I’m here to guide you through creating a new article in Joomla 5, the core of your website’s content. Whether you’re sharing a blog post or a page, adding an article is straightforward with Joomla’s Administrator Dashboard. Let’s get started with this step-by-step guide.
Why Create Articles in Joomla 5?
Articles are the foundation of your Joomla website, holding text, images, and links to share your content with visitors. Each article belongs to a category (or can be uncategorized), helping you keep your site organized. This tutorial will show you how to create an article from scratch using Joomla’s default editor.
Understanding Uncategorized Articles
In Joomla 5, articles assigned to the Uncategorized category are like standalone pages. I use these for content that doesn’t fit neatly into my site’s category structure, such as a Contact Me page, Privacy Policy, or Terms of Use. These articles can still be linked to menus for easy access, but they don’t group with other content in a category. This makes them perfect for unique, independent pages on your website.
In WordPress, pages are created under their "Pages" dashboard section. Joomla handles all article types under "Articles".
Step-by-Step Guide to Adding a New Article
Follow these steps to create a new article in Joomla 5. I’ll walk you through each part of the process, and I’ve included screenshots.
1. Log In to the Administrator Dashboard
First, I’ll log in to my Joomla 5 Administrator Dashboard. Navigate to your site’s backend (usually yourwebsite.com/administrator) and enter your credentials. Once logged in, you can now begin writing articles for your blog or creating standalone pages.
2. Access the Article Manager
Once logged in, method one is to go to Content > Articles in the left-hand menu and then click on the + icon. The other method is to click the + icon in the "Articles" box. The third option is to go to the Articles main section and click on the New button:
3. Enter the Article Title
In the Title field, I type the name of my article, like “Welcome to My Joomla Site.” This title appears on your site wherever the article is displayed. The Alias field below it is optional—Joomla auto-generates it for SEO-friendly URLs if left blank.
4. Assign a Category
I select a category from the Category dropdown, such as “Blog” or “News.” If you haven’t set up categories yet, you can choose “Uncategorized” or check out my tutorial on creating categories. Categories keep your content organized!
5. Write Your Content
In the content editor (TinyMCE by default), I write or paste my article’s text. It’s like using a word processor—add text, format it, or embed images and links as needed. Don’t worry about advanced settings yet; I’ll cover those in other tutorials.
6. Configure Additional Settings (Optional)
Above the editor, there are tabs like Images and Links, Options, and Publishing. For example, I can add a featured intro image in the Images and Links tab to display on blog listings, in addition, I can add a full article image (featured image) when viewing the full article. I usually leave most settings as default for simplicity, but you can explore them for customization.
7. Save Your Article
Now, I choose how to save my article using the toolbar buttons:
- Save: Saves changes and keeps the editor open—great for longer articles.
- Save & Close: Saves and returns to the Articles list, or if you click on the button's
- Save to Menu: Saves and opens a menu item creation page to link the article.
- Save & New: Saves and starts a new article, perfect for bulk content creation.
I click Save & Close to finish. Joomla will show a confirmation message if successful, or an error if I missed required fields like the title.
Tips for Success
- Save frequently to avoid losing work, especially for long articles.
- Check the Publishing tab to set start/end dates or access levels if needed.
- Preview your article from the frontend to ensure it looks right before publishing.
What’s Next?
With your first article created, your Joomla 5 website is coming to life! In my next tutorial, I’ll guide you through linking your article to a menu so visitors can easily find it.
Continue to the Next Tutorial: How to add images to an article