1. Get Joomla

Download the most recent zip version from http://www.joomla.org/ onto your own computer, and then extract the files. This creates a folder named something like "Joomla_4.2.2-Stable-Full_Package" on your computer. For your convenience, you might want to rename this folder to something simpler like "joomla".

2. Create a MySQL database

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.

3. Move the Joomla files to your website

Use our file manager or an FTP program to publish the "contents" of the "joomla" folder (not the actual folder itself) to whatever location on your website you want to use for your Joomla files (usually the top level of your website). This process can take several minutes since Joomla is a large software platform that contains thousands of individual files.

Please note that the folder (directory) 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 website, be sure to delete (or rename) any conflicting default page file.

4. Start the installer

If you uploaded Joomla to the top of your website you can start the installer by going to http://example.com/. The "Main Configuration" page should then appear:

Enter the following settings:

• Site Name: enter anything you want
• Site Description: enter a description of your website
• Your Email: enter an email address that can be used for administrative purposes
• Admin Username: choose a name for administrator user, such as admin
• Admin Password: choose a strong password for the administrator user
• Confirm Admin Password: re-type the administrator password

You can leave the "Site Offline" toggle to No if you would like your website to be published immediately after you finish the installation.

Click Next to continue. The "Database Configuration" page appears:

Enter the following for the database "Basic Settings":

• Database Type: MySQLi
• Host Name: localhost
• Username: enter the "MySQL User Name" that you created in step 2 above (for example, jmexample)
• Password: enter the password for the MySQL database that you created in step 2 above
• Database Name: enter the "MySQL User Name" that you created in step 2 above (this must be the same value as you entered for "Username" two fields above it)
• Table Prefix: accept the suggested default value, unless you have a specific reason to change it.
• Old Database Process: Backup

Click Next to continue. The "Overview" page appears:

If you would like to install the sample data, which is recommended if you are not familiar with Joomla, select a Sample Data to install.

The rest of the screen is an overview of the settings you filled in. You can have the configuration settings emailed to you by switching the Email Configuration toggle to yes.

Click Install to proceed with the installation. The "Installing" page appears:

The "Congratulations" page appears when the installation is finished.

That's it, make sure you delete the installation folder by clicking on the Remove Installation Folder button.

If you uploaded Joomla to the top of your website you can now use it by going to http://example.com/.