This page explains how to install the Joomla Content Management System (CMS) onto your Web site. Joomla is free and allows you to edit and create Web pages online through your Web browser.
These instructions are based on the older 1.0.12 version of Joomla. Therefore we would strongly recommend installing the most recent version. These instructions assume that you're installing Joomla at the top level of your Web site; if you choose to put it elsewhere on your site, be sure to change the paths and URLs to match.
Download the most recent zip version from http://www.joomla.org/ onto your own computer using and then extract the files. This creates a folder named something like "Joomla_1.0.12-Stable-Full_Package" on your computer. For your convenience, you might want to rename this folder to something simpler like "joomla".
Joomla uses a MySQL database to store the blog entries. We recommend creating a new database specifically for Joomla, rather than using an existing one. To create the database on our servers, follow our instructions explaining how to create a MySQL database.
There's no specific format you need to follow when naming the database. The rest of these instructions will assume that your database is called "jmexample" — if you use a different name, just use that name instead of "jmexample" when following the instructions below.
Open the globals.php file and locate the following line:
define( 'RG_EMULATION', 1 );
Now change the 1 to a 0 (zero) and save the file:
define( 'RG_EMULATION', 0 );
Use an FTP program to publish the "contents" of the "joomla" directory (not the directory itself) to whatever location on your Web site you want to use for your Joomla files (usually the top level of your Web site).
Please note that the directory (folder) into which you upload your Joomla files should not contain any other files named index.html, index.htm, or index.shtml. This is necessary because otherwise those default pages would be served before Joomla's index.php page. In particular, if you upload Joomla into the top level of your Web site, be sure to delete (or rename) any conflicting default page file.
If you uploaded Joomla to the top of your Web site you can start the installer by going to http://example.com/. The following page should then appear:
If Session save path says Unwriteable, you can safely ignore that warning and continue with the installation. The Unwriteable status is caused by a known bug in the Joomla installer, but will not prevent Joomla from working.
Click Next to continue.
Read through the license and click Next if you agree to its terms.
Enter "localhost" as the Host Name.
The "MySQL User Name" and "MySQL Database Name" are the database name you created in step 2 (for instance "jmexample"). Enter these details as shown.
Enter your "MySQL Password". Click Next.
Click OK to continue.
Choose a "Site name" and click Next.
Verify that all values are correct. Enter an e-mail address that can be used for administrative purposes in the E-mail field and write down the automatically generated password.
Click Next.
Before viewing your Web site and logging in as the administrator it is necessary to delete the installation folder. Use FTP to delete the folder named installation.
After you have deleted the installation folder, click Administration to continue.
Enter your Username and Password to configure Joomla, then click Login. You may now configure Joomla. Please see the Joomla documentation for full details on how to configure Joomla.