Template
From Joomla! Documentation
A template is a type of Joomla! extension that changes the way your site looks. There are two types of templates used by the Joomla! CMS: Front-end Templates and Back-end Templates. The Front-end Template controls the way your website is presented to the user viewing the website's content. The Back-end Template controls the way your website's administrative tasks are presented for controlling management functions by a Joomla! Administrator. These would include common tasks such as: user, menu, article, category, module, component, plugin and template management.
See also: Component, Module, Plugin
See also: Extension types (general definitions)
Template Types[edit]
There are two types of templates used in a Joomla-powered website.
Frontend Templates[edit]
Frontend templates change the way your site looks to visitors. Most of the templates you use or install will be Frontend Templates. Out of the box Joomla 3.x ships with two Frontend templates, Protostar (which is set as default), and Beez3. For simple sites these out-of-the-box templates may be appropriate, but many Joomla users will opt to install a third party template to suit the purpose of their site. A site can use multiple templates assigned to different menu items, but most beginners will just use a single template for their entire site.
Backend Templates[edit]
Backend templates are much rarer than Frontend Templates. You will probably never need to change your Backend Template. Backend templates allow you to change the way the Administrator interface looks. Joomla 3.x ships with two Backend templates, Isis (which is set as default) and Hathor. The Hathor template was designed for accessibility, and may be appropriate for those with color blindness who require high contrast colors or those using screen reader devices or keyboard navigation.
Recommended Reading[edit]
Administrators[edit]
Joomla administrators should go to the page on Template Management for topics about managing your Joomla template or templates.
Developers[edit]
Joomla developers should go to the Template Development portal page for more topics on developing a Joomla template.