Joomla

Yes. Joomla is free, open-source software. You only pay for hosting, a domain name, and any paid templates or extensions you choose.

Yes, for sites that need structure. Joomla 6 came out in 2025, gets regular updates, and has multilingual sites, user access and custom fields built in.

Start new sites on Joomla 6. Stay on Joomla 5.4 for now only if your template or an extension you need isn't ready for 6 yet: Joomla 5 gets security fixes until 12 October 2027.

WordPress is simpler for blogs and has more plugins. Joomla does more without extensions: several languages, member-only content and custom fields come built in.

PHP 8.4 for Joomla 6 and PHP 8.3 for Joomla 5. Change it in your hosting panel; most hosts let you switch in one click.

Install XAMPP or MAMP, unzip Joomla into its htdocs folder, create a database in phpMyAdmin, then open localhost/your-folder in the browser.

Any host with PHP 8.3+, MySQL 8 or MariaDB, SSH or a file manager, and daily backups. Avoid plans that limit uploads below 64 MB.

Your server stopped the script. Raise max_execution_time to 300 in the PHP settings, empty the database, and run the installer again.

Update to the latest Joomla 5.4 and PHP 8.3, make a backup, and turn off the old Backward Compatibility plugin. Then set the update channel to "Joomla Next" and run the update – on a test copy of your site first.

The download was damaged. Click Check for updates and try again; if it fails again, download the update package from joomla.org and use Upload & Update.

Only after everything works without it. It keeps older extensions running; turn it off on a copy of your site first and test.

Back up first, then open System → Update → Joomla and click Update. Patch updates (like 6.2.1 → 6.2.2) take a minute and keep your content and settings.

No. Joomla 3 templates don't run on Joomla 4 and later. Pick a new template, or have yours rebuilt for the current version.

Back up with Akeeba Backup, upload the backup and Kickstart to the new host, and restore. It moves files and database and updates the settings for you.

An old extension is still active. Disable it (in the database if the admin won't load), then update or replace it.

Clear your browser cookies, empty the session table, and check that Cookie Domain and Cookie Path in Global Configuration are blank or match the new address.

The server refuses the file. Folders should be 755 and files 644; also check your .htaccess for blocking rules.

PHP stopped with an error it isn't allowed to show. Turn on error reporting or open your server's error log to see the message.

Use SMTP: enter your mail provider's details in Global Configuration → Server → Mail, use an address on your own domain as sender, and click Send Test Mail.

The log folder path is wrong, often after a move. Set the right path in Global Configuration → System → Path to Log Folder.

Use "Forgot your password?" on the site's login page. No reset email arriving? Use one of the official recovery methods: a temporary Super User in configuration.php, or a reset in phpMyAdmin.

A cookie or session problem. Clear your browser cookies, empty the session table, and check Cookie Domain in configuration.php is blank.

User groups say who someone is (Registered, Editor…); access levels say which groups can see something. Permissions say what a group may do.

Your site can't send email. Set up SMTP in Global Configuration → Server → Mail and send a test mail.

System → Install → Extensions: upload the template zip. Then make it the default in System → Site Template Styles (the star).

In Cassiopeia, create the file user.css in System → Site Templates → Cassiopeia → New File; it loads automatically. Other templates have a Custom CSS option.

Content → Fields: create the field and pick the categories it belongs to. It then appears as a tab when you edit an article.

Install the languages, turn on the Language Filter plugin, create a home page per language, and add the Language Switcher module.

Rename htaccess.txt to .htaccess, then turn on Use URL Rewriting in Global Configuration → Site → SEO.

Your server needs mod_rewrite (Apache) or a rewrite rule (Nginx). Ask your host, or set RewriteBase in .htaccess if Joomla is in a subfolder.

Edit the menu item: Page Display → Browser Page Title, and Metadata → Meta Description. For single articles, use the article's Publishing tab.

Turn on caching and Gzip in Global Configuration, use WebP images, and remove extensions you don't use. Good hosting matters most.

Upload the .jpa file and Kickstart to your server, open kickstart.php in the browser, and follow the steps.

Edit your user account → Multi-factor Authentication: pick an authenticator app or a passkey and follow the steps.

Joomla emails super users when an update is out. You can also follow the Joomla Security Centre (developer.joomla.org/security-centre).

Install Akeeba Backup (free), click Backup Now, and download the .jpa file. Keep copies off your server too.