Joomla Blog

Menu Item:

An entry in a Joomla Menu that links a URL to a specific page on a website, along with that page's style settings and layout. Menu Items determine both the main content of a page and the way that the content is displayed.

The number of Menu Item Types available will vary depending on the number of extensions installed in a Joomla website. Often, there will be one or more Menu Item Types that are specific to each extension. This is in addition to the default Article display types and others automatically installed with Joomla.

Language:

A specific Joomla Extension type that provides a method of translating pieces of text in both the front end of a website as well as the Administrator interface.

The ability to add different languages by installing different language packs is one of Joomla's main strengths in the international community. Joomla comes shipped with core language packs, such as English, but third party language packs can also be easily installed into a Joomla website. Languages add a great amount of flexibility in terms of translating a website and offering access to many different areas of the world.

Component:

A specific type of Joomla extension. Components are similar to small applications in that they do work for a website or add functionality.

Setup, configuration and modification of component behavior is usually managed through the Joomla Administrator. Some components, such as Banners and Contacts, are installed with the Joomla core installation, while others are third party software packages that you download and install yourself.

Extension:

A native or third party piece of software that extends the functionality of Joomla to enhance either the front end experience, the back end Administrator or both.

The term extension can mean a software package that has been developed for a specific task in a Joomla website, or it can also be a very generic term that encompasses the more specific types of extensions available for Joomla, such as components, modules, plugins and templates.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets):

In web design terms, CSS refers to the language used to control the visual display or presentation of a web page. It can also refer to the actual files used for this purpose. In Joomla, CSS files are a main part of a template package.

Thanks to CSS, Joomla websites can have any number of different layouts, and the possibilities with the "look and feel" of a web page are almost endless. Even within one Joomla installation, the application of different style sheets can give blog categories a completely independent appearance.

Category:

The upper level organizational element in Joomla used to contain similar Articles.

Storing content in Joomla is similar to storing content on your computer system. Just like your computer uses folders to organize files, Joomla uses Categories to store and organize website Articles.

Users:

the people who view and optionally manage a website. There are several types of Joomla users and various permissions can be assigned to groups of users.

Articles:

The main type of content that appears on a Joomla powered website.

Content:

Anything that appears on a website. For example, text, images, audio and video.

A website without content is like a book without pages. Of course content is not a term unique to Joomla, but it is used a lot, so let's take a look at some usage examples.