How to Install Joomla – The Complete Guide (Step by Step 2019)
Want to install Joomla? This Joomla tutorial is actually for you! It is written to guide you on the different ways to install Joomla.
Table of Contents
What do you Need to Install Joomla?
Before Joomla can be installed and used, there are a few things you will need. These things would enable you install Joomla.
The following are the things you need to install Joomla:
- A copy of Joomla software
- An active Joomla hosting account or a local webserver
- An active domain name
- An SSL certificate (optional)
A copy of Joomla Software
You will only need a copy of Joomla software if you are installing Joomla locally or manually.
One of our JovialGuides shows you how to download Joomla.
An Active Joomla Hosting Account or a Local Webserver
You need an active Joomla hosting account or a local webserver (localhost) to install Joomla. This is where your Joomla website files and folders will be stored.
If you would like your Joomla website to be available for anyone to visit online, then you need a Joomla hosting account to install Joomla on. But if you would like to install Joomla locally, then you need a local webserver.
For Joomla hosting, we recommend SiteGround, InMotion hosting or A2hosting hosting to get started with Joomla installation on a live webserver.
If you would like to get started using a free Joomla hosting plan, see our list of the best free Joomla hosting companies.
An Active Domain Name for Your Joomla Website
This is a unique name your website users will use in finding your Joomla website on the internet.
You need a domain name if you are installing Joomla on a live server. But if it is on a local webserver, there is no need to purchase a domain name.
An SSL Certificate (Optional)
You need an SSL certificate for your Joomla website if your Joomla website is available on the internet. An SSL certificate will let you transfer sensitive data, in that it becomes invisible for third party users.
A Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate is optional!
How to Secure your Joomla Website During Installation
Before you begin with the installation of Joomla, we recommend you see this section on how to secure your Joomla website during the installation processes.
Your Joomla website can easily be hacked as a result of weak admin password. To make your admin password difficult to guess, use passwords with strong combinations. A combination of numbers, special characters, etc., should be used!
Before installing Joomla, see the complete Joomla tutorial on how to secure your Joomla website during installation for detailed instructions.
If you are a HostGator Joomla hosting user and would like to install Joomla on their shared server using quickinstall, you will have to make sure you have an active Joomla hosting account with HostGator.
To install Joomla on HostGator, your HostGator Joomla hosting account must have an active shared hosting plan.
If you do not have, you can sign-up for a Joomla hosting plan with HostGator.
You can still use your HostGator account if you have an active Joomla hosting plan.
Installing Joomla on HostGator – Step 1
Log in to the Control Panel (cPanel) of your HostGator account. When you are logged in, click on quickInstall. It is located under the softwares section.
Installing Joomla on HostGator – Step 2
On the quickinstall page, click on one-click install . One-click install is located on the site builders and CMS section.
Installing Joomla on HostGator – Step 3
Since we are installing Joomla (on HostGator shared server using quickinstall), we will select it from the list of Content Management Systems (CMS) available. To select the Joomla software, click on Joomla (on the one-click install page).
Installing Joomla on HostGator – Step 4
It is time to select the domain and subdomain you would like to install your Joomla website on. Select the domain and enter the name of the subfolder (subdomain) you would like to install Joomla on.
If you would like to install Joomla on the root domain, only select the domain and leave the subdomain box empty. But if you would like to install your Joomla website on a subdomain, enter the name of the subfolder/subdomain you would like to install Joomla on and click proceed.
The subdomain is automatically created (when proceed is clicked), only if a name is entered into the subdomain input field.
After selecting your desired domain and entering a name into the subdomain field/leaving the subdomain field empty, click next to proceed to the next Joomla installation stage.
Installing Joomla on HostGator – Step 5
The new page lets you enter the admin details for the Joomla website you are installing on HostGator using quickinstall. These admin details are: admin username, site name and admin email.
The admin username is the nice name you would like to use as your admin log in name, the site name is the site title of your Joomla website and the admin email is the Email address you would like to use for your admin account.
Installing Joomla on HostGator – Step 6
Wait for Joomla to install on HostGator. Look at the progress bar at the right side of your screen.
