One of the things that makes it worthwhile to design and develop websites using the Joomla CMS is the endless supply of high quality Joomla templates (free, commercial and even custom-made) that are available to you to both use and edit based on your needs.
You can then use these to make your site look and feel as special, fresh and interactive as you want it without needlessly spending money in the process.
Here, I will show you a quick and easy 3-step process to getting and installing Joomla templates on your website.
I call it the 'PDI Formula'.
Don't worry, it has nothing to do with complicated mathematical or philosophical algorithms or geek talk.
;) If you are ready, here are the steps: 1.
Procure: This is where you go out there and get the best Joomla templates that you can get for your website.
There are technically 3 types of Joomla templates that are available to you, going by the cost of getting them and the resulting quality.
(Yes, the old 'you get what you pay for' saying applies here, too).
These templates are: a.
Free Joomla Templates: These are the ones that are out there that anyone can install and use on their sites.
They mostly come with strings attached.
They are either ad-supported, require live links to the template designer's website or a combination of both.
b.
Commercial Joomla Templates: These are for sale and have none of the strings associated with free Joomla templates attached.
You can buy commercial (or premium) Joomla templates one at a time, in packages or through monthly subscriptions to Joomla Template Clubs.
The commercial ones also have more template customization options than the free ones and usually look and feel far more professional than the free ones for obvious reasons: you paid money for these ones.
c.
Custom-Designed Joomla Templates: This is when you approach a template designer, give them information about the what you need and have them make a Joomla template just for you.
This usually costs a little higher than the commercial templates as they are tailored to your particular needs and custom-made for your delight and ego, so to say.
2.
Download: The second step in setting up your Joomla template is to download it to your computer.
Whether you are working with free, premium or custom-made templates, you will have to do this to before you upload and install the template on your Joomla web site.
3.
Upload and Install: Once you have the template on your computer, the next step is to upload it to your website.
You can do this manually by logging onto your Joomla hosting account's Control Panel (from where you usually manage files, emails, check websites stats, etc.
You get the point! ) You will then go the (from where you manage the files on your website), navigate to the directory where you installed Joomla, click on the folder where the Joomla templates are stored and upload the new Joomla template to the same folder.
The easier, simpler and more preferable way to install your new template is to login to the admin area (backend) of your Joomla website (the /administrator directory, from where you manage all aspects of your site) and upload it from there.
You can do this by opening the 'Extensions' tab and clicking on the 'Upload and Install' link after selecting the template from your computer.
It should be uploaded and installed in a minute (usually in a few seconds after you click on the upload link).
And, that's it! You have just uploaded and installed a new Joomla template on your website.
The next thing you may want to learn maybe be how to modify the template to suit your planned theme for the website!