Joomla! Sections and Categories

Joomla! has content buckets called sections and categories. A section can contain one or more categories. Before any new content or article can be published you need to specify both the section and category for it. Just as an example, if I would maintain a Joomla! powered programming site I would define a section named programming with the following categories java, ruby, python, fun, etc.

It is incredibly easy to create a section via the Section Manager. After you have added a section you need to create a category for it. Both sections and categories can have a description and image icon associated with them.

New Content Editor

In the New Content item editor you can assign the section and category to the article to be pubished. In most Joomla! templates the article’s section and category are used to create a breadcrumb trail. Well, this only works when you add the section to the main menu! If you don’t add the section to the main menu the breadcrumb trail will default to Home | Blog | Article Title.

To add your newly created section to the main menu, drill down to the main menu (mainmenu) menu items via the Menu Manager from the Control Panel. Create a new Menu Item for mainmenu. In the New Menu Item wizard select the List – Content Section radio button and click the Next arrow. Name your menu item and select the newly created section for the menu item. Click save and you’re done. At this point your breadcrumbs will correctly display your newly created section and category.

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