Installing Joomla! 1.5 Templates is easy! Simply follow the procedure below and you will be up and running with your new template in no time.

The first step is to download your new template installation package.  Once you have downloaded the chosen template package to your local computer you can login to your Joomla! 1.5 administration console. If you do not have Joomla! installed yet, please see this article for a guide on how to install the popular content management system.  Before we move further, it might be prudent to note that template installation packages can come in several different package forms.  They can be .zip, .tar, or .tar.gz, or several other smaller sub-types.  The Joomla! template installer will not have an issue opening any of these files, as they are all just different types of compressed folders, and are fairly standard.

The only problem you will have is if the template designer has put the template installer package INSIDE of the .zip/.tar/.gz file, in this case you will have to have a program that can extract the files (such as WinRAR) so that you can get to the real template installer found inside.  If you are receiving 'Installation package not found' errors during installation this is one of the first things to check.

Moving On...

Install The Template Package

Upon logging into your Joomla! administration console, navigate using the top menu to Extensions > Install/Uninstall. Here you will be able to access a page with several installation methods. Your chosen method is going to be to Upload a Local File, so click the small gray ‘Browse…’ button. Navigate within the explorer window to the template installation package that you downloaded earlier. This file should still be in .zip or .tar format.

After you have selected the file, click the ‘Install’ button and the template will begin to install itself. Upon successful installation you will receive the message ‘xxxxx Successfully Installed’. If you receive an error message instead, or any other message, the template did not install. Check to make sure you selected the correct file, or contact the template designer for information on the specific error message. One of the most common problems is that sometimes the .zip file you downloaded actually has ANOTHER .zip file inside it which is the actual template installation package. The message you see if this is the case is typically ‘Template .xml file not found’. Below is a picture of an error we received since we already had the template installed, which sometimes happens if you are trying to install a template that is already installed or into a directory that is already occupied.

Enable Your New Joomla 1.5 Template

After successful installation, navigate using your Joomla! administration menu to Extensions > Template Manager. Select the radio box next to the template that you just installed (it will have a mouseover thumbnail picture), and then click the large yellow star in the upper right called ‘Default’. Now, your template is enabled! Go to your website and you will see the new template on your page. You can also click on the template name within the Extensions > Template Manager page to access some helpful template options or styles. Many templates usually include features to change font size, font face, template styles, menu types, and more all from the back end admin console.

Good luck!