Get started with Joomla
Joomla is a free, open-source content management system (CMS): software that lets you build and edit a website from your browser. It suits business sites, club and community sites, and sites that need several menus, user groups or languages out of the box. This guide covers installing Joomla, the first settings to check and how to keep the site healthy.
Install Joomla
If your host offers a one-click installer for Joomla, use it: it copies the files, creates the database and gives you an administrator login.
To install it yourself with the official web installer:
- Download the full installation package from the official Joomla website.
- Unzip it on your computer and upload the contents to your site's web folder over SFTP. See Upload files with SFTP.
- In your hosting control panel, create a database and a database user with a strong password, and give the user full rights on that database. See Databases explained.
- Open your domain in a browser. The Joomla installer starts automatically.
- Enter the site name, your administrator account details and the database details, then start the installation.
- When the installer finishes, make sure the
installationfolder has been removed. If it is still there, delete it.
Your site's administrator area is at https://example.com/administrator, using your own domain.
First steps after installing
Review Global Configuration
Global Configuration in the administrator area holds the site-wide settings. Go through it before you add content:
- Site: the site name, default meta description and whether the site is offline while you build it.
- System: debug options. Keep debugging off on a live site, because it can show technical details to visitors.
- Server: error reporting, the time zone and the email settings Joomla uses to send messages. Send a test email to check that password resets and form messages arrive.
Turn on search engine friendly URLs if they are not already on, so page addresses are readable. Some setups need the included htaccess.txt renamed to .htaccess for URL rewriting to work; see Redirects and .htaccess.
Add extensions carefully
Joomla's add-ons are called extensions. They come in several types: components (larger features such as a shop or a booking system), modules (blocks shown on pages), plugins (code that reacts to events behind the scenes), templates (the site's design) and language packs.
- Find extensions in the official Joomla Extensions Directory, or on the developer's own website.
- Prefer extensions that are updated regularly and support your Joomla version.
- Remove extensions you no longer use rather than leaving them disabled.
Secure the administrator account
Use a unique, long password and turn on multi-factor authentication for administrator accounts in your user profile. Give other editors only the access level they need.
Keep Joomla updated and backed up
Joomla shows available updates in the administrator area. Core updates are installed with the built-in Joomla Update tool, and extension updates from the extensions manager.
- Take a full backup first: both the files and the database.
- Update extensions, then the Joomla core.
- Check the front of the site, a contact form and the administrator area after each update.
A backup needs both parts: the files hold the code, templates and uploaded images, and the database holds the content and settings. See Backups and restores.
DomainPilot web hosting includes one-click installs for Joomla, and you can choose Joomla when you order so it is installed when your account is set up. Backups run weekly on the Starter plan and daily on the other plans.
Where to get help
- The official documentation at docs.joomla.org covers installation, administration and upgrades.
- The Joomla community forum is a good place for questions about settings and extensions.
- For problems with a specific extension, contact its developer.
If your site grows to heavy traffic or many logged-in users, see Web hosting, VPS or cloud.