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- A web-host providing the following:
- PHP 5.2 or later.
- MySQL 5.0 or later.
- Better if: Unix hosting, Apache Web Server 1.3 or later, at least 32 64 Mb of RAM.
- Access codes to your FTP server and your MySQL database (provided by your web-host).
- A text editor.
- A FTP client.
- A Web browser.
You also need to know which URL on your domain you want your shopstore(s) to be accessible from.
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Before downloading or installing anything, you need to provide a home for your PrestaShop online store. This means its files need to reside on a Web server. You might have a Web server of your own, but it is more likely that you have or will have your shop store hosted by an Internet hosting service (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_hosting_service), which provides you with an online home for a monthly or yearly fee.
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- 1&1: http://www.1and1.com/
- A2: http://www.a2hosting.com/prestashop-hosting
- alwaysdata: https://www.alwaysdata.com/
- Bluehost: http://www.bluehost.com/
- DreamHost: http://www.dreamhost.com/
- MediaTemple: http://mediatemple.net/
- OVH: http://www.ovh.com/
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Registering a domain name
You may will also want need to buy a domain - name for your shop store (meaning: mydomainname.com or myonlineshop.net).
Many web hosts offer a free domain with every new account, but you could also buy one at an . They might be free for a year, or for as long as you keep that account on their server. This makes it easy to get the full package (hosting+domain name) in one go.
| Tip |
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There can be an issue with host-provided domain names: if you find yourself not satisfied with the host's service, you will want to switch to a better host. This means moving your files, data and domain name to that other host. The files and data are easy to move, but depending on the host, you might have a hard time getting your domain name back. Since they bought the domain name for you, technically the domain belongs to them, and they can either forbid you to transfer it to another host, or they can make you pay for it. And since the domain name is your brand and your address on the web, you must obey the web host's rules. That is why it is often recommended to get your domain name from an independent domain name registrar (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_registrar). Technically, a never buy a domain name, you rent it (most of the time for a yearly fee), but at least you will be free to move to a better host at any time, for no supplementary fee: just change the domain name's DNS addresses, and within 24 hours the move is propagated to the world. |
If you've never bought a d rather get your domain name from an independent registrar, here are some registrars that you can trust:
- BookmynameGandi: http://wwwen.bookmynamegandi.comnet/Gandi
- Namecheap: http://www.gandinamecheap.netcom/Namecheap
- PairNIC: httphttps://www.namecheappairnic.com/
There are many more. Ask your friends!
Technical requirements
| Info |
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PrestaShop is a software which runs on a web server, and is written using the PHP programming language. It stores its data in a MySQL server. PHP is an open-source programming language, mainly used for web applications. Created in 1995, it has since become the most used programming language by web developers. It uses a C-like syntax, making it easy for developers to learn it. |
Whichever hosting service you use must have the following components installed on your server space:
- System: Unix, Linux or Windows. Unix is highly recommended.
- Web server: Apache Web server 1.3 or later.
- PHP 5.2 or later. (You may have to activate PHP 5 on your hosting service, see below.)
- MySQL 5.0 or later.
- At least 32 64 Mb of RAM on your server (64 128 Mb is more comfy, the more the better).
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Here are a few well-known text editors:
- Windows:
- Notepad++: http://notepad-plus-plus.org/
- UltraEdit: http://www.ultraedit.com/
- Crimson Editor: http://www.crimsoneditor.com/
- OS X:
- Textmate: http://macromates.com/
- Coda: http://www.panic.com/coda/
- Smultron: http://www.peterborgapps.com/smultron/
- Unix/Linux:
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Open FileZilla, and open its Site Manager tool. You can do this in three different ways:
- Press Ctrl-S
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- ,
- Click the "Open the Site Manager" icon, at the top left
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- ,
- Open the "File" menu, and select the "Site Manager..." option.
A window opens.
To add your hosting space to the Site Manager:
- Click the "New Site" button. A new entry is created in the site list. Give it a recognizable name.
- On the right side, in the "General" tab, enter the parameters your host provided you with: host, user, and password. You should not have to change the other default parameters, unless told so by your host.
- Once all the fields are properly filled, click the "Connect" button. This will both save your site in the list, and log you into your account, so that you can make sure everything works right.
Here If FileZilla doesn't suit you, here are a few other well-known FTP clients:
- Windows:
- CoreFTP: http://www.coreftp.com/
- WinSCP: http://winscp.net/
- SmartFTP: http://www.smartftp.com/
- Mac OS X:
- Cyberduck: http://cyberduck.ch/
- Transmit: http://www.panic.com/transmit/
- Fetch: http://fetchsoftworks.com/fetch/
- Unix/Linux:
- gFTP: http://gftp.seul.org/
- kasablanca: http://kasablanca.berlios.de/
- NcFTP: http://www.ncftp.com/ncftp/
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Note that thanks to the multistore feature, you can have as many shops stores as necessary with a single installation of PrestaShop 1.5, each with its own specific URL. Take that into account when deciding what goes where.
Whatever your plan, the default shop store will always reside where PrestaShop itself is located.
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You may wish to install on your local machine, either in order to test PrestaShop before investing money in a server and domain name, or to customize your shop store locally before you push your modifications to the PrestaShop installation that would already you have online.
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With all that clear and done, you can follow up on the rest of this Getting Started guide, keeping in mind that when you install PrestaShop locally, files are not to be uploaded via FTP to a server, but simply to be moved in the correct local folder.