Written by chris | 21 January 2011

Now we have added articles and organised. We now need to look at a few modules we can add to make it a more usable website. There are nearly unlimited modules you can download, we are going to work on the ones that come as standard. Future lessons will show how to download and add new modules.  We are looking at the following modules - A -search , B - breadcrumb trail,  C -custom html,  D -most read article, and a E feed display.

As always open up your  Public URL and Admin URL in new windows or tabs in your browser

A - Adding search module

1. In your Admin URL go to Extensions > Module Manager
2. New (top right)
3. Either click the button on the left of Search and go to new or click on the word Search to open module edit window
4. Title = Search
5.Show title  and enable to  Yes
6. Position = User 4. This will make your search appear in the top right of your page. On a lot of templates they will have a position call search. You can of course try other positions
7. Module parameters (on the right) can be changed to fit your design or of course left as it is.
8. Save (top right)

Go to your Public URL to see your work, press refresh (F5) and check your search and see the results.

B - Adding  a breadcrumb trail module
A breadcrumb trail auto generates links that will appear at the top of your article to aid navigation and accessibility.

1. In your Admin URL go to Extensions > Module Manager
2. New (top right)
3. Either click the button on the left of Breadcrumbs and go to new or click on the word Breadcrumbs to open the module edit window
4. Title = breadcrumbs
5. Show title = No
6. Enable = Yes
6. Position = breadcrumbs
7. Module parameters (on the right) can be changed to fit your design or of course left as it is.
8. Save (top right)

Go to your Public URL to see your work, click on any of your links in your navigation and notice the breadcrumb trail at the top of your article.

C - Adding  a custom html footer module
We have created a custom HTML before but there is no reason why you do not add more.

1. In your Admin URL go to Extensions > Module Manager
2. New (top right)
3. Either click the button on the left of custom HTML and go to new or click on the word Custom HTML to open module edit window
4. Title = custom footer
5. Show title = No
6. Enable = Yes
6. Position = footer
7. Scroll down to custom output and type in your footer text for example  Copyright (your site name) 2011   e-mail (see if you can remember how to add an e-mail link, add any other text and maybe on the next line type in your strap line. (This will give you a chance to add extra words that people would search to find your site). Highlight, justify centre or left and change font size, bold, style to fit in with your site if you wish.
8. Save (top right)


Go to your Public URL to see your work, press refresh (F5) and check your footer and see the results.

D - Adding  most read content module

1. In your Admin URL go to Extensions > Module Manager
2. New (top right)
3. Either click the button on the left of most read content and go to new or click on the word most read content to open module edit window
4. Title = Most read content
5. Show title = Yes
6. Enable = Yes
6. Position = left
7. Order = address (you can choose the order the modules appear in, this is good when you have many on one page)
7. Menu assignment, click Select Menu Items from list and select Category blog. You can add to other pages by clicking Ctrl +  title(s) All modules and be added to all pages or selected pages, its your choice.
9 Module parameters can be altered to fit in with your design. No need to change at this stage.
8. Save (top right)

Go to your Public URL to see your work, press refresh (F5) and click on your  Category blog link to see your new module on the left, towards the bottom of the page.

E - Adding  a feed display module
You can import content from other website with this module. This is known as an RSS feed and you will see an orange RSS icon on a lot of websites, where you can your feed from.

1. In your Admin URL go to Extensions > Module Manager
2. New (top right)
3. Either click the button on the left of feed display and go to new or click on the word feed display to open module edit window
4. Title =  BBC News
5. Show title = Yes
6. Enable = Yes
6. Position = right
7. Menu assignment, click Select Menu Items from list and select Category list layout.
8. Module parameters feed URL add http://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/world/rss.xml    You can make other changes to fit in with your site but for now we leave it as it is.
8. Save (top right)

Go to your Public URL to see your work, press refresh (F5) and click on your Category list link to see your new module on the right. Feel free to create new feed displays on your pages in different positions.

I hope this exercise has given you a good feel on how modules work and you now have a site you can start to show to your friends who will be impressed with your work *smile*