When you’re building a website, you have a lot of platform choices. And for a lot of people, the choice—whether they ultimately go with WordPress, Wix, Joomla, or another platform—is the templates available. Your website’s template determines what it can and can’t do, which extensions you can use and ultimately, how the website looks and feels. If you’re going with Joomla, it’s time to familiarize yourself with Joomla templates.
Sometimes, finding the perfect template for your website can be overwhelming. To help you out, we’ve rounded up the best Joomla templates in five distinct categories. We looked at each template’s technical features, customization options, compatibility with other Joomla products and key design components to narrow it down to these twenty.
Joomla at a glance
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Joomla is an open-source content management system (CMS). With it, you can build a website or a web application. If you’re thinking Joomla sounds similar to WordPress…you’re right. Both are open source content management systems, both enable users to build functional websites without having to write code and both utilize templates to give websites specific looks, feels and functionalities.
So what makes Joomla different from WordPress…and other CMS options, for that matter? Joomla is fairly advanced when compared to other content management systems, so for newer users, it can have a steep learning curve. But for users with technical knowledge, this can mean greater customization options and more control over a website’s look and functionality. This also makes it more flexible.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Joomla and WordPress, though, is that with Joomla, you can use multiple templates on the same website. In other words, if you have different pieces of content that you need to have drastically different functionalities, Joomla allows you to use different templates for them. With WordPress, you’re stuck with one theme and the templates that come packaged with that theme.
With Joomla, you’ll need to purchase web hosting from a separate provider. It’s a DIY option meant for users who are comfortable managing the “techier” end of building and maintaining a website, versus hosted options like Squarespace and Wix.
Table of contents
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- Best Joomla templates for ecommerce
- Best Joomla templates for portfolios
- Best Joomla templates for offline businesses and events
- Best standalone landing page templates
- Best all-around Joomla templates
Best Joomla templates for ecommerce
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MegaDeal II
As far as ecommerce templates go, MegaDeal II really is a mega deal. You get a ton of features and options with this template, like niche-specific designs, the SP Page Builder Pro extension with 41 premium add-ons to customize your website and a drop-down currency toggle, so visitors can see prices in their local currencies.
Price:
- $59
Key features:
- Bundled with VirtueMart 3, a well-known Joomla ecommerce platform
- Device-responsive, which means it looks the same on every device
- Quickstart package to build your website more quickly
- Mouseover animations on product listings that allow visitors to see product pages or add products to their carts in just one click
Corner Shop
Corner Shop, another fleshed-out ecommerce template, gives you the power to customize your store in any way you want. Need bigger menus? No problem, you’ve got a mega menu. Want a totally unique look down to the letter? Corner Shop doesn’t limit your font choices—choose from more than 600 Google fonts and unlimited font-face kits. Looking to rank higher? Corner Shop’s got built-in SEO features too.
Price:
- platinum membership to YouJoomla costs $68/year
Key features:
- Mega Menu, a customizable extended menu that provides additional menu options and aids SEO
- Supports Hikashop, a comprehensive ecommerce solution for Joomla
- An unlimited number of font types
- Custom shortcodes
- Fully responsive
Style X
This stylish, modern template is perfect for any stylish streetwear brand—or any other fashion brand! In this template, you’ve got lots of options for showcasing your products, like gallery photos with mouseover animations, large photos as page breaks and a big, animated hero image.
Price:
- $39
Key features:
- Social media widgets: Facebook “Like” box, Twitter timeline, Pinterest profile
- Allows users to log in to websites via social media
- Google Maps integration
- Blog
- Responsive
- Parallax scrolling
- Background video capabilities
- Color switcher, so you can easily change your website’s colors
JA Playstore
If you’re selling games, game accessories, subscriptions to gaming content, or anything else gaming, check out JA Playstore. This template, built specifically for gaming-focused ecommerce websites, features a visually appealing, easy-to-navigate product gallery on the homepage alongside comprehensive drop-down and side menus.
Price:
- Available with a subscription to JoomlaArt for $89/year
Key features:
- Kunena, Joomla’s forum-building extension
- Responsive design
- Flexible drop-down menus
- Supports Acymailing, Joomla’s email and SMS marketing extension
Best Joomla templates for portfolios
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Photographer Portfolio
As you can probably tell from its name, Photographer Portfolio is a template designed for photographers. And if the name didn’t give it away, just look at it: your visit begins with a full-screen photo hero image and an option to view the gallery. Click the button and you reach a gallery of images that zoom in when you mouse over them…and that’s all on this page. It’s clean, it’s clear, and it keeps visitors’ focus on your work.
