The JoomFAQs dashboard is your central control panel. It gives you an at-a-glance overview of your FAQ content, user engagement, and recent activity all in one place.
Accessing the Dashboard
- Log in to your Joomla administrator panel (typically at
yoursite.com/administrator). - From the top menu, navigate to Components > JoomFAQS.
- JoomFAQs opens to the Dashboard view by default.
You can also return to the dashboard at any time by clicking Dashboard in the JoomFAQs sidebar.
Dashboard Layout
The dashboard is divided into three main areas:
| Area | Position | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics cards | Top row, full width | Six summary cards showing key metrics |
| Left column | Below cards, 8/12 width | Activity chart, configuration shortcuts, product info, and social links |
| Right column | Below cards, 4/12 width | Detailed questions stats breakdown by time period |
Toolbar Buttons
At the top of the dashboard, the toolbar provides quick actions:
| Button | Description | Permission Required |
|---|---|---|
| Add Question | Opens the question editor to create a new FAQ entry | core.create on at least one category |
| Add Category | Opens the Joomla category editor to create a new FAQ category | Available to all managers |
| Options | Opens the JoomFAQs global configuration panel | core.admin (Super Users) |
| Help | Opens the JoomBoost online documentation in a new window | None |
Statistics Cards
A row of six cards spans the top of the dashboard. Each card displays a count, an icon, and a month-over-month comparison indicator.
| Card | Icon | Color | What It Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Questions | Info circle | Blue (primary) | Total number of FAQ questions in the database. Clicking this card opens the Questions manager. |
| Categories | Folder | Grey (secondary) | Total number of FAQ categories. Clicking this card opens the Joomla Category Manager filtered to JoomFAQs. |
| Comments | Comment bubble | Light blue (info) | Total number of comments posted on FAQ answers. |
| Like | Thumbs up | Green (success) | Sum of all "helpful" votes across all FAQ answers. |
| Dislike | Thumbs down | Red (danger) | Sum of all "not helpful" votes across all FAQ answers. |
| Total Votes | Double check | Yellow (warning) | Combined total of all like and dislike votes. |
Month-Over-Month Comparison
Each card includes a small comparison indicator beneath the count. This compares the current month's activity to the previous month's and shows:
- A green up arrow with a positive percentage when the metric has increased.
- A red down arrow with a negative percentage when the metric has decreased.
- A grey dash with 0% when there is no change.
The label "vs last month" appears next to the percentage so you can track trends at a glance.
Note: Large numbers are abbreviated for readability -- for example, 1,200 displays as "1.2K" and 2,500,000 displays as "2.5M".
Left Column Widgets
The left column (roughly two-thirds of the width) contains several widget cards stacked vertically.
Recently Added (Activity Chart)
- Header: "Recently" with a line-chart icon.
- Content: A Chart.js line chart plotting the last 30 days of activity. Two datasets are displayed:
- Votes (green line) -- daily vote counts over the past 30 days.
- Comments (blue line) -- daily comment counts over the past 30 days.
- X-axis: Dates in MM/DD format.
- Y-axis: Count (starting at zero, integer steps).
This chart helps you spot spikes in engagement and identify which days generate the most user interaction.
Configuration Shortcuts
Visible only to users with
core.adminpermission (Super Users).
- Header: "Configuration" with a list icon.
- Content: A grid of shortcut buttons linking directly to specific sections of the JoomFAQs configuration:
| Button | Links To |
|---|---|
| ACL | Permissions tab of the JoomFAQs component configuration |
| Template | Template (display) options tab |
| Comment | Comments settings tab |
Product Info
Visible only to users with
core.adminpermission (Super Users).
- Header: "Product Info" with an info icon.
- Content: A grid of buttons linking to external JoomBoost resources:
| Button | Destination |
|---|---|
| Product Page | JoomFAQs product page on joomboost.com |
| Documentation | Official JoomFAQs documentation |
| ChangeLog | Version changelog |
| Community Forum | JoomBoost support/ticket page |
| Ticket Support | Direct ticket support |
| Roadmap | Product roadmap on Trello |
| Help Us Translate | JoomBoost translation portal |
Follow Us (Social Links)
Visible only to users with
core.adminpermission (Super Users).
- Header: "Follow Us" with a share icon.
- Content: Social media buttons linking to JoomBoost's profiles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and an RSS feed.
Copyright
Always visible at the bottom of the left column. Displays the installed JoomFAQs version number in a green badge alongside the JoomBoost copyright notice.
Right Column Widget
Questions Stats
- Header: "Questions stats" with a bar-chart icon.
- Content: A detailed breakdown of comment activity across different time periods, displayed as a clean list:
| Row | Description |
|---|---|
| Today | Number of comments created today |
| Yesterday | Number of comments created yesterday |
| This month | Comments created so far this calendar month |
| Last month | Comments created during the previous calendar month |
| This year | Comments created so far this calendar year |
| Last year | Comments created during the previous calendar year |
| Total | All-time total comment count (displayed in bold, larger text) |
Values are formatted with the same abbreviation system as the statistics cards (K, M, G, T suffixes for large numbers). Nonzero values appear with a green badge; zero values appear with a grey badge.
Navigation Sidebar
A sidebar on the left edge of every JoomFAQs admin page provides quick navigation between the main sections of the component.
| Sidebar Item | Icon | Destination |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | Tachometer | The dashboard view (this page) |
| Questions | Comment | The questions list/manager |
| Categories | Folder | Joomla Category Manager filtered to JoomFAQs |
| Fields | Cube | Joomla Custom Fields manager for JoomFAQs (only shown if com_fields is enabled) |
| Field Groups | List | Joomla Field Groups manager for JoomFAQs (only shown if com_fields is enabled) |
| Configuration | Cog | JoomFAQs global configuration |
The currently active view is highlighted in the sidebar so you always know where you are.
Tips
- Check the dashboard regularly. The month-over-month comparisons on the statistics cards are a quick way to spot declining engagement before it becomes a problem.
- Use the chart to find patterns. If comments or votes spike on certain days, consider publishing new FAQ content on those days.
- Bookmark the configuration shortcuts. The ACL, Template, and Comment buttons save you several clicks compared to navigating through the Joomla configuration screen manually.