Softaculous is a tool within your cPanel that you can use to easily install software such as WordPress or Joomla. Using Softaculous to install software is not just easy, it is a big time saver because it automates many of the tedious tasks involved with software installation.
In this tutorial, we will show you how to install software using Softaculous. Even though there are over 200 programs you can install with Softaculous, the installation procedure for each one follows the same basic steps.
To Install an Application Using Softaculous:
- Log into your cPanel.
- Click the Softaculous link, which is located under the Software/Services section.
- Click on the software you would like to install:Browsing programsTop Scripts
If you want to browse through the available software you can install using Softaculous, click on any category in the left menu. For example, if you’re interested in finding software you can use to run a blog, click the Blogs category. You will then see a listing of blogging applications show. Under Top Scripts, you will find a listing of the most popular programs being used on the web today. For example, WordPress, one of the most popular programs on the web, is listed at the top of the list. Curious as to which programs are available? Here’s the full list of programs in Softaculous.
- Click the Install button (located above the description of the software)Important! If you get an error stating that there are conflicting files (such as robots.txt, .htaccess, etc.) You can go through your File Manager and delete the files from your public_html. Then the Softaculous installer will go through with the install.
- Fill out all of the installation details and then click the Install button at the bottom of the page.If you want to email yourself a copy of these installation details for later reference, enter your email address next to Email installation details to (located towards the bottom of the page). While the installation details may vary from program to program, generally the same information is asked for. In our testing, we are using Softaculous to install WordPress. Below is a summary of the settings being asked for.
Software SetupChoose Protocol The most common option here will either be https:// or https://www. Choose Domain If you have more than one domain name associated with your cPanel account, choose which domain name to install this program to. In Directory If you want to install this program into its own folder, enter the folder name here. For example, if you wanted users to visit https://domain.com/blog (instead of simply https://domain.com) to see your WordPress site, you would enter blog for this setting. Database Name Unless you have a specific reason to change the database name, you can leave it as is. Database Settings
Table Prefix Unless you have a specific reason to do so, you can leave the table prefix setting as is. Site Settings
Site settings are generally settings such as your site’s name and description. Most programs allow you to easily change these values after installing them.
Admin Account
When working with a program, you’ll generally need to log into them as an Administrator before you can begin to manage your website. In this section, you’ll typically create a username and password.
Note! You will want to make your username and password secure. You do not want to use Admin for the username or password for the password.
Choose Language
If you don’t plan to run this website in English, select the appropriate language from the drop down list.
- After clicking the Install button, you will see a progress bar dictating how much time is left for the installation. When your new software has been installed, you’ll see a message similar to the following: Congratulations, the software was installed successfully. You will then generally see two links, one link to your new site and the other a link to your site’s login page.
If you ever need to keep your Softaculous settings for use on another server, here is how to import and export Softaculous settings in WHM.
I’m not seeing the domain name I just purchased through InMotion yesterday in my list of domains to install WordPress. Is there a time delay? What do I need to do?
Thanks for getting in touch with us! I removed the domain from your comment for the sake of your privacy.
Purchasing a domain through InMotion adds that domain to your account in your Account Management Panel, but does not add the domain to your cPanel. You still need to add the addon domain in cPanel before you can install WordPress on it.
They are different steps because some people have one account with multiple cPanels. We keep the steps separate so everyone can choose exactly which cPanel they want the domain added to!
I hope that helps! If you run into any trouble with adding your new domain as an addon, please get in touch with our 24/7 Technical Support team and they can assist you.
Thank you thank you thank you 🙂
I install wordpress through Softaculous and everything looks fine.But when I login into the dashboad, I don;t see anything. For morethan two days now I have not been able to change the theme, and to install or update plugins. the worst part of it is that, I don;t even see the Howdy, admin profile, I can;t logout.
what could be the problem?
If you can’t login to the WordPress installation, then you won’t be able to do anything. We can’t really troubleshoot the issue without any solid information (e.g. URL or error messages). Make sure that you used a valid domain name when you did the installation. If the domain is not registered, then you won’t be able to see anything when you try to view it on a browser. If you need further assistance, you are welcome to contact our live technical support team.
I want to install wordpress using softaculous under my cpanel and make a redesigned website without taking down my current website but use the same domain in the end. how do i go about installing WordPress that leaves my current site alone.
also, once i have my new site completed how to i replace my current site.
The best solution would be to install your new site on a different domain or a sub domain and build it there and then move the files over and correct the URLs in the database afterwords.
