How To Use Joomla - Installing Joomla 1.5 using cPanel

Joomla! is an open source content management system (CMS), or a web application framework. The programming language that is used is PHP and for storing data, MySQL database. Joomla! is a project fork of Mambo (the mother of Joomla!) - The developers used existing source codes from Mambo and created Joomla!, a brand new independent and improved content management system. Joomla 1.0.0 was released in September 2005 and has evolved to 1.5.15, which is the latest version. Version 1.6 is currently under alpha testing and hasn't been officially released to the public.

» Why use Joomla?

Would you like to create a website where you can do updating easily? Want to allow user registration and interaction in your website? Need a blog with more features like polling? A forum too? Online forms for user inputs, feedbacks and comments? Use Joomla. Joomla helps a great deal in creating and managing a multi-functional dynamic website - A website with user registration, easy frontend and backend updating, polls, surveys and quizzes, a commenting system, forums and much more. The great thing about Joomla is that is supports extensions - components, plugins, modules and languages. There's a massive library of extensions (free and commercial) available for use. These extensions can be created by anyone (you need to have a good understanding of the Joomla API and framework) and submitted to Joomla Extensions, and people will have access to it. These extensions boost the functionalities of Joomla and allows the user to integrate countless features into their website. One such powerful extension is the Community Builder, which is a component that provides the capability of creating a community (as the name suggests). With this extension, you could even create your very own Facebook! Well, maybe a mini Facebook. ;-)

To use Joomla for your website, you need to install Joomla in the web hosting server of your domain. There are 2 ways to install Joomla - automatic installation from your hosting server, or manual installation by uploading the installation files and running the setup from your web browser. I strongly suggest using the former, automatic installation, as it is easier, faster and less prone to errors.

The Linux server is the most popular server operating system that is used worldwide, compared to Windows, Mac or Unix. It is cheaper, faster, more user-friendly and has higher functionalities for a web hosting control panel. The most common Linux-based web hosting control panel is cPanel; here's how to install Joomla in cPanel (using WHM).

1. Login to the control panel of your account (e.g. http://mywebsite.com:2082) and click on Fantastico De Luxe / Fantastico.

2. Click Joomla 1.5 under the Content Management category. Click New Installation to install Joomla in this domain.

3. You will then need to specify 3 things - where Joomla will be installed, your administrator login details and the base site configuration. Locate the domain you created in the Install on domain drop down list. Make sure it's www.domain-name.com, and not a subdomain.

4. For the Install in directory field, leave it empty so Joomla will be installed in the root directory of your domain. If you specify a folder, you will encounter difficulty shifting Joomla to the root of your domain. If Joomla is installed in the root/main directory of your Addon domain, users view your site at www.domain-name.com, but if you specify a folder for the installation, the URL for your website will be www.domain-name.com/specified-folder.

5. Next is the Admin access data, where you will enter your preferred username and password. Create a unique username and strong password as hackers can easily identify a website using Joomla and hack it.

6. Lastly, input the Base configuration fields with your email address, name and site name. Don't crack your brain on this as you will be able to change this later in your Joomla control panel. Important note - make sure the Install Sample Data checkbox is unchecked. If it's ticked, Joomla will automatically create Sections, Categories, Articles, Polls, Modules and other stuff and you're gonna get headaches editing or removing the sample data that was created. Although managing sections, categories and articles can be terribly hard for beginners, it's still better to learn manually than to figure out using the sample data (which is not very helpful).

7. Once everything's done, click the Install Joomla 1.5 button. You will then be directed to a confirmation page where you'll see the details of your Joomla installation - your newly created MySQL database, the domain where you installed Joomla in and the access URL. Once you've verified that all the details are good, click Finish Installation and your work is done.

8. To test whether your installation was successful, go to www.domain-name/administrator and login with the administrator login details you specified earlier in the setup process. Once you have logged in, click the Preview link at the top right corner of your Joomla control panel (or Joomla administrator backend). A new tab/window will open, showing your website using the default Joomla template.

Mission accomplished! That's it. You've successfully installed the Joomla content management system in your domain via cPanel. Feel free to ask questions if you're in doubt or if you happen to encounter any problems. I'll be more than happy to be of your assistance. ;-D

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