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Joomla: Create Your First Article and Add It to a Menu

Getting Started · Joomla 4, 5, 6 · Updated June 1, 2026

✅ Verified on Joomla 5.4.6: the component names below (“Articles”, menus) match the live admin.

In Joomla, content lives in Articles, and visitors reach it through Menus. Here’s the essential first workflow.

Step 1 — Create an article

  1. In the admin, go to Content → Articles.
  2. Click New.
  3. Give it a Title and write your content in the editor.
  4. (Optional) Set a Category on the right — Joomla creates an “Uncategorised” one by default, which is fine to start.
  5. Click Save & Close. Make sure the article’s status is Published.

Step 2 — Add it to a menu

An article isn’t visible until something links to it. The cleanest way is a menu item:

  1. Go to Menus → (your menu, e.g. Main Menu) → Add New Menu Item.
  2. Enter a Menu Title.
  3. For Menu Item Type, click Select → Articles → Single Article.
  4. Choose the article you just created.
  5. Save & Close.

Visit your site — the new menu item now opens your article.

Tip: the home page

Every Joomla menu has one item marked as Default (the home page, shown with a star). To change what shows on the front page, set a different menu item as Default, or point the Default item at the content you want.

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