Hi, I just installed WHMCS, but when I try to enter the URL I got the following error “index.php is corrupted”
WHMCS provides a solution to this problem [URL is no longer available]. If you require further assistance, then please contact our live technical support team.
Hello,
I am trying to install WordPress via Softaculous but getting an error message “Installation cannot proceed because the following files already exist in the target folder: index.php. Please delete these files or choose another folder”. I already have a website using Premium Builder, but want to use WordPress because they have beautiful themes. If I overwrite “index” file, will it erase my website?
Thank you,
Natalia
Yes, if you choose to overwrite the index.php file, that is the file that runs your website, then your old PWB site will be erased and will no longer function.
I have a tech who is going to tune up my site. He needs phpMyAdmin access, but I do not want to give access to my entire CP and restrict him to the database management. How can I accomplish this? Thank you in advance.
The PHPMyAdmin available through cPanel can only be accessed through cPanel and WHM, if you want to give them access to PHPMyAdmin without cPanel you would need to install a separate instance of PHPMyAdmin and give them access to that. You can also add their IP to the remote MySQL in the cPanel and they can connect remotely with a local MySQL client such as MySQL workbench as well.
Thank you for the suggestion and the quick reply! I tried to do that, but I don’t seem to have a php.ini file anywhere. When I type “php.ini.” into the search/location bar in cPanel, it says “that directory is empty.” Do I make a file or a folder? Where does it go if I do, in the main directory tree somewhere, or in the Selfoss directory?
You can always copy or create a blank PHP.INI file into the folder where you need it. If you want a complete PHP.INI file, you can easily get one by simply going to the Software section in the cPanel, then clicking on PHP Configuration. Click on UPDATE and it will automatically save the default PHP.INI file to the root domain. You can then copy that file and modify it where you wish. Hope that helps!
Tried to install WordPress with Softaculous, but I am getting an error. “Could not open the configuration file .htaccess.”
This error indicates the .htaccess file is either unavailable or has “read-only” permissions assigned to it.
Hi! Just tried to install Selfoss RSS onto my domain and recieved this error:
Warning: Unknown: It is not safe to rely on the system’s timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected ‘America/Los_Angeles’ for ‘PST/-8.0/no DST’ instead in /home/REMOVED BY ME FOR PRIVACY/public_html/selfoss/index.php on line 15
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ‘[‘ in /home/REMOVED BY ME FOR PRIVACY/public_html/selfoss/index.php on line 15
The ‘[” on line 15 has its mate further down, so it’s not that. I’m not fluent in code, so I don’t know what else to look for in the text file.
Any ideas? I’m also going to leave a note on the Selfoss forum. 🙂
You can change the time zone using a PHP.INI file. For more information on how to do that, please see: Setting the Timezone for PHP in the PHP.INI file. If you have any further questions or comments, please let us know.
i install wordpress by Softaculous, in kamuvan.com, finish the installacion but send me a error 500, what can i do?
Hello.
Thanks for posting your comment. I’m sorry to see you’re receiving an error after installing WordPress. Have you checked the Apache error log (/usr/local/apache/logs/error_log)? There may be errors in that file that can indicate how to resolve the issue. You can always contact our Live Support for assistance with trouble shooting and reviewing that log as well. I hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Carlos E
Hello,
I installed wordpress successfully on my site but unable to reach wordpress login screen using www.mydomain/wp-admin/
there is a message that domain is parked. Any suggestions??
Regards
Sohail
Hello Sohail,
If you have parked the domain, you have to unpark it before you can use it. The domain name must be either a subdomain or addon domain in the cPanel to be used for the WordPress installation.
If you have any further questions or comments, please let us know.
Regards,
Arnel C.
I purchased a new domain and I want to install WordPress through Softaculous, however, the domain does not show up in the CHOOSE DOMAIN dropdown. How long after I registered the domain name will it show up or do I need to do anything else. I purchased the domain through InMotion and it appears in WHOIS.
Hi, ascent1!
I’m sorry to see that your domain is not available in Softaculous. I would advise you review our article on How to Add Another Domain Name to Your Account. Since you already ordered the domain from InMotion, you’ll want to add your newly registered domain as an add-on domain. After that, Softaculous should be able to provide that domain as an option in the drop-down menu you’re referring to. I hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Carlos E
I want to fully move a running wordpress site (installed at other location) to my domain in IMH
Can you do this for me?
Will there be any cost?
I tried the export/import routines at WP withouth success; it does not import the contents and times out during import of the database,
Hello NDFaoro,
You can request a a Website Transfer through the Account Management Panel (AMP). Most transfers are free, but they have to assess what you’re trying to transfer and then will let you know if it’s free or not.
