Joomla Tutorial - manual install

How to install Joomla CMS without the help of Fantastico
Manual installation of Joomla

Please, follow these instructions in order to complete a manual installation of Joomla on a Indichosts.net hosting account. Please, skip this step if you already completed the automated installation.

Pre-installation Steps

Database Setup

Please, log into your cPanel and click on MySQL Databases. Look for the “Add DB” button:

Here you create the MySQL database that will be used by your Joomla installation for storing all articles, news, comments, polls and results, and almost everything else that Joomla needs to remember. Pick a simple name for the database (e.g. ‘Joomla’), fill it in and click on the “Add DB” button.

Now that you have created the database, you also need to make sure that Joomla will be able to access it. You need to create a MySQL user that has privileges for accessing the database.

Again, go to cPanel -> MySQL Databases and find the “Add User” button. Right above it, fill in a username and password for the MySQL user. It is a good idea to keep the username the same as the name of the database. Ready? Take a note of the password and username you selected and click on the “Add User” button.

At this point, the only thing left to do about database setup is to grant privileges to the user for the database. On the cPanel -> MySQL Databases page, find the two drop-down menus for users and databases, select your Joomla database and the user you have created leave the Privileges: þALL checked and click on “Add User to Db”.

Upload Files

Now that you have your database up and ready to be filled in with data, you have to upload the Joomla files to your account. Go to www.joomla.org and download the latest release. Extract it on your computer – the archive will unzip to a folder that contains the files of the installation.

Now, please, fire up your favourite FTP client.

You should have already picked where Joomla will be installed on your account. If you need it to be your main website engine, you should upload the files and directories of the installation directly inside the public_html directory of your account. In other words, if Joomla is to be visible at http://www.YourDomain.com/

The files should be uploaded inside public_html, and should have FTP paths like

public_html/index.php
public_html/installation/
public_html/components/
etc.

If you want Joomla installed in a sub-directory, create a directory inside public_html and upload all files there. For example, if Joomla is to be installed at http://www.yourdomain.com/joomlasite/, please, create the public_html/joomlasite directory and upload the files in there, which should produce similar paths:

public_html/joomlasite/index.php
public_html/joomlasite/components/
etc.

Have a cup of coffee or tea while the files are being uploaded.

Installation

Finally, you are ready to proceed with the installation. Please, point your browser to the URL where you have uploaded the files. We will assume Joomla will be your main website, so type www.yourdomain.com in your browser. The steps of the installation process are very straight forward and well-explained, so we will only discuss the most important ones in detail.

• Pre-installation Check – you may get a warning about Register Globals being on – do not worry, as this should not be a problem later on. Proceed by clicking on “Next”.

• License – Joomla is licensed under GPL. Review the licensing conditions and quit reading this tutorial if you disagree with any of them. No? Ok, click on “Next”

• Step 1: MySQL database configuration: This is where you tell Joomla how to access its database. Some time ago, you should have created an MySQL database and user – please enter the details in the boxes provided. Note, that the name of the database and the username are prefixed with “username_” where username is your cPanel login name. Do not forget to type in the password of the MySQL user, note that it is case-sensitive. For “Host Name” enter “localhost”. All other check-boxes and fields can be left by default. Click on Next – a popup will appear, asking you to confirm that the information you entered is correct. Worry not – if you made a mistake, the installation will take you back to this step. Click OK.

• Step 2: Site Name: Enter the name of your website, for example “A Joomla Playground” or “My Personal Website”.

• Step 3: This is an important part of the installation, where you are asked to confirm the URL and system path to the files. Do not edit those values, unless you know what you are doing. Put your e-mail in the “Your e-mail” filed. This will not bring tons of SPAM in your inbox, actually, the e-mail address will not be displayed anywhere on the website. However, it is vital that you enter an actual e-mail address, as it will be used to send your password in case you forgot it, and notify you of other events. Enter your administrator password in the Admin Password” field. Please leave the File and Directory permissions settings intact. It is save to choose “Don't CHMOD” for both.

• Step 4: Yippee! Your Joomla is now almost up and running. Note your administrator username and password – this is very important. Before you can access the installation, you have to delete a directory called “installation” that sits inside the Joomla directory. This can be done using either an FTP client or cPanel's File Manager. Once the directory is completely removed, Joomla is ready for you to play with. Congratulations!