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Let's start with simlpy logging in:
To get started, go to the administration login page here: http://www.yoursitename.com/administrator
Enter the username and password provided by your technical administrator, then press "Login"
Okay, now you're inside the castle, let's show you around the place...
Here is your main control panel.
From left to right you will see the following menu items in the top menu:
Site: This controls general elements that apply to the entire site, and includes:
- Control Panel: returns you to this admin home page
- User Manager: to administer users general account settings
- Media Manager: to manually administer images and other media that can be displayed within the site
- Global Configuration: to administer System settings
- Logout: to log out of the system
Menus: Menu items define what type of content will appear on a page that is reached when users click on the specific menu tab.
This is area where you can add, edit, and delete menu items and create new menus through the following submenus:
- Menu Manager: Create new entire menus, and edit or delete existing menus.
- Menu Trash: Deleted menus and menu items are held in here in case you want to restore them later; you can also clear the trash entirely.
- Main Menu*: Administer the items in the Main Menu here, as well as add new ones and rearrange or delete existing ones.
- Additional Menus: Depending on how your site is set up, you will see lists of additional menus below "Main Menu*"; here you can administer the menu items within each unique menu
Content: Articles are the primary means of creating general content pages within your site; they are organized by Categories; Categories are organized into Sections. Many features that control the display of articles can be configured to only show Articles within a specific Section or Category.
This is where you administer the "Articles" within your site and the Sections and Categories into which these articles are organized.
- Article Manager: Create new articles, and edit or delete existing articles
- Article Trash: Deleted articles are held in here in case you want to restore them later; you can also clear the trash entirely.
- Section Manager: Create new Sections, and edit or delete existing Sections
- Category Manager: Create new Categories, and edit or delete existing Categories; also select to which Section a Category is assigned.
- Front Page Manager: View Articles that are assigned to the Frontpage
(note: this may not comprise all of the articles appearing on the frontpage depending on how you have the frontpage settings defined in the "Main Menu"->"Home" menu item)
Components: Components are the generally where you will administer added "extensions" that have been installed to the site to provide custom functionality such as "VirtueMart" - for ecmmerce, "JUGA" - for user permissions, "JomSocial" - for social networking, and "EventList" - for event management (there are over 3000 extensions in the Joomla Extension directory).
Each component will have its own unique admnistration interface, but most follow the same general pattern of interface as the rest of Joomla can can be understood within a few minutes of poking around.
Extensions: This is where extensions (such as components and modules) are installed; usually by a website development professional. Other than the "Module Manager", it is unlikely that the typical administrator will have to utilize these features, still a basic understanding of what is contained within this section will help you better understand how Joomla works:
- Install/Uninstall: This is where new extension packages can be installed or currently installed extension packages can be uninstalled.
- Module Manager: Modules are areas or windows that can be placed on any page within a site that display specialized sets of data. Within the Module Manager you can publish and unpublish modules, control the placement, order, appearance, and contents of these windows, as well as create new ones and delete existing modules.
- Plugin Manager: Plugins allow advanced components to operate in coordination with the core Joomla CMS; Plugin Manager allows for certain configuration settings within components of the site that affect the usability of those components throughout the site (generally not something left to administrators).
- Template Manager: Here you can switch the template being used by your Joomla installation, and configure certain parameters within the current template (generally not an administrator's job)
- Language Manager: Here you can manage language profiles that have been uploaded to the site (for multi-lingual sites only).
Tools (rarely used): Here are some tools that you may utilize for specific administrative tasks including:
- Read Messages: read messages that have been sent to the system admin
- Write Messages: write and send basic email messages directly to specific registered users
- Mass Mail: write and send basic email messages directly to any specific entire usergroup
- Global Check-in: Checks in any locked articles, modules, or users that are "locked" for current editing (useful anytime you try to access an article but are shut out because another administrator is editing)
- Clean Cache: Clears the server cache
- Purge Expired Cache: Clears the expired cache
Help: Links to general help resources for the Joomla CMS
- Joomla Help: A comprehensive list of articles dedicated to the general administration of Joomla: a great resource for learning the Joomla backend and understanding all of the details relating to the functionality of core site controls.
- System Info: Provides an overview of the platform your site is built from (useful when orienting new developers to the version and build of the main elements of your site's infrastructure).
Now let's take a look at the basics of managing your site's content with Joomla...
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