I hope this helps to answer your question, please let us know if you require any further assistance.
Regards,
Arnel C.
I am trying to install WHMCS through Softaculous, but I keep getting the error:
What does this mean & what do I do about it?
Thanks!
Hello Jessie,
Sorry for the problem with the Softaculous installation. There are a few published solutions that may help, but they do require that you have root access. If you are unable to get those solutions working, then please submit a verified support ticket.
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kindest regards,
Arnel C.
Just purchased a reseller account, on the tutorials it mentions using softaculous to install wordpress, however it’s not showing on my c-panel. Do you have to purchase Softaculous separately?
Our Reseller accounts include Softaculous. If you are not seeing it I recommend contacting Live Support so they can check your account. If you are on a VPS, or Dedicated server you can purchase a Softaculous license in AMP.
Thank you,
John-Paul
Hello.
I already have a WP instalation with a domain. I want to know if i can make another instalation to create another WP site with a new domain.
Thanks.
Melissa, yes! You can install multiple WordPress copies if you wish, on a sub-domain, in a sub-folder, or on a completely new domain.
I installed WordPress using Softaculous using the defaults on a sub-domain. Everything said the installation was successful. When I clicked the URL of the sub-domain to access the WordPress login or site, I received a 403-forbidden error. I tried to delete the installation and re-install – same error. I attempted to install WordPress on a different sub-domain, same error. Any ideas on how to resolve? The files seem to have proper access.
Disregard, I had to setup the sub-domain name-servers/records since they aren’t owned by inmotionhosting.
I’m glad to hear you were able to resolve this issue!
Hi , In softaculous is version 2.3 of mautic, but after the install, I have this message:
Your server does not meet the minimum PHP requirements. Mautic requires PHP version 5.6.19 while your server has 5.5.38. Please contact your host to update your PHP installation.
why you have the latest version of mauti but the php version of imotion hosting is old, it does not make sense to install something that will not work, thanks for your help
If you are on a shared account, your account can use all php versions from 5.2 up to 7.1 You can change the version your account uses in the cPanel. If that does not allow the install, then you will want to contact Live Support for alternative solutions.
I’m a new reseller with InMotion, I already WHMCS installed and running, I just need to update the softeware. Do you have place I can download the install package and install it myself?
Hello Jeffconlin,
If you were using Softaculous, then you can use it to manage the updates too. If you don’t see the appropriate update available through Softaculous, then you need to go to directly to the software developer’s website in order to obtain the update.
If you have any further questions or comments, please let us know.
Regards,
Arnel C.
How do I tell if WordPress is already installed? I go to Softaculous and select WordPress then get a screen where I can “Install Now” though it shows “Current Installations” under that and our website. I can click on that link and see our website, but I see nothing in CPanel that will let me edit our site in WordPress. Just want to delete a couple of links without destroying the whole site!
You will just need to log into the WordPress admin menu to edit the pages.
Hi,
I have just installed wordpress using softocolus. I have gone to my site https://www.artbyfling.com/wp-admin and my browser is saying there is a privacy error and my connection is not private and wont let me access it. How do i overcome this ?
Thanks
Your SSL looks valid, but ensure you have enabled SSL in WordPress.
Can you provide the full privacy error you are seeing?
Thank you,
John-Paul
Hi,
I am eally confused again and unfortunately this video hasn’t helped. Do we need to add domains we have purchased from a third party on to cPanel before running Softaculous to install a wordpress site? If so how?
On this video, he is adding an extention to the mail domain. How do you install a new and separate wordpress site?
Also, I have tried to add two before. In spite of doing everything seemingly correctly both new wordpress sites don’t work or load on my browers
This just is not easy for beginners unfortunately.
Thanks.
Alison
Hello Alison,
Thank you for contacting us. Yes, you must Add domains to your cPanel, and point them to our nameservers so they can be hosted here.
Then, you can Install WordPress on your Addon domains.
Thank you,
John-Paul
I recently moved our website to InMotion. We were running on Joomla 2.5.28. Can I just Install the latest version of Joomla through Softalicious? I did a full backup of the site.
Hello Diane,
Thank you for contacting us. If you are starting over, you can easily install Joomla using Softaculous.
If you are migrating a site over, (to avoid conflicts) I recommend installing the same version of Joomla you were using before (this may require a manual installation), then incrementally upgrading your site to the latest version.
Thank you,
John-Paul
after installing wordpress from softaculous , how much time do i have to wait for my domain to be up and running.
Hello Sherkhan,
Typically, the domain is immediately available after a Softaculous installation. Your domain would need to be registered to a domain registrar in order to be recognized on the internet.
