How to Change the Custom Error Page in Joomla

Creating custom error pages can give your site a professional look.

Joomla is an open-source content management system that simplifies website creation by providing templates. You can use these templates as-is or modify them for a customized look. Like any website, a site built with Joomla will return an error page every now and then, perhaps when a page has been moved or visitors search for something they don't have access to. With Joomla, advanced users can create custom error messages that display when something on the site goes wrong.

Instructions

Creating an Error Page with Customized Text

1. Create your custom error page in the text or HTML editor of your choice.

2. Save the file you create with the name "error.php."

3. Copy or upload the file to the "templates/<your template name>" directory on your computer or server, replacing "<your template name>" with the name of the Joomla template you have installed.

Creating an Error Page with a Customized Style

1. Copy your site's "error.css" file from the "templates/system/css/" directory to the "templates/<your template name>/css" directory, replacing "<your template name>" with the actual name of the template.

2. Edit the design of the "error.css" file using your favorite text or HTML editor.

3. Insert a reference to your custom "error.css" file location into the "error.php" file. Joomla's online documentation gives the following example:

   "<link rel="stylesheet" href="<?php echo $this->baseurl; ?>/templates/system/css/error.css" type="text/css" />"

   Using this example, you would change

   "href="<?php echo $this->baseurl; ?>/templates/system/css/error.css"

   to read

   "href="<?php echo $this->baseurl; ?>/templates/<your template name>/css/error.css."

References

• Joomla: What is Joomla?
• Joomla Documentation: Custom Error Pages

Resources

• PHP: Frequently Asked Questions
• The University of Texas at Austin: Cascading Style Sheets