Joomla is one of the most powerful, robust and feature-rich content management systems out there. Besides being open-source, Joomla is capable of some really stunning designs through the use of modules and built-in display customizations. Below, we present a list of 20 35 of the coolest, slickest, most eye-catching Joomla template designs.
Also consider our previous article:
- How WordPress Took The CMS Crown From Drupal And Joomla
- Joomla And WordPress: A Matter Of Mental Models
- How To Modify A Default Joomla 1.5 Template
Commercial Templates
Mynxx | Demo | Support This theme incorporates the popular Joomla ecommerce / shopping component, Virtuemart. This integration is applied in a variety of platforms, such as modules, a custom virtuemart theme and template coding. The custom Virtuemart theme allows us to override the core output, which results in a more seamless integrated with the Virtuemart shopping component.
Akiraka | Demo | Website One of RocketTheme’s finest templates. The fully transparent design gives you complete control over the color of the website.
Lightfast | Demo | Website The definition of a light and fast template. Joomla is powerful, but it is also big. Because of all the possible features to take advantage of, templates are often bloated with tons of code. Lightfast is Joomlashack’s response to this problem. The entire file is only 13k and is SEO optimized right out of the box. Template costs $39.95.
Simple Praise | Demo | Website A very smooth rotating content module and lots of module positions makes this a very versatile Joomla template. Club membership costs $75 for 1 year.
Social Praise | Demo | Website SocialPraise is built for community collaboration. It is templates like this that really show what Joomla! can do as a content management system. SocialPraise integrates completely with the most popular Joomla community building components like Community Builder and Fireboard forum. Club membership costs $75 for 1 year.
NewsPro | Demo | Website A sliding content module crams headlines into this easy to navigate template. The small body text and expansive menu suggests this template would work well as a magazine layout. Club membership costs $99 for 1 year.
Periphelion | Demo | Website One of the best grunge-themed templates for Joomla. Multiple color styles make this template incredibly versatile.
City Portal | Demo | Website A clean, smooth template, perfect for a magazine or portal.
News Link | Demo | Website As the name states, a great news template with built-in news rotator with tons of features.
Gridiron| Demo | Website A simple but elegant alternative to the clutter of a typical Joomla template.
Vertigo | Demo | Website A template with “Paralax Motion” built in. Check out the demo, because this template is about as cool as it gets.
Small Robot| Demo | Website Another simple design for websites with less informaiton to display on the front page.
CelebsPlazza | Demo | Website An eye-catching design with four styles built right in.
The News | Demo | Website Another slick news template with a smooth image slideshow.
Jet30 | Demo | Website A Web 2.0-style template for a blog or information portal.
Free Templates
Brown Kick | Download | Demo | Website A cool coffee-themed template with unobtrusive navigation and nice blog styling.
Optimus | Download | Demo | Website A straightforward Joomla template that could work for almost any kind of website.
Novus | Download | Demo | Website An incredibly versatile template, ready for complete customization.
Simplify | Download | Demo | Website Three color combinations and a block design make this template great for a professional presentation.
Contaminated | Download | Demo | Website Another cool grunge theme with nice touches, like full typography options.
RokWebify | Download | Demo | Website A Web 2.0 template with many color options and a simple interface.
EMagazine | Download | Demo | Website As the name suggests, a good magazine template without being too heavy on bandwidth-eating images.
Portfolio | Download | Demo | Website One of the best portfolio options for Joomla, perfect for artists and Web designers.
Jakarta Times | Download | Demo | Website A super-simple news and blog template that loads fast but can hold tons of information.
VJ-08 | Download | Demo | Website This simplest of simplistic designs provides one big header image to get your message across fast.
Nova | Download (free registeration required) | Demo | Website This “pure CSS” template is great for a blog because of the front and center main body content. Three module positions are available for pushing RSS, a quick blurb or a login module.
Jamba | Download (free registeration required) | Demo | Website Ten module positions and five preset color settings make this a truly versatile template. A newsflash module position lets you highlight important information.
Back to Nature | Download | Demo | Website This 3-column template is an out-of-the-box option for blogging or an online community.
Praise Corp | Download | Demo | Website An incorporated login form and search field compliment the boxy style of this template.
Contest Entry | Download (free registration required) | Demo | Website This template was JoomlaPraise’s entry into the Joomla 1.5 template contest. With no shortage of module positions this template was good enough to be considered for part of the Joomla core.
Enchanted | Download (free registration required) | Demo | Website Several module styles let you customize this template to fit your needs. Incorporation with the fireboard forum is a bonus feature of this template as well.
Pluralism | Download | Demo | Website This simple template is one of the rare Joomla templates with a right sidebar. A big header draws attention to the content quickly.
Epic | Download | Demo | Website This template can be customized in many ways. The free version comes with one color option but also a smooth image slideshow with a transparent caption feature. PRO Version available for $25.
Webmedie | Download | Demo | Website This rounded template has glossy module styling and an oversized header.
ContentPortal | Download (free registration required) | Demo | Website An incorporated search field fits nicely in this template. A large module position on top is perfect for a large banner or newsflash.
Further Resources
Check out some of these template resources:
- RocketTheme Template Club
- Official Joomla Template Documentation
- Announcements of new Joomla templates and extensions
- A Web-based template builder for Joomla
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