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• Last Updated: 02/04/2020
• ( 9 minutes reading )

How to configure Server Settings in Joomla

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will review the third part of your Joomla website Global Configuration - the “Server” settings. The “Server” tab contains various settings, including website timezone, FTP and Proxy configuration, your Joomla Database settings, as well as general Mail settings.

 

Accessing the Global Configuration page

To begin with, please log in to your Joomla Admin Dashboard and navigate through the top menu bar to System > Global Configuration.

 

Accessing the Global Configuration page

 

As the name suggests, the “Global Configuration” page is where you, as a site administrator, will be able to maintain the general settings applicable to the global configuration of your Joomla website. As we previously mentioned, our focus in this guide will be on the “Server” tab, therefore please make sure you are located under it.

 

Configuring Server Settings

Similar to the previous tabs, we have reviewed, the “Server” tab is also split into a few sections. As usual, we will review and explain all the settings it contains to ensure you perfectly understand what aspect of your website you can control with them.

We will start with the first three sections you will see under the “Server” tab: “Server Settings”, “Database Settings” and “Localization Settings”.

The “Server Settings” section groups settings covering different aspects:

  • Path to Temp Folder -  Displays the path to the directory under which Joomla stores temporary files. Please note that it is not really recommended to apply any changes to the default path unless strictly required.
  • Gzip Page Compression - Allows you to control whether Gzip compression is enabled on your website. By default, it is disabled. If enabled - the requested web data by your visitors will be compressed on a server level and then sent to them.
  • Error Reporting - This setting lets you control the level of collecting PHP errors on your Joomla website. It includes a few options. The “System Default” acquires error reporting based on those set in the server (typically in php.ini file). The “None” does not record any errors at all. “Simple”, “Maximum” and “Development” override the server setup, where the first method covers basic reports, while the second two full reports of all warnings, errors, and notices.
  • Force HTTPS - This setting allows you to force the secure HTTPS connection on your admin area or on the entire website. If one of the options is selected, your website/admin login page will be accessible only over the HTTPS protocol. Please, note that in case you do not have a valid SSL certificate installed on your domain name, enabling this function may cause some dysfunctionalities and error messages.

Right below - the “Location Settings”. In this section, you will see only one setting which will allow you to control the global time zone of your website.

  • Website Time Zone - The list of options is based on capital cities. Please select the desired one which will determine the display time and date of your website.

The “Database Settings” section identifies the database connected to your Joomla website. Please do not make any changes to these settings unless strictly necessary.

  • Database Type - Determines the relational database driver type.
  • Host - Indicates the database server hostname. It should be set to “localhost” if the database is stored on the same server as your website.
  • Database Username - Indicates the database username.
  • Database Name - Indicates the database name.
  • Database Table Prefix - Indicates the database prefix used for your database tables.

 

Configuring Server, Location and Database Settings

 

Right below, you will find the “FTP Settings” and the “Proxy Settings” which are disabled by default. As well as the “Mail Settings” on the right, enabled by default.

While in most cases it will not be necessary to configure the FTP settings, however, some server environments will require you to so in order to be able to seamlessly install and update extensions. In case you need to configure an FTP account, you will need to click on “Yes” next to “Enable FTP”. Once this is done a few additional fields will appear where you will need to enter the FTP configuration details.

  • FTP Host - In this field, you will need to enter the hostname of the FTP server.
  • FTP Port - It is set to the default FTP port 21. Rarely, you will need to change that value in case your hosting provider uses a custom port.
  • FTP Username - In this field, you will need to specify your FTP account username.
  • FTP Password - In here, you will need to enter the FTP account password.
  • FTP Root - In this field, you will need to enter the path to the directory where your Joomla files are stored.

You will notice the use of a Proxy server is also disabled by default. If you have a proxy server and you would like to configure your Joomla website to communicate with ti, please click on “Yes” next to “Enable Proxy”. Once this is done, a few additional fields will appear.

  • Proxy Host - In this field, you will need to enter the hostname of the proxy server.
  • Proxy Port - Here, you will need to specify the port to be used to connect to the proxy server.
  • Proxy Username - In here, you will need to enter the proxy server username.
  • Proxy Password - In this field, you will need to enter the proxy server password.

Lastly, the “Mail Settings” section. In here you will be able to configure the settings that control the process of sending automatically generated emails on your Joomla website.

  • Send Mail - This setting controls whether the email function is enabled or disabled. In other words, if Joomla will send automatically generated emails.
  • Disable Mass Mail - This function is enabled by default, it allows Joomla to send emails to all users or specific groups of users. If you would like to disable it, please set it to “Yes”.
  • From Mail - In this field, you will need to specify the email address which will be used for all outgoing emails.
  • From Name - Here, you will need to specify the display name which will appear in the “From” field in your email messages.
  • Reply To Email - In here, you can specify an email address that will receive all incoming emails sent by your users.
  • Reply To Name - The display name that will appear in the “To” field when your users compose their email replies to you.
  • Mailer - This setting allows you to control which mail function will be used for the outgoing emails sent through Joomla. By default, it is set to “PHP Mail” which is not really recommended, as the PHP mail function sends the emails directly from the server IP address and there is a quite high chance for them to get marked as spam and consequently not delivered successfully. The “Sendmail” function uses a direct path that lets you build email and requires you to build the header for it. If you select this option, an additional “Sendmail Path” field will appear and you will need to specify the path to the Sendmail program. If your intention is to configure your Joomla website to send emails via the SMTP protocol, please review our guide based on How to configure Joomla to send emails using SMTP.
  • Send Test Email - Once all the above settings are configured, this button will allow you to test if everything is working accurately. It is highly recommended to ensure the proper functionality, therefore, please make sure to click on it.

 

Configuring FTP, Proxy and Mail Settings

 

When you are ready with the configuration, please make sure to click on the “Save” button in order to successfully record the changes you have made.



We would like to congratulate you on covering the third part of your website configuration. Hopefully, you have found the information provided in this guide helpful and well explained. In case you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Support Team.

 

 

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Sebahat
Content Marketing Specialist

Sebahat is a young and bright woman who has become an invaluable part of our team. She started as a Customer Care Representative, mastering that role and, along the way, growing into a tech-savvy individual who is well acquainted with every support layer of the company. Driven by her aim to improve our customers’ experience constantly, she is committed to enhancing the extraordinary support we deliver.