Proper configuration after installing Joomla is essential for a successful website. In this guide, we cover all important settings.

Accessing Global Configuration

  1. Log into Administrator
  2. Go to System > Global Configuration

Configuration Tabs

  • Site: General settings
  • System: Cache and session
  • Server: Database and email
  • Logging: Error logging
  • Text Filters: Content security

Site Settings

Site Tab

Site Settings:

  • Site Name: Your website name
  • Site Offline: Keep disabled unless maintaining
  • Default Editor: TinyMCE recommended
  • Default Captcha: Enable for forms

SEO Settings:

  • Search Engine Friendly URLs: Yes
  • Use URL Rewriting: Yes (requires .htaccess)
  • Adds Suffix to URL: Optional (.html)
  • Unicode Aliases: For non-Latin characters

Cookie Settings:

  • Cookie Domain: Usually blank
  • Cookie Path: Usually /

System Settings

System Tab

Debug Settings:

  • Debug System: No (for production)
  • Debug Language: No

Cache Settings:

  • Cache: ON - Progressive caching
  • Cache Handler: File (or Redis if available)
  • Cache Time: 15-60 minutes

Session Settings:

  • Session Lifetime: 15-30 minutes
  • Session Handler: Database or Redis

Server Settings

Server Tab

Path Settings:

  • Path to Temp Folder: Usually auto-detected
  • Path to Log Folder: Usually auto-detected

Server Settings:

  • Error Reporting: System Default
  • Force HTTPS: Entire Site (if SSL installed)
  • GZIP Page Compression: Yes

FTP Settings:

  • Usually not needed with proper permissions

Email Configuration

Mail Settings

Mail From:

  • Enter your site email address
  • Used as sender for system emails

Mailer:

  • PHP Mail (simple)
  • Sendmail (server-based)
  • SMTP (recommended)

SMTP Settings:

  • SMTP Host: Your SMTP server
  • SMTP Port: 587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL)
  • SMTP Security: TLS or SSL
  • SMTP Authentication: Yes
  • SMTP Username: Your email
  • SMTP Password: Email password

Testing Email

  1. Save configuration
  2. Go to Users > Manage
  3. Select user > Send email
  4. Verify delivery

User Configuration

User Settings

  1. Go to System > Global Configuration > Users
  2. Configure:
    • Allow User Registration: As needed
    • New User Registration Group: Registered
    • Guest User Group: Guest
    • Password Options

User Groups

Default groups:

  • Public: Everyone
  • Registered: Logged in users
  • Author: Content creators
  • Editor: Content editors
  • Publisher: Can publish
  • Manager: Site management
  • Administrator: Full access
  • Super User: Everything

Media Settings

Media Configuration

  1. Go to System > Global Configuration > Media
  2. Configure:
    • Legal Extensions: jpg,jpeg,png,gif,webp
    • Maximum Size: As needed
    • Path to Images Folder
    • Restricted Uploads: Yes

Image Settings

  • Maximum Image Width
  • Maximum Image Height
  • Quality percentage

Article Settings

Article Options

  1. Go to Content > Articles > Options
  2. Configure defaults:
    • Show Author: Yes/No
    • Show Category: Yes/No
    • Show Date: Yes/No
    • Show Hits: Yes/No

Category Options

  1. Go to Content > Categories > Options
  2. Configure category display

SEO Configuration

URL Structure

  1. Enable SEF URLs
  2. Enable URL Rewriting
  3. Rename htaccess.txt to .htaccess
  4. Configure routing component

Metadata

  1. Go to System > Global Configuration
  2. Fill in:
    • Site Meta Description
    • Site Meta Keywords
    • Robots settings

Per-Page SEO

Each article/menu can have:

  • Custom meta title
  • Meta description
  • Meta keywords (less important now)
  • Robots instructions
  1. Go to Menus
  2. Manage existing menus
  3. Create new menus as needed

Types include:

  • Single Article
  • Category Blog
  • Category List
  • External URL
  • Menu Item Alias

Module Configuration

Module Manager

  1. Go to Content > Site Modules
  2. Arrange modules by position
  3. Configure display options

Common Positions

  • Header
  • Sidebar
  • Footer
  • Main content area
  • Custom positions

Template Configuration

Template Settings

  1. Go to System > Templates > Site Templates
  2. Select your template
  3. Configure:
    • Logo
    • Colors
    • Fonts
    • Layout options

Security Configuration

Basic Security

  1. Change admin folder (via plugin)
  2. Use strong passwords
  3. Enable 2FA
  4. Keep updated

.htaccess Protection

Protect configuration:

  • Block direct access to certain files
  • Prevent directory listing

Performance Settings

Optimization

  1. Enable caching
  2. Enable GZIP
  3. Optimize images
  4. Use CDN if available

Need Help?

We are here for you! If you run into any issues or have questions, our support team is happy to help you personally. Send us a message through the ticket system - we usually respond within a few hours and are happy to assist you.