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This chapter was written for those who intend to install PrestaShop on their online web server. If you have already read the instructions on that page, skip to the "Creating a database for your shop" section of this current page. |
Installing PrestaShop in 10 minutes
PrestaShop is very easy to install. Once all the files are on your web server, you should be able to start configuring your shop in no less than 5 minutes in most cases: the installation process is very simple, as the installer takes care of everything for you. Less experienced users might need between 10 and 20 minutes to complete the whole process.
Before you get started, make sure you have all the requirements available: server space at a hosting provider, domain name, FTP client, text editor. Makes sure to follow the instructions in the "What you need to get started" page first: http://doc.prestashop.com/display/PS16/What+you+need+to+get+started.
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Some web-hosts Our official web hosting partner 1&1 offer a 1-click install in order to save you time and get you started even faster. Using these can drastically reduce the installation time for inexperienced users.
Those web hosts mostly use the following script libraries:
Some of these scripts even support 1-click update, which is invaluable. Other hosts have their own installation scripts. Check with your own host for more information. Last but not least, PrestaShop has its own hosting solution: by registering on PrestaBox, you offload all the technical hurdles of hosting to our own team, and can focus on your shop, clients and sales. Visit https://www.prestabox.com/ for more information. |
Quick installation instructions
Here's the quick set of instructions for those who are already comfortable with performing such installations. For detailed instructions, see installing PHP/MySQL applications on a web server. If the lack of details bothers you, you will find detailed instructions in the next section of this chapter.
- Download and unzip the PrestaShop package if you haven't already.
- Create a database for PrestaShop stop shop on your web server if it is possible. In case there is no MySQL user who has all privileges for accessing and modifying this database, create it as well.
- Upload the PrestaShop files and folders to the chosen location on your web server. Do not upload the root
/prestashopfolder directly: only the files and folders that it contains. - Run the PrestaShop installation script by accessing the public URL for the chosen location in a web browser. This should be the URL where you uploaded the PrestaShop files.
- Follow the instructions on each screen of the installer.
- Once the installation is done, delete the
/installfolder and give a custom name to the write down the new of the/adminfolder, which has been generated in order to be unique to you, for security reasons.
PrestaShop should now be installed and ready to be configured! Continue to the First steps with PrestaShop 1.6 chapter of the User Guide.
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You can download the latest version of PrestaShop at http://www.prestashop.com/en/download.
You only have one download option: the latest stable version, ready for all kinds of online stores.
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Using a Zip tool, extract the content of the archive to a known location on your hard-drive (such as on the Desktop again). Do not upload the Zip file directly to your web server.
| Info |
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The Zip archive has two items at its root :
The "Install_PrestaShop.html" must not be uploaded on your web server. |
Uploading PrestaShop
You should now have a hosting space at your disposal (if not, read the "What you need to get started" chapter of this guide), and a folder on your hard-drive with the uncompressed PrestaShop archive.
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In FileZilla (or any other FTP client), browse your local folders until you find the one that contains the PrestaShop files. Keep it open in the "Local site" section on the left.
In the "Remote site" section (on the right), browse to the location where you want PrestaShop to be publicly available (root of the domain, sub-folder, sub-domain...). This can change a lot, depending on both your host and your needs:
- Your host:
- Some hosts may require you to place your files in a specific folder, such as
/htdocs,/public_html,/web,/www,/yourdomainname.com, etc. - Other hosts' FTP server will simply log you directly into the proper upload space.
- Some hosts may require you to place your files in a specific folder, such as
- Your needs:
- If you want your shop to be the main website for your domain name (i.e., http://www.example.com), upload PrestaShop at the root folder of the upload space (which may depend on the host).
- If you want your shop to be in a sub-folder of your domain name (http://www.example.com/shop), you must first create said a folder through FileZilla (right-click and choose "Create directory"), then upload PrestaShop in that folder.
- If you want your shop to be in a sub-domain of your domain name (http://shop.example.com), you must first create said a sub-domain. This depends on your host: you might be able to do it simply by adding a new folder with your FTP client, or you might have to create the sub-domain through your host's administration panel. Read your host's support documentation first. Once created, browse to the sub-domain's folder, and upload PrestaShop there.
On FileZilla's left side, you should now have the local folder where you keep the PrestaShop files from the Zip archive, and on the right side, the destination location. If you haven't done it yet, uploading is simple: select all files and folders from the local folder (use Ctrl-A), and either drag & drop them to the remote folder, or right-click on the selection and choose "Upload" in the context menu.
Uploading can take several minutes, as PrestaShop uses more than 7500 files and almost 1000 folders. After a while, all of PrestaShop's files and folders should be online. Great!
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Connect to phpMyAdmin using your account credentials, which your host provided you with. It should be accessible through a standard URL, tied to your domain name, or host's domain name.
In the left column, you can see the databases currently available on your MySQL server. Some of them should be left alone, because they are either used by phpMyAdmin or by the host: phpmyadmin, mysql, information_schema, performance_schema and others. Read your host's documentation to know if one of these can be used as a default database.
