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| Tip |
|---|
Some web-hosts 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
This small section is aimed at Here's the quick set of instructions for those who are already familiar with installing PHP/MySQL web applications on a web server. Should you not feel comfortable with their lack of details, you will find detailed instructions in the sections following this one.
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comfortable with performing such installations. For detailed instructions, see the next section of this chapter.
- Download and unzip the PrestaShop package if you haven't already.
- Create a database for PrestaShop stop on your web server if it is possible.
- Using an FTP client, upload all the files from the unzipped archive to your web server, in the desired location:
- If you want to integrate PrestaShop into the root of your domain (e.g.
http://myownshop.com/), upload all the files into the root directory of your web server. - If you want to have PrestaShop in its own subdirectory on your web site (e.g.
http://mywebsite.com/shop/orhttp://shop.mywebsite.com/), create the shop directory/sub-domain on your server and upload all the files into that directory.
- If you want to integrate PrestaShop into the root of your domain (e.g.
- Open the files' location in your browser; you should be redirected to the
/install/folder. - Using your MySQL access codes, follow the instructions from the installer's screens.
- Once installed, delete the
/install/folder and rename the/admin/folder into something unique to you (for instance,/4dm1n/) – if PrestaShop hasn't already done if automatically. - Check that everything works:
- Visit your website
- Connect to your back-office (the admin folder that you renamed), using the access codes you set during the installation process.
You're done! Start adding product, changing theme, downloading modules...
- 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/adminfolder, 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.
Detailed instructions
Downloading and unzipping the PrestaShop archive
You can download the latest version of PrestaShop at http://www.prestashop.com/en/download.
You only have one choicedownload option: the latest stable version, ready for all websiteskinds of online stores.
| Info |
|---|
If you need to download any of the previous versions, go to this address: http://www.prestashop.com/en/developers-versions. Scroll down to the "Previously released versions" section. Note that it is never recommended to use any other version than the current stable one. |
Click on the "Download now" button, and save the archive on your computer (such as on your Desktop). You should get a file named "prestashop_1.6.0.4.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:
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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.
Uploading PrestaShop
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- 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.myprestashopexample.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.mywebsiteexample.com/shop), you must first create said 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.mywebsiteexample.com), you must first create said 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.
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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://your_serverwww.example.com/prestashop_folder/install.
From there on, you just have to read and click.
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Select the language in which you wish the installer to be, then click the "Next" button. This will also set the default language for your PrestaShop installation – but the other languages will also be available for you to enable.
Step 2: PrestaShop's
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licenses
This second page is a simple requirement: PrestaShop is free and distributed under a certain contractset of open-source licenses. You simply cannot use this software if you disagree with the terms of the licenses, and this step requires you to explicitly acknowledge them.
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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 the both licenses in order to install PrestaShop.
To access the next step, you must check the "I agree to the above terms and conditions" box, then click "Next". If you do not explicitly agree to the licenses, you cannot install PrestaShop: the "Next" button will not even be clickable.
| Info |
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If you want to help the development team improve PrestaShop with anonymous usage data, please check the "I agree to participate in improving the solution by sending anonymous information about my configuration" box too. |
Step 3 & 4: System compatibility &
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Store information
The third page makes a quick check of all the server parameters on your host. In most cases, you will not see itthis page, because if nothing wrong is found, you are taken directly to the fourth page, "System configurationStore information". If so, you can still go have a look at the third page by clicking on the "System compatibility" link in the left sidebar.
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| Check | How/where to fix it? |
|---|---|
| Is PHP 5.1.2 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.xml | File 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 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) |
| Anchor | ||||
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Permissions are the way a filesystem grants access rights to specific users or user groups, controlling their ability to view or make changes to files and folders. The installer needs to make several changes to the files that you uploaded, and if the filesystem does not allow for these changes through proper permissions, then the installer cannot complete its process.
Hence, if the installer shows that some files or folders do not have proper permission, you have to changer these manuallypermissions 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.
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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 "Your configuration is valid, click next to continuePrestaShop compatibility with your system environment has been verified!" message at the top of the page.
System 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)...
| 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". |
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.
Click "Next" to continue.
Step 5: System configuration
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.
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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.mydomainnameexample.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_wishlist"; 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 table tables in order to start on a clean slate.
Click the "Test your database connection now!" button in order to check that you did use the correct server information.
Click "Next" to continue.
Step 5: Shop configuration
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)...
| 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". |
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: the install will start configuring your shop, creating and populating the database tables, etc. 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.
: please be patient and do not touch your browser!
Once it is done, your shop is installed and ready to be configured!
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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. Items The items to delete are:
- The "/install" folder (imperative).
- The "/docs" folder (optional), unless you need to test the import tool with the sample import files that this folder contains.
- The "README.md" file (optional).
Click on the "Manage your store" button in order to be taken to your administration area.
Another way to secure your installation is to use a custom name for the administration folder: change the "admin" folder for something unique to you, such as "4dmin-1537" or "MySecReT4dm1n".
Write down the new name for your new "admin" folder, because from now on you will access your administration pages using this address.!
Finally, in order to close all potentially malicious doors, use your FTP client to update the files and folders permissions to 664, or 666 if your host requires it. If it turns out low access rights prevent some modules to work, you should set permissions back to 755.
Congratulations! Installation is now complete.
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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