This is all about making your module apear on one or more selected pages
Imagine you’ve created an Article Module to display "Latest News" showing a list of titles of news articles, and you’ve assigned it to the right position and saved it. But when you look at your site, it's nowhere to be seen!
Why? Because you haven't told Joomla which pages to display it on.
This is the final, crucial step calledMenu Assignment.
All modules have a "Menu Assignment" tab that you will use to choose which page your module will appear on.
So for example, you might want your "Latest News" module to show up on the News page and also on the Contact page so you control this in the module settings, under the "Menu Assignment." tab.
Regardless of what module type you created, the menu assignment options are typically:
In Joomla, the Menu Assignment setting controls where modules appear across your website by tying their visibility directly to your menu items.
Here is how the other choices work:
No Pages
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What it does: The module is set to hidden everywhere on the frontend of your website.
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When to use it:
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While you are developing or editing a module and don't want it visible to visitors yet.
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For modules that are meant to be loaded inside an article or another module using a plugin (like
{loadmoduleid}or shortcodes) rather than rendered in a normal template position. More info here! -
When temporarily disabling a module without unpublishing it entirely.
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On all pages
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What it does: The module will display on every single menu item and page across your entire website, including any new pages or menu items you add in the future.
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When to use it:
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For site-wide elements that belong in the core layout everywhere, such as your main site footer, a global header search bar, site-wide copyright notices, or core cookie/privacy consent banners.
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Only on the pages selected
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What it does: The module acts as an inclusion list. It is hidden everywhere by default, and will only appear on the specific menu items (pages) that you manually check off in the list below.
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When to use it:
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For page-specific content, such as a "News Sidebar" that should only appear on the news page.
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Promotional banners or information panels meant exclusively for your Homepage, or a specific landing page, or a dedicated blog section.
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Note on New Pages: Because this is an "inclusion" rule, any new pages you add to your site in the future will not display this module unless you manually return to the settings and check them off as well.
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On all pages except those selected
When you choose "On all pages except those selected," you are creating an exclusion list. Note that the default is always for all checkboxes to be switched on, and therefore, this choice assumes that you want to display your module on all pages.
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Global Visibility: The module will automatically appear on every single menu item/page of your website by default—including pages you create in the future.
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The Exceptions: Any specific menu items (pages) you check off in the list below this setting will exclude the module. The module will disappear only on those chosen pages.
Common Use Cases
This setting is extremely helpful when you want a global element suppressed in specific places. For example:
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Global Sidebars: You might want a banner or newsletter list box visible in the sidebar across your entire site, except on your contact page or home landing page where you don't want those distractions.
Key Things to Remember
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New Menu Items: Because all pages except those selected is an "exclude" rule, any new menu item or page you add to your site in the future will automatically display this module unless you specifically return to this setting and check it off.
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Check the Hierarchy: If a parent menu item is selected/excluded, it can sometimes affect its children depending on how your menu links are structured, so always test the frontend view after changing assignments.