00:00 – Introduction: Do You Need a Menu Item for Every Article?
00:32 – The Outdated Practice of Assigning Menu Items to All Articles
01:03 – Why SEF URLs Work Without Direct Menu Items
01:36 – Testing an Article Without a Menu Item: Non-SEF URL
02:19 – Assigning a Category with No Menu Item: Same Result
03:01 – Creating a Menu Item for the Category: SEF URL Achieved
03:49 – Parent Categories with Menu Items: Key to SEF URLs
04:40 – Conclusion: Simplify Joomla URLs Without Extra Menu Items
Summary
Introduction to SEF URLs in Joomla
You do not need a separate menu item for every Joomla article to have a search engine-friendly (SEF) URL.
Previously, individual menu items were required, but Joomla's routing system now handles this differently.
Demonstrating Non-SEF URLs
A test article is created under the Uncategorized category, which has no menu item linked to it.
The resulting URL contains non-SEF elements like the article ID and category ID.
Assigning the Article to a Category Without a Menu Item
The article is moved to a new category named No Menu Item, which also lacks a menu item.
The front-end URL remains non-SEF, confirming that simply assigning an article to a category doesn’t guarantee a clean URL.
Creating a Menu Item for the Category
A Category Blog menu item is created for No Menu Item.
After this, the article now has an SEF URL since Joomla’s router recognizes the category structure.
Using Parent Categories for SEF URLs
The No Menu Item category is moved under an existing Help category, which already has a menu item.
Even after deleting the direct menu item for No Menu Item, the article still retains an SEF URL.
This proves that an article can inherit a clean URL structure if it belongs to a category that has a parent with a menu item.
Conclusion:
You don’t need to create a separate menu item for every article to get an SEF URL.
Assigning articles to categories that are linked somewhere in the menu structure ensures Joomla properly routes the URLs.
Using a well-structured category hierarchy can keep your site organized without cluttering the menu system.
✅ Tip: Organize your categories wisely to benefit from Joomla's routing system while keeping your menus clean!
Please send any feedback or bug reports or queries to;
Contact Tim Davis ►
Joomla Training Cohort ► https://cybersalt.com/jtc
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