If Joomla installed successfully, the progress bar will show you a success message. If Joomla did not install successfully, the progress bar will show you.
If Joomla installed successfully on HostGator shared server, click on either log in to log in to the control panel of your newly installed Joomla website, or click on view my installs to view your newly installed Joomla website installation details.
See our complete Joomla tutorial on installing Joomla on HostGator for detailed instructions.
Let us see how to install Joomla on Android.
How to Install Joomla on Android Locally Using PHP Running (in 4 Steps)
Installing Joomla on Android lets you build a Joomla website locally (offline). It is much faster and saves cost than building a Joomla website on a live webserver.
There are some Android softwares you will need to install on your Android OS (Operating System). They will let you install, set up and run Joomla locally on your Android. These softwares you should download and install are:
- A copy of Joomla software
- Easy unzip file – for unzipping/extracting Joomla software
- PHP Runner – which we will use as our local web server
- Lastly, an Android OS
Easy unzip file and PHP Runner are available for download on Google Play Store. Joomla is available for download in the official website of Joomla or see our post on how to download Joomla for instructions.
Installing Joomla on Android – Step 1
After downloading and installing the required softwares, launch PHP Runner. It is a local webserver (localhost), that supports PHP for Android Operating System. Start PHP Runner by clicking start.
After starting PHP Runner, you will have to download phpmyadmin. To download phpmyadmin, click on download phpmyadmin. It will download phpmyadmin into the htdocs folder in your Android storage.
Installing Joomla on Android – Step 2
Use Easy Unzip file to extract the copy of Joomla you downloaded earlier into the htdocs folder in your Android storage (where phpmyadmin was downloaded to).
Installing Joomla on Android – Step 3
When phpmyadmin downloads successfully, click on site editor, and you will be taken to your htdocs page (where you downloaded phpmyadmin and extracted Joomla to).
Click on Joomla (the one you extracted) and you will be taken to the installation screen of Joomla.
The name of the Joomla folder in your htdocs will be similar to Joomla_3.9.0-Stable-Full_Package, where 3.9.0 is the version of Joomla. Your own may be different, depending upon the version of Joomla you downloaded.
Installing Joomla on Android – Step 4
Configuration Stage
On the installation page of Joomla, you will see configuration, database and overview. These are the installation stages of Joomla.
On the configuration stage, enter your main configuration settings and the super user account details, by filling the form provided. Click next to proceed to the next installation stage (database configuration).
Database Configuration Stage
On the database configuration page, enter your database configuration details. Your database username is: root, database password: (leave empty), database name: mysql, host name: 127.0.0.1. At the end, click next to proceed to the last installation stage.
Overview Stage
On the overview stage, you will be shown all of the configuration settings you did on the configuration and database configuration stages of Joomla installation. If all of the settings are okay, click on install to begin the installation of Joomla on Android.
On the last page (after installing Joomla), you will be asked to remove the installation folder, else, you will not be able to proceed! Click on remove installation folder to remove it.
You have successfully installed Joomla on Android. For a complete tutorial on installing Joomla on Android using PHP Runner, see how to install Joomla on Android for detailed instructions.
How to Install Joomla From Control Panel (cPanel)
cPanel (Control Panel) is a web-based interface, provided by Joomla hosting providers for managing hosted websites. cPanel come with different web-app installation tools. These tools are: softaculous app installer, quickinstall, etc. The most popular/common is softaculous one-click app installer.
Our Joomla Hosting Recommendations (2019)
There are dozens of Joomla hosting providers that are being created each day. With the available numbers of Joomla Joomla hosting companies, it is becoming more and more difficult to pick one to host your Joomla website. Do not worry, we have some Joomla hosting companies we would recommend to you.
We recommend SiteGround, InMotion Hosting or A2Hosting . Their Joomla hosting services are excellent!
Final Words – How to Install Joomla 2019
This Joomla tutorial has taught you how to install Joomla in different ways. Installing Joomla requires you to have a few things available, a local webserver, a copy of Joomla software, a Joomla hosting account and a domain name for your Joomla website. You must have these things available to be able to install Joomla.
