner of the menu on Save& Close.
- Search for a module for this menu type and click Add Module next to the menu you just created.
- Click on a module for this menu type.
- Enter a title, choose a location for the menu, and then click Save and Close.
10. Create a new subpage
Now let’s move on to something essential: subpages. When creating a website with Joomla you will probably create several of them.
The first thing to learn about pages in Joomla is that you create them in one place, but make them appear in another place. In Joomla, subpages are simply called posts or articles. This can be a bit confusing at first if you come from a blogging background, but don’t let that bother you.
To create content in CMS Joomla! to edit, the editor TinyMCE is installed by default. You can add contributions via Content> Contributions> Add new items create.
11. Assign subpages to a menu item
After you have added the content, you will notice that your site has not changed much, as you need to add the content to the appropriate menu.
Follow these steps to do so:
- Select desired menu and create menu item (Menus> Desired menu> New menu item)
- Select menu item type (single post or category blog, depending on how it is displayed)
- Select post that will now be linked to the menu item
The following tutorial explains clearly how to create new Joomla pages& link:
12. The first steps with Joomla modules
Now we move on to one of the more complex topics, namely the modules. These are small units of content that can appear in many places on a page apart from the post, i.e. the body text. They work like modules. For example, the menu is also a module. Let’s say you want to put a contact prompt at the end of your homepage, then a module is best for that. However, the use requires a certain training period.
Create a Joomla module
In the module list under Extensions> modules you can see all modules currently active on your website as well as the positions, pages, users and languages they are assigned to. Under New in the upper left corner you will find a whole range of other modules that you can use on your Joomla homepage.
Let’s say you want to publish a text about yourself and your website on the homepage. For this we choose the module type "Own module", because here we find the WYSIWYG editor, which we already know from the content creation as well. But there are also many other types of modules, such as a navigation path, which makes a breadcrumb trail appear on your website.
Assign modules to positions
Where exactly a module can appear is entirely up to the template you have chosen. Good templates have documentation where you can find an overview of module positions. If you know where the modules can be switched, now the question is missing, how a module can be assigned the position? You can add the module positions to the modules under Extensions> Assign modules. You create a new module and find in the right column the selection field "Position". Here should be listed the selectable positions with high-quality templates.
13. Install extensions
An important feature of Joomla is its ability to transform into the kind of system you need for your specific use. Through numerous extensions, you can implement the almost any features you want with little to no programming experience.
The place to find these extensions is the "Joomla Extensions Directory". This directory is a good place to look for extensions with the desired functionality. Take a look at the selection of many free as well as paid extensions. With Joomla and its extensions almost everything is possible. Countless hobby programmers are constantly developing new extensions with Joomla, where you benefit from a robust development environment and from a large developer community.
Note: If you are still missing a function in Joomla, you can Components be a solution. Components are the main functional units of Joomla and can also be considered as mini-applications.
Conclusion
Your website is now ready for use! As you can see, it’s not difficult to create a Joomla website from scratch if you follow this guide.
If necessary, you can further customize your website, e.g. by adding a new module. B. change the logo, edit information on the website or change template templates. If you initially hosted the site on a standard web host, your site is now live. You can lean back. If you have done all these steps on your PC or localhost, you need to upload your website files to a standard webhost to make your website available on the internet so that visitors can easily access your website.
You need help with setup or general advice regarding your Joomla website?
Get in contact with us!
With the award-winning content management system, and our services in the areas of web design, web development and online marketing with Joomla, the possibilities are endless.
In addition to the one-time costs for the creation of a Joomla homepage, there are further running costs. This includes the costs for maintenance (if you use a content management system), the domain (z. B. sample domain.en) and hosting. In addition, the website should be updated regularly (design updates, etc).) to ensure that it is always "state of the art" corresponds to.
Can I move my Joomla homepage to another server?
A Joomla! Move from a new server is not magic and is usually done in a few minutes (depending on the amount of data). As a backup tool we recommend Akeeba Backup.
How to convert my Joomla homepage to https?
For automatic redirection to HTTPS when the website is accessed via HTTP, you just need to add a code snippet to the .htaccess file of your web project. You can find help on this in our knowledge base under "Automatic redirection from HTTP to HTTPS"