Here are several basic points about the Joomla CMS (Content Management System) that will help you understand how your website is built.

The pages on your website are made up of ARTICLES and MENUS. Everything on your website is stored in a database that, in most cases, you will never need to access. The functionality of your site is increased with the addition of MODULES, PLUGINS and COMPONENTS, which are referred to as EXTENSIONS. The graphic design theme is determined by the TEMPLATE your website designer has chosen for you.

ARTICLE: An article is your main page of content consisting of text (HTML), possibly with links to other resources (for example, images). For websites with many articles, you can divide them by category to help keep things manageable. Articles are editable from the front-end user login. Menus, extensions, modules, plugins and certain parts of most components are not.

MENUS: Every website has a main menu, but it is also possible to create multiple sub-menus, or menus totally separate from the main menu and place them anywhere on your website.

TEMPLATE: There are thousands of templates available for Joomla. The version of Joomla CMS you are using will determine which templates you can use.

EXTENTIONS: Extensions add to the functionality of your website. There are thousands of extensions available for Joomla. Many are free. This is a powerful way of extending the functionality of Joomla. It also offers extension developers a way to allow other extensions to respond to their actions, making extensions extensible.You can read more about Joomla extensions at http://extensions.joomla.org.

MODULES: Modules are often "boxes" arranged around (and sometimes in) your pages. There are many different kinds of modules such as a login module, a menu module, a latest news module, a thumbnail gallery module, etc. The placement of the module is defined by the template you are using and where your website designer has chosen to place it on any particular page.

PLUGINS: A plugin is a kind of extension. Plugins provide functions which are associated with trigger events within a page or module. For example, to embed a video clip withing the HTML of a page, a plugin is required.

COMPONENTS: A component is a kind of extension and can be seen as mini-applications. An easy analogy would be that Joomla! is the operating system and the components are desktop applications. A Photo Gallery is a Component that does not come with Joomla, but is created and sold by a third-party company. Most components have two main parts: an administrator part and a site part. The site part is what is used to render pages when being called during normal site operation. The administrator part provides an interface to configure and manage different aspects of the component and is accessible through the Joomla! administrator application. Joomla! comes with a number of core components, like the content management system, contact forms and Web Links.

FRONT-END USER ADMIN: I have setup your Joomla site to include this front-end user admin area that allows you to edit articles. You can login to edit existing articles, or create a new article that is submitted for review and addition. This allows me to check the underlying code and content to make sure it will display correctly. I also need to link to the article from a menu.

BACK-END USER ADMIN: The back-end admin area is what your webmaster uses to set up the entire Joomla site. This area requires "Super Admin" access, as it is possible to destroy your entire website in a matter of minutes if you click the wrong buttons. In some cases you may have access to this area with proper instruction and training.