Joomla may sound like it comes straight out of the jungle, but it is probably the best content management system (CMS) ever made –the reason for awards; its ease of installation and of use. It’s actually a Swahili word, meaning “all encompassing” which is what Joomla is.
The One-Click Installation
There is actually more than one way of installing Joomla, but the easiest of all the installation methods, is the “One Click Install” offered by many hosting providers. So if you still haven’t bought your Web hosting service, look for a service that offers “One Click Installs.” Joomla offers a list of one click web hosting providers. The hosting provider offers an installation wizard for these services, which simply allows you to follow the easy click-through instructions.
Traditional Server Installation
However not everyone has to one click installation available to them. In these cases you will have to do a manual installation, which is not difficult either and only requires a few basic steps. Although to make the Joomla installation run as fast as possible, it’s best to use high-speed Internet, since you will be uploading a large number of files to your server.
There are a few things you should check before installing the Joomla files to make sure the installation is successful. Check with your Web hosting service provider to make sure your hosting account has the minimum requirements for the installation. It must have PHP 4.2.x or above, MySQL 3.23.x or above and Apache 1.13.19 or above. In most cases you will find that Web hosting accounts meet these requirements.
1. Visit the Joomla website and click the “Download Now” button. This will download the zipped files you need for the installation. Choose the location on your computer to save these files.
2. Once your download these files open on FTP server such as Filezilla or any other FTP server use. Enter your hosting account, username and password to connect to the hosting account. Drag and drop the zipped Joomla file into the public_html folder or any other folder you want to use the Joomla directory in. wait for the files to transfer to the server. Note the transfer process in the bottom screen of your FTP software program. Close your FTP uploading program once you finish.
3. Open your Web browser and visit your hosting website. Locate the manage hosting account and enter the user name and password needed to enter the “Cpanel” (your website file dashboard.) Go to your “File Directory” listing and open the folder where you saved the Joomla zipped files. In most cases this will be in the public_html directory. Unzip the files using the “Unzip” command on the toolbar commands above the directory. Close your Web hosting Cpanel dashboard or other type of dashboard (depending on your hosting company,) and return to your normal Web browser interface.
4. Navigate through the browser to your website and to the Joomla files. It should be something like: http://mywebsite.com/Joomla (replace mywebsite with the name of your website.)
5. Notice the first Joomla installation screen in the browser. From here follow the Joomla installation wizard to complete the installation.
Once you finish with the installation wizard your Joomla installation is complete and you are ready to start adding the content and images you want.
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