Chapter 2. Getting Joomla! Up and Running

Joomla isn't just an ordinary software package that you can install on your own computer: it needs a web server to run. If you're new to Joomla, installing a web application may seem daunting. Also, let's be honest, running the installation procedure is probably the least exciting part of working with Joomla. However, if you just follow the required steps, it's pretty straightforward. It does take some preparation, but if you've got everything ready, you can walk through the setup wizard in minutes.

In this chapter, you'll install Joomla on a web server, allowing you or anyone else with Internet access to immediately see and visit your Joomla-powered site. Your site will be accessible via your own web address (URL), such as http://www.example.com. When you build and customize the site, you'll access the site through your browser.

Tip

Don't fear the technical mumbo jumbo

Joomla will make it really easy for you to build a state-of-the-art website,...

What do you need to start?

To be able to install and run Joomla, you'll need hosting space and a few tools. Here's a full shopping list.

Hosting space

First of all, you'll need hosting space—a place on a web server where you can set up your site, making it accessible for anyone with Internet access. Your hosting account should support the PHP scripting language (as Joomla is written in PHP), it should support the type of database that Joomla uses, called MySQL, and it has to run the Apache server software. Specifically, the following are the system requirements for Joomla 3.x:

• PHP 5.3.10 or higher: PHP is the scripting language that Joomla is written in. PHP 5.4 is recommended.

• MySQL 5.1 or higher: The MySQL database is where Joomla stores its data (the contents of your site). The MySQL database should support the InnoDB storage engine (which is a technique to store and manage information in a database).

• Apache 2.x or higher: Apache is the web server software that processes the PHP instructions...

Installing Joomla! on a web server

If you have set up a web hosting account and got the tools you need, you're set to go. Install Joomla using the following steps:

1. Download the Joomla files from www.joomla.org.

2. Place the files on the web server.

3. Create a database.

4. Install Joomla itself using an installation wizard.

The rest of this section will give you a detailed walk-through of this procedure.

Time for action – downloading the Joomla! files

Let's begin by downloading the current version of Joomla.

1. Point your browser to www.joomla.org. On the home page, click on the Download button.

   

2. You'll be taken to the download page. Select the latest release. Make sure that you download the full package (the other versions are upgrades for existing Joomla installations).

   

3. The default download file is a ZIP file. Download this file to your hard drive.

4. Unpack the compressed file to a folder on your hard drive. If you don't have a software program to unpack files, check out http://www.7-zip.org for an open source file extraction program.

What just happened?

You've downloaded and extracted the Joomla software files. All files required to install Joomla are now stored in a folder on your computer.

Time for action – placing the files on the web server

Next, start up your FTP program (see What do you need to start? earlier in this chapter) and upload all the unzipped files in the folder to the web server. This is how you do it:

1. In your FTP program, browse to the folder that contains the unzipped Joomla files. Select all files (do not select the folder, only its contents).

2. Select the target directory, that is, the root directory of the web server. The root directory is often called httpdocs, htdocs, httpd, public_html, or www. If you can't find the folder, your web hosting company should be able to help you out.

   Tip

   Don't worry about the name of the root folder (httpdocs or any of the other names listed before). This name won't show up in the web address of your site. Visitors don't have to type www.example.com/httpdocs, just www.example.com will take them to your site. However, if you create a folder within httpdocs, this folder name will show up in your web address. If you create a joomla...

Time for action – creating a database

The next step is creating an empty database for Joomla. If you're new to Joomla, the concept of a web application using a database may take some getting used to. The database isn't a regular file that you can create (or copy, move, or delete) on the web server. To create and manage a database, you use special software (such as phpMyAdmin, a popular tool to manage MySQL databases). Most web hosting companies offer you database access through a web interface (usually called a control panel). Popular control panels are Plesk, DirectAdmin, and CPanel. You'll find details on the control panel that's available to you in your hosting account's information.

In the following example, we'll use Plesk 8 to create a new database. If your hosting company provides another control panel, the basic procedure won't be very different. However, if you're not sure how to access your web server control panel, your web hosting provider should be able to provide you with the...

Time for action – running the Joomla! installation wizard

You've got all the Joomla files copied to the web server and you've got a database ready to be filled. Let's finally install Joomla!

1. Enter the URL for your site (such as http://www.example.com) in your browser. The installation screen shown in the following screenshot will come up:

   

   Tip

   The Joomla installer will check whether your web server setup meets the installation requirements. If it does, you'll be taken to the Main Configuration screen. However, if any of the required web server settings isn't met, you won't be able to install Joomla. In that case, Joomla will display a screen of required settings and mark the ones that require attention. If there are any problems, get in touch with your web hosting company to have them correct the web server settings for you.

2. In the Main Configuration screen, change the settings and enter the following information:

   • Select Language: Using this option, you can select the language you want to use...

Installing Joomla! on your own computer

In the previous section, you saw how to install Joomla on a web server. Another option is to install the web server software on your computer and run Joomla on this local web server. This is also called a local installation. In this setup, your computer will act as if it were a live web server—but your Joomla site will only be accessible on your computer. If you've followed along in the previous section and you have already installed Joomla on the Web, you can skip this section and head for the next chapter.

