Content modules display article and other information from the content component.
User modules interact with the user system, allowing users to login, show who is logged-in, and showing the most recently registered users.
These modules display information from components other than content and user. These include weblinks, news feeds and the media manager.
Utility modules provide useful functionality such as search, syndication and statistics.
Navigation modules help your visitors move through your site and find what they need.
Menus provide your site with structure and help your visitors navigate your site. Although they are all based on the same menu module, the variety of ways menus are used in the sample data show how flexible this module is.
A menu can range from extremely simple (for example the top menu or the menu for the Australian Parks sample site) to extremely complex (for example the About Joomla! menu with its many levels). They can also be used for other types of presentation such as the site map linked from the "This Site" menu.
Breadcrumbs provide users with information about where they are in a site.