Price:
- $49
Key features:
- Responsive
- Retina ready. This means the template takes advantage of devices’ high-resolution capabilities to display the sharpest images possible
- Blog
- Forum
- Integrated Google Maps
- Log-in feature for guests
- An advanced search feature that allows visitors to easily find images and products
Folitz
Another portfolio template, Folitz also features a very large hero image. But unlike the previous portfolio template, Folitz feels more like a traditional website in that there’s content below the hero image and it’s organized into clear sections. This is a great choice if you need your website to be more than just your portfolio, like if you want to display testimonials or a brief introduction to your business on your homepage.
Price:
- $39
Key features:
- Integrated Google Maps
- Eye-catching mouseover animations on callout boxes
- Forum
- Blog
- Pricing tables
- Progress bars
- Counters
Blog Theme Joomla Template
Blog Theme Joomla Template. That’s its name. Blog Theme Joomla Template. It doesn’t sound too promising, does it? But we promise you this—it will make your portfolio look and feel very chic and classy. With a neat, streamlined look, this template is perfect for bloggers seeking the perfect showcase for their work.
Price:
- $39
Key features:
- Counters
- Progress bars
- Forum
- Social log-in
- Blog
- Pricing tables
Jacob Joomla Template
Another layout featuring a hero image that takes up the visitor’s entire screen, Jacob Joomla Template takes a cool approach to the navigation bar by positioning it beneath the hero image and using it as a page break. With large images throughout the homepage, this template is made for creators of highly visual content, like photographers and other visual artists. It feels fresh, yet intuitive.
Price:
- $49
Key features:
- Counters
- Pricing tables
- Social media icons
- Responsive
- Gallery images respond to mouseovers
Best Joomla templates for offline businesses and events
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JA Symphony
The first thing you’ll notice is that this template gives off that high-energy nightclub feel. That’s what makes it perfect for websites built to promote music-related events like concerts, album drops and events at clubs. With JA Symphony, you can show what’s hot, rather than telling it, through embedded videos and music pages that link to Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.
Price:
- Available with a subscription to JoomlaArt for $89/year
Key features:
- Custom CSS & SCSS editor
- CSS & JS optimization
- Mega Menu builder
- Tour page with video embedding capability
- Fully responsive
Pasta and Ravioli
Similar to a few other Joomla templates on this list, Pasta and Ravioli is meant for a pretty specific type of website: restaurants. With lots of large images on the homepage, Pasta and Ravioli makes it easy to showcase your business’ star: the food. It’s also got both a gallery and a blog so you can show off your creations in the format that suits them best.
Price:
- $49
Key features:
- Pricing tables
- Responsive
- Contact form
- Homepage elements load as the visitor scrolls down
Backpack story
When you want to induce wanderlust in your website’s visitors, do it by using Backpack Story as your template. This photo-heavy template showcases your images in a variety of ways: as a hero image, as the background of a page section, as graphics and as clickable blog thumbnails. While the template’s name suggests it’s ideal for a travel website (and it is), it can also be a great choice for any website that has something to show off, like a distillery that specializes in craft cocktails or a nature preserve that’s home to a variety of species. When you need an immersive website, Backpack Story provides the immersion.
Price:
- $49
Key features:
- Responsive
- Retina ready, which means it looks as sharp on a screen as it would in print when viewed at the optimal distance
- Blog
- Testimonials display
JA Fit
With a gym—and really, any kind of business that requires clients to physically come to your location—your website has to hook them in and make them want to visit. JA Fit, a Joomla template built specifically for gyms, is optimized to get people to want to come to your gym. How? Through dynamic image animations that make them pop in red, a clickable class schedule and big, bold action buttons to book training sessions or become a member.
Price:
- $89 with JoomlArt subscription
Key features:
- Five distinct theme colors
- Blog
- Fully responsive
- Supports DT Register, an advanced event registration tool
Best standalone landing page templates
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Flow
Flow is a highly customizable landing page template, which makes it perfect for any brand that needs a distinct, unique look. With Flow, you can make your intentions (signups) clear by adding signup input fields right in the hero image. Following this, body sections showcase who you are and what you’re all about. Then there is space to include a slideshow of testimonials. All in all, Flow is a solid, straightforward choice when you need a simple, effective landing page.