If you have any further questions or comments, please let us know.
Regards,
Arnel C.
If I install WordPress via Softaculous, will I end up overwriting my current website files that are in /public_html? I want to keep my current website going until I get a new design built with WordPress.
Yes, Softaculous will overwrite the files in the directory you choose for installation. However, you can certainly choose a different directory for the install with the “In Directory” option.
Hi,
i have created a subdomain for WP installation. and installed was smooth through softaculous. blog.domain.com
Problem : the site is not getting laod. index.php is not working. .htacess has been created. but still it just list the files rather load it.
files permission are set 0644. any idea how can i fix this problem.
thanks
If you are seeing the Index Of page, then the index file is missing. I would try to remove and then reinstall WordPress to ensure it fully installs. If that fails, there may be an issue with pathing. Perhaps the subdomani is set up incorrectly or the install went to the wrong place. In that case, you will want to contact your Live Support team to check that out.
I just purchased HTML5 template that comes with own builder. It is given me instructions for installing the HTML Builder to upload the script files to the server hosting account. I am not sure how/where to upload the HTML Builder at Inmotion? The Softaculous program does not inlcude the HTML Builder and help instructions does not inlude how to install/upload other software and web-site templates. Could you please help me.
thank you,
Cumhur Maden
Sotftware is installed within the public_html or subdirectories. The builder you purchased should have some sort of installation instructions if it needs anything more than simply uploading to the correct folder.
I am building my wordpress site through my local host and my question is when I take this live I am going to have to use a massive amount of 301 redirects for almost all of the old pages. I am not sure if there is an easy way to set this up as there will be 2200 pages needing to be redirected as all of my old pages url’s have a .htm or a .html at the end of the url’s. Is there an easy way to set this up so it is just a notepad cut and paste once the site is transfered to wordpress.
That is an interesting situation, but I don’t know of a redirect that could do that automatically. There might be a better way to do what you need. Are you concerned about users who have bookmarked the old pages, or are there are updated versions of those pages? If you would like to read more about 301 redirects I’ll refer to our more detailed guide.
Hello, I just purchased another domain so that I can rebuild my site, using wordpress without having to take down my old site. I then plan to point all traffic from my old domain/URL to my new and improved domain/URL. Both domains are on the same account. Will I be able to log into cpanel for the new domain and install wordpress for my new domain the same way I did for me current domain? Is there anything special I need to do in order to not cause any conflicts? Thank you!
-Andy
Hello Andy,
Yes, the cPanel will allow you to install software for any domains on your account. There is nothing additional as the cPanel is designed to manage all domains on the account.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
Hi
I just install WordPress using softaculous. I received two links as above instruction
But when I click on Administrative URL, it says
No data received
Details: Unable to load the webpage because the server sent no data.
Can you help em to figure out what is the problem. I heard somewhere that I need to wait around 24 hours?
Appreciate for your help in advance
Hello Tony,
Thank you for contacting us. If it is a newly registered website, you just added the domain to your cPanel, or you recently made DNS changes (such as pointing to our Nameservers) recently, you could be experiencing propagation.
We are happy to help troubleshoot further, but will need some additional information such as the domain name.
If you have any further questions, feel free to post them below.
Thank you,
John-Paul
Hello,
my site www.tradingexpertsolutions.com is active since yesterday.
WordPress is install but when I try to connect to WordPress I receive a error message INVALID USERNAME.
Can you please help me !
Thank you somuch.
Best regards.
Viorica Petre
Hello Viorica,
Sorry for the problem with your login. In order to handle this issue privately,you need to contact our live technical support team – the Support Center website answers are public. To give you hint about your user name, it’s based on one of your email addresses. Hopefully, that is enough of a hint to help you login. If you require further assistance with this issue, please contact our live technical support team in order to maintain security with your user name and password.
If you have any further questions or comments, please let us know.
Regards,
Arnel C.
How do i move existing joomla website to inmotion.
Hello Biddie,
See if our article on moving your site to InMotion helps. It’s not Joomla specific, but it may be what you need.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
I installed WordPress manually. I’ve made a site & tested it locally, but how do I run it on a live server which has a free softaculous?
I installed WordPress manually. I’ve made a site & tested it locally, but how do I run it on a live server which has a free softaculous? I installed FTP almost everything was done but it says Error establishing a db connection. Is there a way to install wordpress manually and put it on live server?
Hello Tabindah,
You can use Softaculous to install WordPress. Typically, if you’re on a hosting server, the database is LOCAL to the webserver, so you don’t have to specify it. This may differ depending on your host. Check out our article on installing WordPress with Softaculous.
