Dashboard Widget

The Health Checker dashboard widget (module) provides at-a-glance monitoring directly on your Joomla admin dashboard.

Overview

The dashboard widget shows:

• Summary of your last health check
• Count of critical issues, warnings, and good results
• Quick link to run a new check
• Visual status indicators

Installation

The module is included with Health Checker but must be enabled:

1. Navigate to System → Site Modules (or System → Administrator Modules)
2. Find "Health Checker Dashboard"
3. Click to open
4. Set Status to Published
5. Configure position (usually cpanel for dashboard)
6. Save

Configuration Options

Basic Settings

• Title: Display title (default: "Site Health")
• Show Title: Whether to show the module title
• Position: Where on dashboard to display (usually cpanel)
• Access: Who can see it (recommended: Super Users only)
• Status: Published/Unpublished

Display Options

• Show Summary: Display counts of critical/warning/good
• Show Last Check Date: When health check was last run
• Show Quick Actions: Include "Run Check" button
• Color Theme: Match your admin template

Widget Features

Status Summary

The widget shows three counters:

🔴 Critical: 2
🟡 Warning: 15
🟢 Good: 109

This gives you instant visibility into site health without opening the full component.

Last Check Timestamp

See when health checks were last run:

Last checked: 2 hours ago
or
Last checked: January 12, 2026 at 3:30 PM

This helps you know if results are current or stale.

Quick Actions

Click "Run Health Check" directly from the widget to:

• Execute a fresh health check
• Automatically redirect to results page
• Update widget with new results

Visual Indicators

The widget uses color coding:

• Green border: All checks good (no warnings or critical)
• Yellow border: Warnings present (no critical)
• Red border: Critical issues found

Usage Tips

Daily Dashboard Review

Start your day by checking the widget:

1. Log in to Joomla admin
2. Check the dashboard widget
3. If you see red (critical) or increased warnings:
   • Click "Run Health Check"
   • Review and address issues
4. If all green, you're good to go

Module Positioning

For optimal visibility:

• Position: cpanel (main dashboard area)
• Ordering: Place near the top
• Access: Super Users only (security)

Multiple Admin Users

If your site has multiple Super Admins:

• Each admin sees the same widget
• Results are shared (stored in session)
• Last check date reflects the most recent check by anyone

TIP

For team environments, establish a routine where one person runs morning checks and notifies others of issues.

Widget States

No Results Available

When you first install or haven't run checks:

No health check results available.
Click "Run Health Check" to scan your site.

Results Available

After running checks:

Site Health Summary

🔴 Critical: 0
🟡 Warning: 3
🟢 Good: 123

Last checked: 5 minutes ago

[View Full Report] [Run Health Check]

Stale Results

If results are more than 24 hours old:

⚠️ Results are outdated (last checked 2 days ago)
Consider running a fresh health check.

[Run Health Check]

Troubleshooting

Widget Not Appearing

1. Verify Installation: Go to Extensions → Modules, confirm it's installed
2. Check Status: Ensure Status is "Published"
3. Verify Position: Confirm Position is set to cpanel
4. Check Access: Make sure you're logged in as Super User
5. Clear Cache: System → Clear Cache

Widget Shows No Data

1. Run Health Check: Navigate to Components → Health Checker
2. Click "Run Health Check": Execute checks
3. Return to Dashboard: Widget should now show results

Widget Not Updating

1. Clear Your Session: Log out and back in
2. Clear Browser Cache: Refresh with Ctrl+F5 (Cmd+R on Mac)
3. Check Module Settings: Verify caching isn't too aggressive

Best Practices

Regular Monitoring

• Check the widget daily as part of your admin routine
• Run full health checks weekly (minimum)
• Investigate any increases in warnings or critical issues immediately

Team Coordination

For multi-admin sites:

1. Designate one person for morning health checks
2. Document who's responsible for addressing different issue types
3. Use exported reports to communicate findings
4. Establish escalation procedures for critical issues

Performance Impact

The widget:

• Only displays cached results (no live checks)
• Adds minimal load to your dashboard
• Doesn't slow down your admin panel
• Uses lightweight queries

Customization

Styling

The widget uses Joomla's admin CSS framework. To customize:

1. Override module template in your admin template
2. Add custom CSS via template's custom.css
3. Use module class suffix for targeted styling

Advanced Configuration

Developers can extend the module by:

• Creating custom module layouts
• Adding additional display fields
• Integrating with other monitoring tools
• Creating custom alert thresholds

See Developer Documentation for details.

Next Steps

• Running Health Checks - Execute comprehensive scans
• Reading Results - Interpret findings
• Understanding Checks - Learn about all health checks