Joomla Template Directory

A tree planted and a
community supported with
every new account

We are the only green host (using renewable energy to power our servers, NOT just carbon cedits!) that offers:

SEH Tutorials

Joomla Resources

Joomla Template Tips

Only templates designed specifically for Joomla (or it's precursor, Mambo) will function on a Joomla website.

Joomla templates are a combination of HTML and PHP.

From the administration area of your Joomla 1.0.X website you can access your template by clicking on Site>Template Manager>Site Templates.

Joomla 1.0.X templates and Joomla 1.5 templates are not compatible, although many companies are now offering their templates for both versions of Joomla.

Joomla 1.0.X Templates contain a "Main Body" area, and "module positions."

Never, ever, use pirated templates. They can contain malicious code.

Joomla templates vary greatly in file size, which can affect download time. Faster templates usually contain fewer images. The less stylesheets your template has, the better.

The main stylesheet associated with a Joomla template is usually called template_css.css.

The file that controls the HTML of the template is called the index.php file. It is located in the root of your Joomla templates folder. Your template's folder is located in the directory called "templates" which can be found at the root level of your Joomla website.

It is relatively easy to make CSS valid and XHTML Transitional valid templates. It is more challenging to make the Jooma 1.0.X series fully 508 accessible. Accessibility has been improved for Joomla 1.5.

The Joomla CSS by default outputs a predefined set of HTML and styles.

If you are new to Joomla templating, and want to start making your own templates, a good first step is to procure a template from a template site that has an active forum. Then you will be able to ask for help from others who have direct questions about that specific template.

Use the FireBug Firefox plugin to trouble shoot template problems.

The forums at http://www.joomla.org have two sections specifically for templating questions. One for Joomla 1.0.X and one for Joomla 1.5.

You can assign multiple templates to your Joomla website. Any Joomla menu item can have a template assigned to it.

Although the Joomla template controls many styles, many module and component styles are controlled by separated stylesheets that can be found within that component or modules folder structure.

If you alter your Joomla template, make sure that you test your website in many browsers, especially Internet Explorer 6. Different browsers will display HTML and CSS very differently.

Some free templates are very good; we have had great results with free templates from www.rockettheme.com, www.joomlashack.com, and www.joomlajunkie.com.

2Checkout.com is an authorized retailer of Solar Energy Host!
We are Joomla! experts and have optimized our servers for it. We take pride in your Joomla! website running perfectly. We can also build you a Joomla! website for an amazingly low cost! What is Joomla!? Click here.