How to Install Magento

This wikiHow shows you how to install Magento for your PHP site manually, which both Windows and Mac can do. In order to get started using Magento, you need to make sure your server meets the Magento requirements as well as creating a...
Part 1 of 3:

Downloading Magento

  1. Go to https://www.magento.com/download. This is the download site for Magento.
  2. Scroll down to the version you want to download. Scroll to the "Full Release (ZIP with no Sample Data)" to find the latest version of Magento without data to use for testing. If you want some sample data in your package, scroll down to the "Full Release with Sample Data" section instead.
  3. Select a format from the latest version's drop-down menu. The formats are just different ways that the Magento files are compressed (e.g., ZIP, TG, etc.) You can choose between downloading the full release with or without sample data.[2]
  4. Click Download next to the desired version. If you're already signed in to your Magento account, the files will now download to your computer.
    1. If you're not signed in, follow the on-screen instructions to do so now, or click CREATE AN ACCOUNT NOW to create a Magento account now.
Part 2 of 3:

Uploading Magento to Your Server

  1. Open your FTP (file transfer protocol) or SPC (secure copy protocol) client. This is the app you use to upload your website files to the server.
    1. One popular FTP client is Filezilla (PC and Mac).
  2. Connect to your server. Be sure to sign in with an account that has full access to install and run apps. Once you're connected, you'll see two lists of files--one set on your computer (sometimes labeled "Localhost") and the other set on the remote host.
    1. If you're not sure how to connect to your web server, check your FTP app's help files or contact your server administrator.
  3. Open the folder on your computer to which you downloaded Magento. This is usually your computer's Downloads folder.
  4. Drag the Magento package to the desired directory on the remote server. If your FTP app doesn't support drag-and-drop, try double-clicking the file or selecting it once and clicking Move.
  5. Log into your web server via SSH. Now that you've uploaded the files, you'll need to perform some commands at the command line to unzip and prepare your files. If you're not sure how to access a command line on your web server, contact your server administrator.
  6. Change to the web server's document root. This is the directory in which you store your web files (often called htdocs or www.
  7. Create a subdirectory for Magento. You can call it magento or anything you wish.
  8. Copy the Magento zipped folder to the new directory. This is the file you just uploaded to the server.
  9. Extract the files from the Magneto zipped file. Use unzip filename if your file ends with .zip or tar zxvf filename if the file ends with tar.gz, or tar jxf filename if the file ends with .tar.bz2.
  10. Set read-write permissions for the web server group. If you're using a shared hosting account, run the following command at the prompt, replacing fullpathtoyourmagentofolder with the actual path:
    1. cd /fullpathtoyourmagentofolder && find var generated vendor pub/static pub/media app/etc -type f -exec chmod u+w {} + && find var generated vendor pub/static pub/media app/etc -type d -exec chmod u+w {} + && chmod u+x bin/magento
Part 3 of 3:

Installing Magento

  1. Go to 'http://yourservername/magentorootdirectory/setup' in a web browser. Replace yourservername with your domain or IP address and magentorootdirectory with the path to the folder you created for Magento. This will open the web-based setup wizard.[3]
  2. Click Agree and Set Up Magento to start the Setup Wizard.
  3. Click Start Readiness Check. The wizard will scan for issues and list what it finds. Resolve any issues to continue.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Add a database. This information needs to be accurate for the software to accurately pull information. The setup wizard will ask for the following information:
    1. Database Server Host: If the Database Server Host and web server are hosted with the same host, enter 'localhost.'
    2. Database Server Username: This is the username for the Magento database instance owner.
    3. Database Server Password: This can be left blank if there is no set password.
    4. Database Name: This is the Magento database instance name.
    5. Table Prefix: Only use this if you're using more Magento tables in a database that already has tables. The prefix is used so users with multiple tables can identify them. Prefixes can only be five characters and can only include letters, numbers, and the underscore character.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Configure Magento for your website. The information here will optimize Magento for your website and its users.
    1. Your Store Address: Enter your website home page name. For example, 'http://www.example.com/'
    2. Magento Admin Address: This is the relative URL you'll use to get to the Magento Admin.
    3. Click 'Advanced Options'.
    4. Select the options required by your web server.
  8. Click Next.
  9. Customize your store. On this step of the tutorial, you can set the local time zone, default currency, and default language. Once you've configured these settings, click Next to continue.
  10. Create an Admin account and click Next. This is where you'll create a special username and password you'll use to manage Magento on the web.
  11. Click Install Now. Magento will now install with the settings you configured. The installer should show a success screen once the installation is complete. If the installation fails, you can click Previous to fix any errors. You can also run the installer again.[4]
5 ★ | 1 Vote