Joomla

What a Joomla site publishes about itself

Everything below is visible in ordinary page source on any published site. We checked each one against live Joomla sites while writing this page.

The template

Templates live in a predictably named folder, and every stylesheet and image a template loads carries that folder in its path, named after the template itself. That makes the template name straightforward to read, and it is the reason template detection works well here. Sites running a commercial template usually reveal a recognisable name, while agencies that build bespoke templates tend to name the folder after the client, which identifies the site without telling you much about the design.

The generator tag, and what it leaves out

Joomla adds a generator tag that names itself in full, so a site running it announces the fact plainly. What that tag does not include is a version number. It says which software is running but not which release, which is a deliberate and sensible default: publishing your exact version to anyone scanning for known weaknesses helps nobody. If you need to know the generation, you have to infer it from the structure of the site rather than read it off the page.

The media and component paths

This is the signal that survives when the others have been removed. Joomla serves its shared scripts and styles from a distinctive directory that is rarely renamed, because renaming it breaks things. Its components also show up in link structure on many sites, in a query format that is characteristic enough to identify the software on its own. Between the two, a Joomla site is hard to disguise even with the generator tag stripped out and a custom template in place.

Template or theme, and why the answer matters when searching

Joomla calls them templates. A great many people searching for one call it a theme, because that is the word other platforms use, and both terms end up describing the same thing: the package controlling how a site looks. If you are searching for tools or documentation, it is worth trying both words, since the official material consistently says template while much of the community writing says theme. Nothing turns on the distinction technically, but it does change what you find.

What Joomla is built for

Joomla sits between the simplest publishing tools and the most technical ones, and that middle position is deliberate. Out of the box it handles multilingual sites, granular user access levels and structured content without extensions, which is more than many platforms manage without additional parts. Its extension directory covers most of what is left.

The result is a platform that suits organisations wanting real capability without commissioning a development project, and one that asks a little more of whoever administers it in exchange. It has a long history, an established release process and a community used to maintaining sites over many years, which is a large part of why it is still found behind so many established sites.

When detection gets harder

• Combined and minified assets. Optimisation extensions merge stylesheets and scripts, which can strip the template folder name out of the paths.
• Search engine friendly URLs. With these enabled the characteristic query format disappears from links, removing one of the easier signals.
• The generator tag removed. Taking it out is a common hardening step and it does remove the most direct evidence.
• A content delivery network in front. Assets served from another domain can hide the folder structure that would otherwise identify the site.

Even with all four in place, the media directory usually remains, which is why it is the thing to check when the obvious signals have gone.

Frequently asked questions

Can you detect which Joomla template a site is using?

Usually yes. Templates live in a predictably named folder and every file the template loads carries that folder name in its path, so the name appears throughout the page source. Sites using a commercial template give up a recognisable name; sites with a bespoke template give up a name that identifies the build but says little about the design.

Why does the generator tag not show a Joomla version?

Because it deliberately omits it. The tag names the software without naming the release, which avoids advertising a specific version to anyone scanning for known weaknesses. It is a security default rather than an oversight, and it means the version has to be inferred from the site's structure instead.

Is a Joomla template the same as a theme?

In practice yes. Joomla's own term is template, while many people searching use theme because that is the word other platforms use. Both refer to the package that controls how the site looks, so when searching for tools or documentation it is worth trying both words.

How can you tell a site is Joomla if the generator tag has been removed?

By its directory structure. Joomla serves its shared scripts and styles from a distinctive folder that is rarely renamed, and its components often leave a characteristic pattern in link structure. Either is enough to identify the software with reasonable confidence.

Is Joomla free?

The software is free and open source, and you can download, modify and run it without paying for a licence. The costs are hosting, a domain, and any commercial template or extension you choose to buy. Plenty of sites run entirely on free ones.

Is Joomla still maintained?

Yes. It has an active development team, a published release process and regular security updates, and it remains one of the more widely detected content management systems in our own scanning. Its long history is a large part of why so many established sites still run on it.

Joomla is one of the more readable platforms to inspect: it tells you what it is, shows you which template is running, and keeps only its version to itself. If you want to build on it, the software is free and the only real cost is where you put it.