The Beginners Guide: The Overview of Joomla! Control/Administrative Panel (Step by Step Tutorial With Pictures)

If you are new to Joomla, you’ll have to learn how the backend or administrative area of Joomla. Though, the backend of Joomla isn’t intimidating to anyone because it’s built using graphical icons to represent lnks. This technology is called Graphical User Interfere (GUI).

Graphical User Interfere (GUI) is a type of technology that uses graphical icons to represent links, text or anything.

This JovialGuide is a must-read for anyone starting to use Joomla or have been using Joomla for a while, since it covers everything you should know about the control panel of Joomla.

What are the Things I Need to Get Started?

Certainly, you need time and attention to cover this guide, no technical knowledge is needed to comprehend this tutorial since this JovialGuide is for everyone.

You need a domain name and a web-hosting account. A domain name is what your visitors will use in locating your website (www.jovialguide.com) while a hosting is where your website contents are stored/saved.

SiteGround is a great domain and hosting provider. We recommend SiteGround because it’s secure and fast.

Take a visit to SiteGround to host with them.

What You Should Know

In this JovialGuide, you’ll come across terms like Joomla administrative area/panel, Joomla backend or Joomla control panel, don’t be confused, they are all right, none is wrong!

Getting Started

The Joomla Administrative area is madeup of icons positioned right beside each link/text. This administrative area of Joomla is madeup of 9 sections. The first 5 sections have group of links that joins you to other pages of Joomla’s backend. These 9 sections are:

• Contents
• Structures
• Users
• Configuration
• Extension
• Maintenance
• Latest Actions
• Logged-in Users
• Popular Articles
• Recently Added Contents

Contents

The content section provide links that help you manage your articles, categories and media uploads. These links are:

• New Articles
• Articles
• Category
• Media

New Article

When new article is clicked, it links you to a page that gives you the ability to create new articles/contents. You’ll be able to write new articles, feature or unfeature your article, publish or unpublish your article, select category for your new article, etc.

Articles

This page displays all of your published and unpublished articles. It also allows you delete, modify, create, feature, unfeature, publish or unpublish (etc) any article.

Category

The category page displays all of the created categories of your Joomla website. It gives you the ability to manage all of your categories, you can create new categories, delete existing categories, modify existing categories, etc. You can do a lot on this page.

Media

The media page lets you manage all of your uploaded media files. That is, you can upload, delete, rename (etc) any media file available in your Joomla website.

Structure

This is another section in the Joomla control panel. This section provides you useful links to other pages of the Joomla backend, they allow you customise your Joomla website. These links are:

• Menu(s)
• Module

Menu(s)

A menu is a set of menuitems for website navigation.

This page displays all of your menus and menuitems, and gives you the ability to create, delete and even edit existing menus/menuitems.

Module

The modules pages allows you create, edit, publish, duplicate any module.

Users

The users section of Joomla’s control panel gives you access to manage your Joomla website users.

User

This page lets you manage all of your site’s users. It gives you the ability to create, delete, modify, assign any user to groups, etc. Modifying a user include: changing of userpassword, assigning/changing of user group/permission, etc.

Configuration

This is the most powerful section in Joomla’s control panel. It provides you powerful links that enable you change your backend/frontend template, set site offline, set/configure SEO meta tags, etc. These links include:

• Global Configuration
• Templates
• Language

Global Configuration

The name of this page makes it self explanatory to anyone. This is a very powerful page in Joomla admin area.

You can configure your website by setting the meta tags which is under SEO settings, set global permission, place website offline, etc.

Templates

This page lets you edit, install, change the backend and frontend templates. This page is responsible for the appearance of your Joomla website, since it gives you the ability to install or change backend and frontend design.

Language

The language page gives you the ability to set administrative/backend preferred language, set frontend/client side (the part visitors see) language, install new languages, etc.

Extension

This section enables you manage all of your Joomla extension.

Install Extensions

This page gives you the ability to install new extensions.

You can install Joomla extensions by manually uploading any copy of Joomla extension you have in your local storage or by URL method. The URL method automatically installs the extension for you when you enter the extension URL.

Maintenance

The maintenance section of Joomla has to do with the current version of Joomla software or the versions of the installed Joomla extensions. It provides you 2 group of links that checks if you are running the latest version of Joomla or installed extensions. These 2 group of links include:

• Joomla is upto Date
• All Extensions are upto Date

Joomla is upto Date

This page gives you the ability to upgrade/update your Joomla website to the latest version if you aren’t running the latest version of Joomla software. It checks for Joomla software update, gives you ability to manually upgrade/update your Joomla website by having to upload any copy of Joomla software you’d like to upgrade/update to.

We always recommend you to run the latest version of Joomla. If you want to enjoy full security and new functionalities, upgrade to the latest version!

All Extensions are upto Date

This page checks if all of the installed extensions in your Joomla website are running their latest versions. You can also check for updates on your installed Joomla extensions.

You’ll enjoy new functionalies if you upgrade all of your installed extensions to their latest versions.

To avoid creating exploitable vulnerabilities, always keep your extensions upto date.

Latest Actions

This section displays all of the latest/new actions carried out by any of your Joomla users. An example is when a user just joined or logged into your Joomla website.

Logged-in User

The logged-in users section shows all the users that are currently logged-into your Joomla website!

Popular Articles

The popular articles’ section displays all the published articles that are popular in your Joomla website.

Recently Added Contents

This section of the Joomla control panel displays the list of the most recent articles published by any of your Joomla administrator or users.

You actually thought the backend of Joomla needed technical knowledge to understand. Now, this JovialGuide has taught you and made you understand how easy Joomla is.

See

• how to setup, install and run Joomla locally on android (step by step tutorial with pictures)
• how to learn/practice Joomla very fast for free (step by step tutorial)

Final Say

This JovialGuide has walked you through on the basics of Joomla’s control panel. You’ve now found out how easy the control panel/administrative/backend of Joomla is.

This JovialGuide is a must read for everyone, either you are starting to use Joomla or you have been using Joomla for ages.

We always love it whenever you share and comment on our tutorials. Please comment and share!