Joomla modules are used for a multitude of purposes and can be the difference between a bland website and an engaging site. Think of Joomla's modules as all the "stuff" thats found on the sides, top, bottom, etc that ISN'T the main article or content of the page. In the following illustration you can see the diversity in which modules can be utilized.
Joomla has many "out of the box" modules that are built in, such as:
- Who's Online
- Menu
- RSS Feed Displays
- Visitor/Member Login
- Visitor Polls
- Most Read or Popular Content
- Search box
- Related Articles
- Custom HTML content (I use this to add my subscribe forms HTML from Constant Contact as well as adding Social Media buttons)
- Much more!
There are 3 basic steps to creating a module, which I will break down further: determining the type of module you need for what you want to achieve; selecting the position; inputting the content into the module and publishing it.
1. Decide what you want to publish. There are modules that come with Joomla, ones you can create from scratch, as well as ones you can get for free or paid and install on your site. We'll start with one that comes with Joomla. Let's create a internal Search on the Home page so visitors can search your site for what they are looking for (great for SEO too as it encourages more page views).
2. Login to your Joomla admin. Using your username and password login to your Joomla admin at: www.yourdomain.com/administrator
3. Create your Module. From the top "Extensions" menu > "Module Manager". In the top right, click on "New". When the popup menu comes up to prompt you to "Select a Module Type", choose "Search"
4. Determine where to Position the Module. In order to know the position in which to place your module, you should have a schematic layout that came with your template (ask your developer for this). Please see the illustrations below that show the various module positions for a sample website.
| Front end appearance of website | Module Position Schematic that comes with template |
Front end module overlay for illustration purposes |
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{rokbox album=|modules|}images/modules/front-end.jpg{/rokbox}
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{rokbox album=|modules|}images/modules/module-positions.jpg{/rokbox}
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{rokbox album=|modules|}images/modules/front-end-modules-overlay.jpg{/rokbox}
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Once you have located where you want it to go on your schematic or front end, let's position it in the module manager.
5. Select the Module Positon. Click on "Select Position". A popup window will appear with the different module positions available for your template. Select the position you want by clicking on it. This window will close and return you to your module once a module position has been selected.
6. Select the Menu Assignment. Scroll down and you will now choose your menu (or page) the Search module displays on your website. For this example, we'll have the search display on the Home page.
The "Module Assignment" dropdown menu (step 1 below) has several options available:
- On all pages (ALL pages of the website will display the module)
- No pages (NO pages will have the module display)
- Only on the pages selected (you select them below)
- On all pages except those selected (useful if you have thousands of pages)
Select which menu you want items to appear or not - Step 2 above - (some sites will have more menus than "Main Menu" available - depending on how large and complex your website is).
Select the menu item "Home" for your module to appear on (step 3 above)
7. Publish, save and you're done.