Site Home Settings
The site home (also known as the front page) is the landing page of your Moodle installation. It is the first thing visitors and logged-in users see when they access your site. Properly configuring the site home ensures users can quickly find courses and content.
Accessing Front Page Settings
Navigate to Site administration > General > Front page settings to configure the site home. Alternatively, when viewing the front page, click the gear icon and choose Edit settings.
Basic Settings
Full Site Name
The full site name appears in the browser title bar, in email notifications sent by the system, and in various navigation elements. Choose a descriptive name that clearly identifies your institution or organization.
Short Name for Site
The short name is used in the breadcrumb navigation bar and in the subject line of email notifications. Keep it concise (typically 5-15 characters).
Front Page Summary
This is a rich-text description displayed on the front page. Use the text editor to add formatted text, images, and links. This summary appears to both authenticated and unauthenticated visitors on the front page, making it ideal for welcoming messages or institutional branding.
Front Page Display Options
Moodle allows you to configure different displays for logged-out and logged-in visitors:
Front Page (for non-logged-in users)
Select one or more items to display to guests and non-logged-in visitors. Options include:
- News items: Displays posts from the site news forum
- List of courses: Shows available courses in a simple list
- List of categories: Shows course categories, allowing users to browse
- Combo list: Displays both categories and courses in a combined view
- Enrolled courses: Only relevant for logged-in users
- Course search: Displays a search box for finding courses
- None: Displays only the front page summary
Front Page Items When Logged In
Configure what authenticated users see. The most common choice is Enrolled courses so users quickly see their courses. You can combine this with a course search box or category listing.
Advanced Display Settings
- Maximum number of courses: Limits how many courses appear in listings on the front page (default 200). For large sites, consider using categories instead.
- Maximum category depth: Controls how many levels of sub-categories are expanded in category listings.
- Number of news items to show: Controls how many recent news forum posts appear on the front page.
- Comments per page: If front page comments are enabled, controls pagination.
Front Page Roles
The front page has its own context for role assignments. You can assign users specific roles on the front page:
- Users with the Teacher role on the front page can edit front page content
- Users with the Student role on the front page are considered "authenticated users" with additional capabilities
Manage front page roles by navigating to the front page, clicking the gear icon, and selecting Enrolled users or Assign roles.
Front Page Activities and Resources
The front page can contain activities and resources, similar to a course. When editing is turned on (with appropriate permissions), you can add:
- Labels for welcome messages and announcements
- URLs linking to external resources
- Files for download
- Forums for site-wide discussions
To enable editing on the front page, click Turn editing on while viewing the front page (requires the editing teacher or manager role on the front page).
Front Page Backup
The front page can be backed up just like a course. Go to the front page, access the gear icon, and select Backup. This backs up all front page content including activities, resources, and files.
Dashboard vs. Front Page
In Moodle 4.x, the Dashboard is the default landing page for logged-in users (configurable at Site administration > Appearance > Navigation). The Dashboard shows personalized information such as enrolled courses, upcoming deadlines, and recent activity. The front page is still accessible as a separate page. Administrators can change the default home page under Site administration > Appearance > Navigation.