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The difference between modules and components

Unless you understand the difference between a module and a component, you will find it very difficult to administer your Joomla installation. This article will explain the difference between modules and components and give examples of the usage of each of them.

Modules

Modules are usually small pieces of functionality designed to present information in your site. They can appear a number of times, on a number of pages in various positions. On the contrary components are a full blown application, usually quite complex and are to the main body if a page. Also each module can be viewed in various pages, and the position of each module can be easily changed. You are allowed to select the menu items where a module is displayed.  A good example of the usage of this functionality is targeted advertising. If your site has various sections, you can create module for each section. Each module will contain a targeted advert for the section. Now instead of showing all the modules, all the time, you customise the visibility of the module such that each advert is displayed only in the relevant menu links. Below you can see a screenshot of how to choose the menu items where a module is displayed. The module is displayed in the highlighted menu items only.

Typical examples of standard Joomla modules are the following. As we can see the function of each of the modules mentioned is quite restricted.

3rd Party Modules include

Installed modules can be found in the Modules > Site Modules menu, or Installers > Modules. Configuration of modules is typically very easy, and is done by clicking on the module in Site Modules page.

Components

On the other hand, a Joomla component is typically more complex, with extensive functionality and capabilities. A component can only be displayed in the main area of a page, and can only be displayed in a single page (usually). Links to components are usually done by creating menu items as shown in the image below. Components usually have a particular page or pages for their configuration.

Standard Joomla Components

3rd Party Components

The Joomla Extensions site lists an extensive number of free and commercial templates. There are also reviews and voting mechanisms to help you decide exactly what extensions are best for your needs. Also the Components section of this site, describes a number of extensions which we have found to be very useful.

Warning: 3rd party extension may compromise your site's security. Always make sure that your code comes from a trusted source.