Joomla Tutorials: All About Menus in Joomla Websites

The links on your website that visitors will use to navigate are generally in what is known as a menu. Menus offer links that allow users to navigate to other parts of your Joomla web site. The default menus in a fresh Joomla installation are the "main menu", "top menu", "user menu" and "other menu". You can also create your own menus. When there is a menu, there is also a corresponding module to display the menu on the Joomla web page.

Regardless of where it is placed, the "User Menu" is only visible to registered visitors after they log in. It allows users with the right permissions to submit web links, change their password, and access other member options.

There are different types of links you can add to your menus. Some of the most commonly used ones are as follows:

Link to Content Section or Category: This allows you to place a link to a table or blog roll of all the content items in a particular section or category. A blog roll will show all of the content that is in a specific section or category while a table will display a table of content item titles in a specific section or category.

Link to Wrapper: A wrapper is a web site within a web site. If you wanted to show a google map on your web site, you would choose the wrapper option in the new link area and enter the URL to that map in the URL field. You can adjust the width, height and other parameters of the window that shows the website you are embedding into your Joomla site.

Link to a component: This allows viewers to access one of your components such as a calendar, staff directory, etc.

Link URL: This allows you to place a link into a menu that is connected to a specific URL. This can be a URL from your Joomla web site or a URL somewhere else on the web.

Remember: When you add a link to a menu, choose whether you want it to direct to the new page in a new window or if you want a new window to pop up. You will choose this on the right side of the link parameters page.