Every Joomla template has some pre-defined positions, where you can put your modules inside. For instance the position "left" of the template JA Purity, which is already installed with Joomla since versions 1.5.x, is the left column, where you could have your main menu positioned. In order to change a module position you can go to the module configuration and on the upper left next to "Position". In the list you can then choose one of the available positions for your module.

Display the Available Positions

Now you know the names of the various positions, but where exactly are these placed inside your template? One way to tell that is to try out all positions one by one, by changing every time the position of a module and then previewing your Website, but this is extremely time-consuming.

There is another way which shows you all available positions of a template at once. Open your favourite browser and type in the URL address of your Website, e.g. http://www.valandis.de and at the end of the URL add /?tp=1, then press "Enter". Now you can see your Website with all positions as well as their names. Take a look for yourself by clicking here http://www.valandis.de/?tp=1.