Joomla Tutorial and Installation How To

The following tutorial describes how to install Joomla, with your NEXCESS.NET web hosting account. NEXCESS.NET is Joomla friendly, and this Joomla tutorial is meant to help you quickly setup Joomla 1.0 with our web hosting service.

Joomla is a popular content management system that rivals Drupal, Mambo, php Nuke and other open source content management systems. Joomla is distributed under the GPL ("General Public License") meaning its is free to download and use.

Make sure your host supports Joomla! This step only applies only if you don't have a NEXCESS.NET hosting plan - all of our shared and reseller plans support Joomla. If you're not a NEXCESS.NET client, then you can check the minimum requirements for Joomla to make sure that your hosting account qualifies.

There are multiple methods to complete a successful Joomla installation. For the purpose of making this tutorial as simple as possible, we will use the Joomla Web Install method. We will also cover multiple methods to accomplish preparatory tasks that will pave the way for a proper joomla installation. If you're a NEXCESS.NET customer and at anytime you need help please feel free to contact support.

For the sake of this tutorial we'll assume that you own the domain johnsmith.com and are installing Joomla at http://johnsmith.com/jmla.

1. Create a database and database user for Joomla to use
   The first thing to do is to run through the SiteWorx MySQL tutorial and create a MySQL username and database for Drupal to use to store the information it needs. For the purpose of making this tutorial simple, we are going to use db_user as the Drupal database user and Drupal_db as the Drupal database.
2. Download Joomla and extract the files Go to the Joomla download page and get the most recent version of Joomla. Upload the Joomla tar file to the home directory of your site using an FTP program. If you need help with FTPing files, you can check out our FTP tutorials. Connect to your site with SSH. If you do not have SSH access or are not familiar with SSH please visit our SSH tutorial page. Navigate to the folder where you uploaded the Joomla tar file, and type the following command: tar -zxvf Joomla_1.0.15-Stable-Full_Package.tar.gz This command will extract the compressed files.
3. Access the Joomla Web Installer
   If you open a browser windows and go to the folder you uploaded the files on your website (i.e. http://johnsmith.com/jmla), you should see the Joomla Web Installer page. Notice the warnings indicating that the configuration.php file is unwritable, and the list of directories that aren't writeable - we will get to fixing that in the next step. Go back to your SSH session and type this command: touch configuration.php This command will create a blank file called configuration.php file. Or you can create a text file on your desktop, name it configuration.php, then FTP it to the jmla directory.
4. Fixing directory permission issues
   Now we need to change the permissions on the directories that Joomla's web installer will need to access. Remember that once the installation is completed you will need to change the permissions back. There are multiple ways to change direcotory and file permissions. The quickest way to change file permissions is to cd to the directory were you are installing joomla, then copy and paste the following commands. If copy and paste doesn't work you will have to type out each one separately and press enter after each one: chmod a+w administrator/backups/
   chmod a+w administrator/components/
   chmod a+w administrator/modules/
   chmod a+w administrator/templates/
   chmod a+w cache/
   chmod a+w components/
   chmod a+w images/
   chmod a+w images/banners/
   chmod a+w images/stories/
   chmod a+w language/
   chmod a+w mambots/
   chmod a+w mambots/content/
   chmod a+w mambots/editors/
   chmod a+w mambots/editors-xtd/
   chmod a+w mambots/search/
   chmod a+w mambots/system/
   chmod a+w media/
   chmod a+w modules/
   chmod a+w templates/
   chmod a+w configuration.php If you are uncomfortable with making permission changes from the command line, you can use your ftp client to make the appropriate file permissions changes. Now go to the Joomla Web Installer and recheck to make sure all permissions were done correctly. If there are no problems proceed by clicking the next button.
5. Enter the database settings
   You will be asked to input the MySQL Host Name, use localhost. Type the MySQL User Name, Password, and Database name you created erlier in the proper fields.
   
   Enter your MySQL settings for Joomla
   Once complete, click the next button. The Joomla Web Installer will now test your MySQL settings. If your settings are correct, you will be forwarded to the next step. If your settings are incorrect you will be returned to the MySQL configuration page.
6. Configuring Joomla
   Input the name you would like to use for your site then click next. You can change the site name later if you wish. You will be asked to input your email address, write down the generated admin password, or change it to whatever you please. Make sure you select CHMOD files to: and CHMOD directories to: and make the changes look similar to the screen shot below. If you fail to make appropriate changes to file permissions, this can pose as a serious security risk.
   
   Be sure to change the file permissions correctly
   The next step will prompt you to remove the installation directory. Do not proceed further without doing so, or all your settings will be erased and you will have to start your installation over. To remove the installation directory, in SSH navigate to the directory you installed joomla in and type the following command: rm -rf ./installation You can also use your ftp client to remove the directory. Once you remove the Installation directory, simply click site administration. You will be directed towards your freshly installed Joomla CMS administration page. For future reference, if you would like to access the Joomla administration page, simply point your favorite browser to http://johnsmith.com/jmla/administrator

Congratulations, you have successfully installed Joomla! Please feel free to contact support if you need further assistance.

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