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The installation process is quite easy, as it is streamlined by PrestaShop's auto-installer. You should be able to browse through it in handful of minutes. Do Make sure to read each page thoroughly so as not to not miss any information.
To launch the installer, simply browse to PrestaShop's location on your web server: the script will automatically detect that PrestaShop is not yet installed, and will take you to the auto-installer.
You can also directly type the address of the /install folder: http://www.example.com/prestashop_folder/install.
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If you are making an installation on your own computer, this installation should be done in the PrestaShop folder on your local web server, which should be available at |
From there on, you just have to read and click, click, and fill a few forms.
There are 6 steps. At the top of the page, the installation assistant gives you a visualization of where you are in the process: the gray faces circles turn into smiling faces green check marks after each step is completed.
Step 1: Welcome page
This page is a quick intro into the installation process. You can choose the language in which the installer will display its instructions.
You also get a link to the documentation site (http://doc.prestashop.com/), and the PrestaShop support phone number. You can learn more about our support service by going to http://support.prestashop.com/en/.
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- Open Software License 3.0 for PrestaShop itself, which you can also read at http://www.opensource.org/licenses/OSL-3.0.
- Academic Free License 3.0 for the modules and themes, which you can also read at http://opensource.org/licenses/AFL-3.0.
You must agree to both licenses in order to install PrestaShop.
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This page checks that everything is OK with your server configuration: PHP settings, permissions on files and folders, third-party tools, etc.
If anything goes wrong, the installer stops you here, enabling you to see the few technical details that need fixing, be it changing the PHP configuration or updating the file permissions.
Here is a list of the checks that are performed during this third step:
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Thanks to FileZilla (and most FTP clients), you do not have to use any Unix command. Most FTP clients make it possible to change permissions easily and graphically: once you have found a file or folder that needs such a change, right-click on it, and in the context menu choose "File permissions...". It will open a small window.
Depending on your server configuration (which you don't always have a hand at), you will need to check both the "Read" and "Execute" columns of boxes, and at least the "Owner" and "Group" rows for the "Write" column. Some hosts might require you to have the public "Write" box checked, but be careful with that: it is rarely a good thing to have anyone on your server be able to edit the content of your PrestaShop installation.
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While changing permissions in your FTP client, you should regularly check that you have made the correct changes by running the installer's compatibility checks again: click the installer's "Refresh these settings" button as often as necessary.
Once all indicators are green, you can click "Next". If you cannot have them all green, at least make sure the installer displays the "PrestaShop compatibility with your system environment has been verified!" message at the top of the page.
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Store information
This is where you can start customizing your shop: give it a name and a logo, indicate its main activity, and indicate the personal information for the shop owner (which has legal binding in most countries)...
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Do not use a colon in your store's name, as it might prevent some feature from working (for instance, e-mail sending might fail). You can replace the colon with a dash if you need to have two sections in the title. For instance, use "MyStore – The best place for items to buy" instead of "MyStore: The best place for items to buy". |
Concerning the logo, you should note that it will appear:
- On all of the pages of your store (depending on your theme).
- In your back-office.
- In all of the e-mails sent to your customers.
- In all of your contractual documents (bills, return authorizations, etc.).
Therefore, do not keep the default PrestaShop logo, for obvious reasons.
Click "Next", and the installer will start filling the database with tables and data, and updating the configuration files. This might take a few minutes in a slow server.
The installer does the following:
Create the
settings.inc.phpfile, and fill it with your settings.Create the database tables.
Create the default shop with its default languages.
Populate the database tables.
Configure the shop's information.
Install the default modules.
Install the demonstration data (products, categories, user, CMS pages, etc.).
Install the theme.
This is also where you choose the password to log in to the administration panel of your shop - choose wisely so that you will remember it, but make sure it is secure too!
Click "Next" to continue.
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This page contains a form that enables you to tell PrestaShop where the database server is, and which database it should use, along with a few other details. All this information should have been provided to you by your web host.
Fill all the fields with the database connection information provided by your web-host:
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Click "Next": the install will start configuring your shop, creating and populating the database tables, etc. This might take a few minutes: please be patient and do not touch your browser!
The installer does the following:
Create the
settings.inc.phpfile, and fill it with your settings.Create the database tables.
Create the default shop with its default languages.
Populate the database tables.
Configure the shop's information.
Install the default modules.
Install the demonstration data (products, categories, user, CMS pages, etc.).
Install the theme.
Once it is done, your shop is installed and ready to be configured!
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As you can read right on the final page of the installation process, there are a couple of last actions to perform before you can leave the installer.
An easy way to improve your installation's security is to delete some key files and folders. This is done using your FTP client, directly on the server. The items to delete are:
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Log in to the PrestaShop back - office by going to your newly-renamed "admin" folder, and start filling your catalog with products, adding carriers and shipping costs, adding manufacturers and suppliers, changing the theme, and generally configuring the many settings to suit your tastes and needs. See the user guide's "First steps with PrestaShop 1.6" chapter for more information: http://doc.prestashop.com/display/PS16/First+steps+with+PrestaShop+1.6.
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