Price:
- $39 for 12 months of access
Key features:
- Works with jlnbound, a popular Joomla marketing extension
- Six color palettes
- Embedded with Shack Slides extension for building slideshows; includes a slideshow design exclusive to the Flow template
- Social icons
- Modular homepage design with 18 distinct layouts
JD Conference
With JD Conference, a Joomla landing page template designed specifically for large-scale events like conferences and conventions, excitement is built in from the very moment visitors reach the page with a large, ticking countdown clock in the hero image. The anticipation-building doesn’t stop there, either—just below, visitors can see all the details about the event, followed by a clickable gallery of speakers and links to their social profiles. Scrolling further, visitors see how every key point is worked into the landing page, fitting a whole website’s worth of content onto one engagement-growing page.
Price:
- Free, though there is a premium version as well
Key features:
- SEO
- Fully responsive
- Supports off-canvas menus, which are menus that reveal themselves by sliding the main page out of view
- Countdown timer
- Additional prebuilt page designs
- Google Maps integration
Impacto
If you aren’t confident in your template customization skills, but you need a great-looking landing page that converts, Impacto might be the perfect choice for you because it comes with pre-built landing pages. But that isn’t all it offers. Impacto also offers multiple color choices and module positions, so even if you go with a pre-built page, you can make it your own. With a big, bright call-to-action bar on the homepage, you can guarantee your visitors will always see exactly what you want them to see.
Price:
- $39 for 12 months of access
Key features:
- Four color choices
- 16 unique module positions
- Pre-built landing page designs
- Works with jlnbound, a popular Joomla marketing extension
- Built to be lightweight and load quickly
- Responsive
Startup Landing
Startup Landing is a landing page template meant specifically for apps and Saas but can be used for just about anything: webinars, books, products, services, anything, really. It has such a wide range of possibilities because it comes with multiple landing page layouts so you can choose exactly how you want your landing page to look. That’s not all this template offers—it’s also got seamless integration with multiple Joomla extensions, a spot to display user reviews and even additional page designs if you want or need to build your site out beyond a landing page.
Price:
- $41
Key features:
- Parallax scrolling
- Blog
- Card-style modular landing page design
- Gallery display
- Contact, Coming Soon, Registration and 404 pages included
Best all-around Joomla templates
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Helix3
In the world of Joomla templates, you’ll run into something that can be confusing at first: Helix3. It’s a template framework, which means it provides a foundation template designers can use to develop templates. But there’s also a template known as Helix3, and that’s what we’re talking about here. Helix3 is a highly customizable template that can give your website any unique look and feel you want to give it. That includes big images that animate upon mousing over them, parallax scrolling and multiple post formats so you can showcase any kind of media you’ve created.
Price:
- $41
Key features:
- Blog
- Responsive
- Off-canvas menu
- Compatible with multiple third party Joomla extensions like EasyDiscuss and VirtueMart
Purity III
Another versatile template, Purity III is a great choice for just about any kind of website because, as its name implies, it feels like a blank slate. Use it to blog, use it to display your portfolio, use it for your ecommerce store—Purity III has what you need to make it happen.
Price:
- Available with a subscription to JoomlaArt for $89/year
Key features:
- Eight distinct homepage layouts with flexible grids
- Compatible with multiple third party Joomla extensions like EasyBlog and MijoShop
- SEO-friendly code
- Fully responsive
AfterBurner2
One of AfterBurner2’s primary selling points is that it’s fast—would you expect anything different from a template with a name like AfterBurner2? There are a bunch of built-in features that speed up this template, like the Rokbooster compressing CSS and images and the one, single 3KB image in the layout.
Price:
- $59 for three months of access with Joomla Template Club membership
Key features:
- Built for speed and performance
- Social media icons
- Drop-down menus from a top navigation bar
- Three preset style variations
JA Helple
JA Helple advertises itself as a Joomla template specifically for charities, NGOs and donation organizations. As such, it enables you to showcase how much money your organization has raised with a big, attention-grabbing dollar ticker and progress bar right beneath the hero image. With its integrated photo gallery, blog and statistics graphics, JA Helple makes it easy to build a website that shows your supporters exactly how much of a difference they’ve made by supporting your cause.
Price:
- Available with subscription to JoomlaArt for $89/yr
Key features:
- Integration with DT Donate, Joomla’s donation platform
- Integration with more than 40 payment gateways
- Blog
- An advanced dashboard that enables you to manage donor lists, records and campaigns
Make your Joomla template your own
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As you can see, there’s a template for just about every kind of website. And in many cases, there’s a specific Joomla template built for the kind of business you have. As a Joomla user who needs a fully customized website, a template is just the starting point.
If you want a great-looking, functional website that truly lives up to your unique vision and brand needs, you need to work with a web designer who specializes in custom Joomla templates. The perfect designer for your brand is somebody who can do more than just bring your website to life, it’s someone who can bring it to life while making the most out of your chosen Joomla template’s unique features.
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