Installing Joomla on your own computer does have a couple of drawbacks. You'll have access to your Joomla site from just one computer, and when your site is ready for the world, you'll still have to move it to a real web server. However, installing Joomla locally is a good solution when you want to install CMS for testing purposes. It makes it easy to develop sites without having access to a web server.

In this section, you'll learn more about what...

Time for action – installing XAMPP

In this example, we'll install the XAMPP software package, as it's available for all major operating systems.

1. Go to www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html and download the latest release for your operating system. In this example, we'll download XAMPP for Windows. Select the installer version of the current release.

   

2. Open the downloaded software and give Windows permission to install it on your computer. The XAMPP Setup Wizard will start. In the next few screens, you can agree to all the default options. When you're prompted to select components to install, the default selection (all components) is fine. You'll probably also want to install XAMPP in its default location, c:\xampp.

3. Make sure to deselect the option Learn more about BitNami for XAMPP. It's best to choose a straightforward XAMPP installation.

4. XAMPP will start installing; this can take several minutes. When you see the completion notice, make sure that the Do you want to start the Control Panel now...

Time for action – creating a MySQL database

1. In your web browser, go to http://localhost. The XAMPP welcome screen appears.

2. In the menu on the left-hand side, under Tools, click on phpMyAdmin.

3. In the phpMyAdmin screen, click on the Databases tab. Enter a name for the new database (in this example, joomladatabase) and click on the Create button as seen in the following screenshot:

   

You'll see a confirmation notice that a new database has been created. A default database user (called root) will automatically be added by phpMyAdmin, which is alright for our purposes.

What just happened?

You've now finished preparing your computer to enable it to run the Joomla software. You've added the empty database Joomla needs to store its content in, so you're ready to install CMS.

Downloading and installing Joomla!

Now that you've got your computer set up as a web server, the procedure to install Joomla itself is not much different from the steps to install Joomla on a real web server, described earlier in this...

Time for action – downloading Joomla! and running the installation wizard

To install CMS, download Joomla, place the files on your computer, and start the step-by-step installation as follows:

1. First, download and unzip the Joomla files. Please refer to the Time for action – downloading the Joomla! files earlier in this chapter for specifics.

2. On your computer, use the file browser (in Windows this will be Windows File Explorer) to navigate to C:\xampp\htdocs. Create a new folder named joomla3 in the htdocs folder.

3. Move the files you unpacked in the step 1 to the the joomla3 folder.

4. In your web browser, go to http://localhost/joomla3.

5. The Joomla installation wizard starts. You'll follow the same steps as described earlier in this chapter in Time for action – running the Joomla installation wizard. Please refer to that section for detailed information. The only differences when performing a local installation involve the database details (the second step in the following steps). Here's an overview...

Upgrading from previous versions of Joomla!

If you've already built websites with Joomla 1.5 or Joomla 2.5, you can upgrade your existing site to the current version of Joomla 3.x. However, this isn't an automated process. How much effort this takes depends on what Joomla version your current site is running on and what extensions and templates you're using. So what can you do if you want to keep your existing content and the existing structure of your website when upgrading to Joomla 3.x? Here's an overview of the possibilities.

Tip

When you decide to upgrade your site, make sure you create a backup of your current site. This way, if anything goes wrong, you can always revert to the old situation. Akeeba Backup is a great (and free) tool to backup Joomla sites. It allows you to create a backup and also to reinstall that version of the site on a different location. This means you can copy the current site to a temporary location, perform the upgrade, and put the upgraded site back to the original...

Got stuck? Get help!

Looking for more help and tips on installing Joomla?

• Visit the Joomla documentation site at http://docs.joomla.org and check the Getting Started with Joomla! page at http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla/getting-started.html.

• Don't forget there are many free video tutorials on YouTube. Search for install Joomla 3 and you'll be presented with a truckload of installation guides.

• If you're having trouble installing Joomla, chances are your problem has already been solved on the official Joomla forum dedicated to installation issues. On http://forum.joomla.org, look for the Installation section or use the forum's search functionality.

Tip

In your browser, go to www.joomm.net, the website that accompanies this book, to find answers to frequently asked Joomla questions.

Pop quiz – test your knowledge of installing Joomla

Q1. Why do you need FTP software before you can install Joomla?

1. To unzip the installation package.

2. To upload files from your computer to the web server.

3. To back up your...

Summary

In this chapter, you learned how to install Joomla. You learned that to be able to install and run Joomla, you'll need hosting space that meets Joomla's specific server requirements. You also need FTP software to put the required files on a web server. You might want to install a few different browsers.

You also learned that there are two ways to install Joomla—either on the hosting space on a live web server, or on your own computer. Installing Joomla on a web server means the new site is directly accessible through the Internet. Installing Joomla on your own computer is a good solution if you don't have a web hosting account or want to install Joomla for testing purposes.

Finally, you learned that the output of the Joomla installation has two faces. The Joomla frontend displays an example website that is publicly accessible and the backend is Joomla's web management interface where for now just one VIP is allowed to log in: you!

Now that you've got Joomla up and running, it's about...