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Note

This chapter was written for those who intend to install PrestaShop on their online web server.
If you wish to install PrestaShop on your own computer, you should first follow the instructions on that page: Installing PrestaShop on your computer.

If you have already read the instructions on that page, skip to the "Creating a database for your shop" section of this current page.

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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/PS16PS17/What+you+need+to+get+started.

Tip

Our official web hosting partner 1&1 IONOS 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. 

Save time with our partner InMotion, get PrestaShop pre-installed. It allows users with few technical skills to quickly start working on a scalable solution.

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 PrestaShop.com, you can create a 100% free PrestaShop Cloud store, and thus offload all the technical hurdles of hosting to our own team, and can focus on your shop, clients and sales. Visit https://www.prestashop.com/ for more information.

Quick installation instructions

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  1. Download and unzip the PrestaShop package if you haven't already.
  2. Create a database for PrestaShop 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.
  3. Upload the three PrestaShop files and folders to the chosen location on your web server. Do not upload the root /prestashop folder directly: only the files and folders that it contains, including the .zip file (it will unzip itself afterwards).
  4. 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.
  5. Follow the instructions on each screen of the installer.
  6. Once the installation is done, delete the /install folder and write down the new of the /admin folder, which has been generated in order to be unique to you, for security reasons.

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You can download the latest version of PrestaShop at http://www.prestashop.com/en/download.

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You only have one download option: the latest stable version, ready for all kinds of online stores.

Info

If you need to download any of the previous versions, go to this address: httphttps://www.prestashop.com/en/developers-versions. Scroll down to the "Previously released versions" section.versions#previous-version.

Note that it is never recommended to use any other version than the current stable one.

Click on the "Download" button, and save the archive on your computer (such as on your Desktop). You should get a file named "prestashop_1.67.0.40.zip" (or an equivalent, depending on the version numbers).

Tip

The downloaded file is a Zip archive, meaning one file containing all of PrestaShop's files in compressed form. In order to continue with the process, you must uncompress the archive.

If your operating system does not natively support Zip files, you can download and install a dedicated tool, such as:

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

The Zip archive has two three items at its root :

  • The "prestashop.zip" folder, which contains all the PrestaShop files that you will soon be uploading on your web server.
  • The "Install_PrestaShop.html" file, which opens this very page in your default browser.
  • The index.php file which launches the installation.

The "Install_PrestaShop.html" must not be uploaded on your web server.

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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.

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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:

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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 the three 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.

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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!

Creating a database for your shop

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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/installAt the same time, this will unzip the prestashop.zip file that you had uploaded. Now all the PrestaShop files are available on your webserver.

Info

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 http://127.0.0.1/prestashop.

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This page is a quick intro into the installation process. You can choose the language in which the installer will display its instructions.

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You also get a link to the documentation site (http://doc.prestashop.com/), and the PrestaShop support phone numbera link to our Support offer. You can learn more about our support service by going to http://support.prestashop.com/en/.

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CheckHow/where to fix it?
Is PHP 5.1.2 4 or later installed?Web server
Can PrestaShop upload files?php.ini file (file_uploads)
Can PrestaShop create new files and folders?File browser / FTP client / command line
Is the GD Library installed?php.ini file (extension=php_gd2.so)
Is MySQL support is on?php.ini file (extension=php_pdo_mysql.so)
Recursive write permission on ~/config/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/cache/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/log/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/img/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/mails/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/modules/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/override/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/themes/default/lang/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/themes/default/pdf/lang/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/themes/default/cache/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/translations/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/upload/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/download/File browser / FTP client / command line
Recursive write permission on ~/sitemap.xmlFile browser / FTP client / command line
Can PrestaShop open external URLs? php.in file (allow_url_fopen)
Is PHP's "register global" option off?php.ini file (register_globals)
Is GZIP compression activated?.htaccess file
Is the Mcrypt extension available?php.ini file (see http://php.net/manual/en/mcrypt.setup.php)
Is PHP's "magic quotes" option deactivated?php.ini file (magic_quotes_gpc)
Is the Dom extension loaded?--enable-dom compile time option
Is the PDO MySQL extension loaded?php.ini file (extension=php_pdo_mysql.so)

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Hence, if the installer shows that some files or folders do not have proper permission, you have to changer change these permissions yourself. This will require you to access your files on your web server, and therefore use your FTP client (such as FileZilla) or the command line.

Log-in to your server account using your FTP client, browse to PrestaShop's folder, and find the folders that are marked by the installer as in need of needing a permission change.

Info
titleCHMOD

Changing file/folder permission on a Unix/Linux system is called a "CHMOD", after the command of the same name (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chmod – you can find an explanation of file permissions here: http://www.elated.com/articles/understanding-permissions/).
Giving files or folders a "write permission" is called "doing a CHMOD 755" or "a CHMOD 775", depending on the host.

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Warning

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".

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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!

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  • Database server address. The hostname of your MySQL server. It can be tied to your domain name (i.e. http://sql.example.com), tied to your web host (i.e. http://mysql2.alwaysdata.com), or simply be an IP address (i.e. 46.105.78.185).
  • Database name. The name of the database where you want PrestaShop to store its data. This is either an existing database on your MySQL server, or the one that you created using phpMyAdmin (or any other SQL tool) in the "Creating a database for your shop" section of this guide.
  • Database login. The name of the MySQL user that has access to your database.
  • Database password. The password of the MySQL user.
  • Database engine. The database engine is the core of your database server. InnoDB is the default one and you should use it, but the more technical among you might want to choose another engine. Generally, there is no need to change the default setting.
  • Tables prefix. The prefix for your database tables. "ps_" is the default, resulting in the PrestaShop SQL tables having names such as "ps_cart" or "ps_wishlistcustomer"; but if you need to install more than one instance of PrestaShop on the same database, then you must use a different prefix for each installation. However, we do recommend that you create one database per installation of PrestaShop, if your web host allows it. Better yet: make one installation of PrestaShop, and enable the multistore feature in order to manage many stores from the same PrestaShop back-end.
  • Drop existing tables. This is only available in "Dev mode". When re-installing PrestaShop, you can choose to drop the existing PrestaShop database tables in order to start on a clean slate.

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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 brands 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 1.67" chapter for more information: http://doc.prestashop.com/display/PS16PS17/First+steps+with+PrestaShop+1.67.

Tip

You should regularly back up your database and files, ideally on more than one computer, in case of problems related to hardware or security.