What is a Joomla template?
Joomla is a free tool for building websites. A template controls how your site looks. It sets colors, fonts and layout. It is like the clothes your site wears. The words stay the same, but the style changes.
A template comes as a ZIP file. A ZIP file is a folder squeezed into one small file.
Before you start
Take a backup of your site first. Some templates change how your pages are laid out. Keep the ZIP file closed. Do not unzip it.
Steps: install the template
- Download the template ZIP file to your computer. Some downloads hold more than one ZIP. If so, unzip the big file once and look for the ZIP named "template".
- Log in to your Joomla admin area. The address is your site name plus
/administrator. - Click System in the left menu.
- Under Install, click Extensions.
- Open the Upload Package File tab.
- Drag your ZIP file into the box, or click to choose it.
- Wait for the green success message.
Steps: make it your active template
- Click System, then under Site Templates or Templates, click Site Template Styles.
- Find your new template in the list.
- Click the star next to its name. The star turns gold. This makes it the default.
- Open your website in a new tab and refresh the page.
Tip: You can try a template on one page only. Open the template, go to the Menu Assignment tab, and choose the pages you want.
Old Joomla 3 menus
Joomla 3 is old. There you click Extensions, then Manage, then Install. After that, click Extensions, then Templates, then Styles. Newer versions work in a similar way.
If something looks wrong
Go back to Site Template Styles and star your old template. Your site goes back to how it was. Clear your browser cache if the old look still shows.
Quick recap
- A template controls how your site looks.
- Upload the ZIP in System, Install, Extensions.
- Click the star in Site Template Styles to use it.
- Back up first, and switch back if you do not like it.