Function and Purpose
Archiving in Joomla is an alternative to deleting. Articles you no longer want displayed on the website can be set to the “Archived” status. They disappear from normal article lists but remain fully intact in the backend and the database.
When Content Is Archived
- Seasonal or time-limited content: For example campaigns, events, or course announcements that have expired.
- Long-term archive: When older content should be retained for SEO or reference reasons but no longer needs to be actively visible.
- Internal organization: For editorial teams that want to regularly move published articles out of the active area without deleting them.
Differences from Other Statuses
- Published: Article is actively visible on the website.
- Unpublished: Article is offline but still being edited or prepared.
- Archived: Article is retained but only accessible via special archive pages — for example using the “Archived Articles” menu type.
- Trash: Article is marked for deletion and can be permanently removed.
Important Notes
- Archived articles remain fully editable in the backend.
- You can reactivate archived content at any time by setting its status back to “Published.”
- On the frontend you need a menu item of the “Archived Articles” type to provide a publicly visible archive.
- Archiving is more SEO-friendly than deleting, since old URLs can remain valid and won’t lead to dead ends.