Overview

Joomla's Web Links component is very useful when you have multiple external links that you need to display in various places on the website.  If your article will have more than 3-5 external links, instead of manually entering them into the article, consider creating the links within a Web Links category.

Sample Use of Joomla! Web Links

Links within a Web Links category can be displayed in a module on the website.

Create Web Links Category

  1. In the Joomla! back-end, go to Components > Web Links.
  2. Click Categories.
  3. Click the New button to the upper left:

    Click the "New" button in "Web Links - Categories"
  4. Enter a name for your Web Links category in the "Title" field. You can also add an optional "Description:"

    Enter "Title" and "Description" for Web Links category
  5. When done, click Save & Close to the upper left: Save & close

Create a Web Link

  1. While in Components > Web Links, click Web Links (on left side).
  2. Click New to the upper left.
  3. Enter the name of the website you will be linking to in the "Title" field (see #1 below).
  4. Enter the URL of the website in the "URL" field (see #2 below).
  5. Select the Web Links category from the "Category" dropdown menu to the right (see #3 below).
  6. Click the "Options" tab (see #4 below).
  7. Change "Target" to "Open in new window."
  8. When done, click Save & Close to the upper left (see #5 below).

Create a Web Link

Display Web Links on Website

Use a Web Links Module

This module can be positioned in ‘sidebar-b’, or included in an article as an embedded module.

  1. In the Joomla! back-end, go to Extensions > Modules.
  2. Click New to the upper left.
  3. Select Web Links.
  4. Enter a "Title" for the module (see #1 below).
  5. Select the category containing the web links from the "Category" dropdown menu (see #2 below).
  6. In the "Count" field, enter the number of web links to be displayed (see #3 below).
  7. Select "sidebar-b" from the "Position" dropdown menu to the right (see #4 below).
  8. Unless the module should be displayed on your entire website, click the "Menu Assignment" tab (see #5 below).
    • Change "Module Assignment" to "Only on the pages selected"
    • Click None to the right of "Menu Selection: Select: All,..." to clear the existing menu items
    • Check the menu items where your Web Links module should be displayed.
  9. When done, click Save & Close to the upper left (see #6 below).

Create web links module

Create a Menu item to show Web Links in a category

  1. In the Joomla! back-end, go to Menus > Menu items.
  2. Click New to the upper left to create a new Menu Item.
  3. Enter a title for the menu item in the "Menu Title" field.
  4. To the right of "Menu Item Type" click Select.
  5. In the Menu Item Type popup, click Web Links, then click List Web Links in a Category.
  6. Select your Web Links category from the "Select a Category" dropdown menu.  Your browser should look something like this:
    Creating a Menu item to show Web Links in a category
  7. From the Menu drop down on the right, select the menu where your menu item will be created.
  8. (Optional) Select a menu item from the "Parent Item" dropdown menu to the right; this will place your menu item under the Parent Item you select.
  9. Click Save & Close to the upper left.

Preview of Web Links Menu Item display:

Web Links category menu item