The Joomla template and its associated files provide the visual
look and feel of your website and are maintained separately from the
site's content.
You can create your own templates if you want, but you'll need
some serious HTML and CSS knowledge. Alternatively, you can buy or
download one of the many templates available online.
Templates are usually downloaded as a zipped archive which is installed on your server from the Template Installer.
Installing a template is super easy! Just login to your admin, and
Select Installers -> Templates from the menu.
You can then choose to make the template you've just installed the default for your site.
Changing the entire look of your site is as simple as switching from
one template to another. Most users try four or five templates before
they settle on the one they like the most.
How To Spot A Good Template
A good template should have most of the following features:
- Flexible layout with many module placement positions
- Layout options
- Valid XHTML and valid CSS
- Flexible customization
- Joomla 1.0+ and Mambo 4.5.2/4.5.3 compatibility
- Fireworks/Photoshop Source Files included
- Very light weight and fast loading
- Good source order and high optimization for SEO
If the template provider offers free templates, we recommend that you
download and try them before paying. The samples should provide a good
indication of the quality of the company's work.
When it's time to finally choose a look for your site, we highly recommend purchasing a professional template.
Template Club vs. Pay Per Template
There are two ways to purchase templates.
You can join a template club for a pre-defined amount of time (usually
a year or three months, etc.) during which time you can download all
the new templates issued. (They often come out at the beginning of each
month.) Some clubs will even give you access to previous templates
giving you a much broader choice.
Prices are usually between $25 and $75 USD per year.
Alternatively, you can pay-per-template, buying each template you wish
to download individually. Prices are usually between $20 and $50 USD
per template. Clearly, if you're thinking of downloading several
templates, this is not a good deal but if you see a template you REALLY
like, then go for it! This will, after all, be the look that gives your
site its appeal.
Where To Find Free Templates
RocketTheme.com now offers a few free templates that are of genuinely high quality. We recommend them. Click
here and then on FREE TEMPLATES on the top menu.
JoomlaShack.com also offers a few free templates. Click
here and then on Free Joomla Templates.
Joomlaya.com has a huge selection of free templates that are also worth a look.
And Mambohut.com has a collection of free templates at
http://www.mambohut.com/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,123/
Where To Find Paid Templates?
Template clubs
RocketTheme.com
$50 for 3 months, or $75 for a year.
RocketTheme has the best Joomla templates available and provides
membership in an exclusive Joomla template club. Joomla templates are
easily installed in the Joomla administrator, and can quickly transform
your generic-looking website into a professional showcase for your
business, products or even personal blog.
Membership in the
RocketTheme Template Club
provides exclusive access to a private collection of commercial quality
Joomla templates and complete access to all existing club templates.
These templates are created specifically for club members so you are
guaranteed not to find them elsewhere in the Joomla or Mambo community.
The membership fee is an amazing value when you consider the number of
templates to which you will have access. Also don't forget to consider
the access you receive to the exclusive Rocket Theme Club forums.
TemplatePlazza
$35 USD per year
Membership of
TemplatePlazza will give you access to a huge amount of
professional resources to help you design your Joomla/ Mambo website.
You'll find high quality templates, logo design, icons, templates with
flash headers, and banner templates etc. Give it a look!
Joomlart.com
$39 per year
Sign up to the
Joomlart.com template club, and you'll get:
- All of JoomlArt templatesboth the released templates and future templates (including editable psd files and fonts etc.)
- A wide range of other resources, such as swf, flash, logos and headers etc.
- A highly competitive membership fee. (At just $39 USD per year, it's the lowest in the Joomla/ Mambo Community.)
- New templates released twice each month and existing templates updated with new releases of Joomla.
- One premium template released every month.
JoomlaSolutions.com
JoomlaSolutions.com's Template Club has been the original resource for
professional templates since December 2003 and currently offers more
than 30 professional quality Mambo/Joomla! templates. The company's
templates are pre-made Web designs which can be easily customized to
reflect your company's branding. They're ready to install and run on
Mambo 4.5.3 or Joomla! 1.0.x powered website.
Best of all though, when you subscribe to this Template Club, you get a
professional collection of commercial quality mambo templates for Mambo
versions 4.5.1, 4.5.2 and 4.5.3 and now Joomla 1.0.x including Adobe
Photoshop CS source files. You'll have access to all the club's current
templates, plus at least one new template every month for the duration
of your chosen subscription period.
And JoomlaSolutions.com's templates are unique. Their templates are
created specifically for the Template Club members and are not
available anywhere else.
Joomlalingo.com
$25 per year
Joomlalingo.com
membership gives you a year of full access to their professional
templates and other resources for designing good quality Joomla / Mambo
websites.
Join
joomlalingo.com for only $24.95 and you'll get unlimited access for a full year to all of the company's Joomla templates and designs.
Template stores
Joomlashack.com is a reliable retailer with professional templates available for between $25 and $35 USD.