If you have any further questions or comments, please let us know.
Regards,
Arnel C.
Once I install WordPress it opens and I go to search themes and it logs you out and you cant log back in … i’ve reinstalled a couple of times . . have you seen this bug before?
Hello Accuhostpro,
I have not seen or even heard of that bug before. Have you tried contacting our support department to have them troubleshoot the issue live? I just installed WordPress on a random server and was not able to replicate the issue.
Best Regards,
TJ Edens
What if the latest version of the software is not available on Softaculous, but available from vendor, i.e.Tiki Wiki CMS(12.4 via Softaculous but 14.0 tested and available for download)
Hello Doug,
While it is not advisable to install WordPress in a sub-directory of a WordPress installation, this Stack Overflow thread should get you on the right track.
Best Regards,
TJ Edens
Hello David,
Sometimes the latest version is not fully stable and Softaculous only provides stable versions I believe. You should be able to install the software then update from within if available.
Best Regards,
TJ Edens
I installed a WordPress site in my attached domain and all is OK. I created another installation of WordPress in subdomain and can’t get it to show up on the Web. it created a new folder and the install went fine. Can’t get to the site.
https://22sites.us/marketingplatz
I have a website with InMotion Hosting but I haven’t worked or put anything new probably for 8 months to a year. My first website, I used Dreamweaver but that was 10 years ago. I tried to do that again and couldn’t. I would like to use something fairly easy… everyone tells me to get a wordpress theme but I’m still lost. CAn I start over and use a wordpress theme? Where can I find help when I need it (which may be often)? Thank you for any help. Gayle Laible
Hello Gayle,
Yes, you can certainly start over and use WordPress. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to create a question within the Support Center and we will be glad to help!
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
Just deleted a WordPress add-on domain and sub-domain to avoid this error when I tried to installed a new WordPress sub-domain -“The maximum number of databases you can create has been reached, so installation cannot proceed.”
So why after deleting the add-on and sub do I still get the error “The maximum number of databases you can create has been reached, so installation cannot proceed.”? Seems as though I should have room for the WordPress installation becasue I just deleted one (or two) by deleting the domains.
Hello Mitch,
Thank you for contacting us. Just deleting an addon/subdomain will not delete any databases you have created. You can delete databases, if they are no longer needed.
Uninstalling the WordPress sites using Softaculous, would have deleted the databases for you.
If you need additional databases, you can also upgrade your hosting plan.
Thank you,
John-Paul
I installed WordPress on my add-on domain, but pages added include index.php in the urls. Please advise how I can remove this from the page urls?
Easy fix–just removed it from the Permalinks setting in Settings on the dashboard. Thank you, Jadon at Chat!
Hi
I am having issue regarding word press, I am unable to install word press, Error is below :
wordpress cannot be installed in the free version of softaculous
Please suggest what to do
Thanks
Hello Irfan,
Yes, that is true. The free version of Softaculous does not allow a one-click install for WordPress. All Softaculous installs on our are premium purchases so they have it. If, for some reason, you are one of our customers and are getting this message, contact our Live Support right away and we can correct the issue.
Otherwise, you can always do a manual install of WordPress. It is not terribly difficult but it is certainly not a one-click solution.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
Yesterday I installed WordPress. The process went smoothly and with no error messages, but I discovered that it was not installed where I wanted it to.
After selecting the domain “erian.es”, I typed the directory name “business_english” (which did not exist, as instructed). After the installation had finished, I found that the directory was not under the domain I had selected, but on the same level as “erian.es”, under “public_html”.
Please advise.
Hello IanHinton,
If erian.es is your main domain, then the default folder is public_html. The Softaculous is designed to create the new fodler under the domain’s root folder. So it should be public_html/business_english.
If you have had your document root changed then Softaculous will not know this and you will need to move/copy the folder to the new location manually.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
I just installed WordPress. Now I can’t find it. Is there a control panel here at inmotion, or do I have to go to WordPress to build my site?
Suzan
Hello Suzan,
Did you install it via Softaculous? It gives the two URLs for your site and the admin login at the end. If you selected to have the installation details sent to your email, it should also be there.
If you installed WordPress at your domain, example.com then you should see the default site when you visit example.com. Also you should be able to login to the WP admin area at example.com/wp-admin.
Your entire hosting account can be accessed by visiting your cPanel.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M
Hi, i’m trying to figure out my situation. I moved my website from Microsoft to inmotion…after that my site was completely disabled and static. A CMS was not transferred with my site, Is there any way to take my static pages and have them made live again?
Hello Robert,
A CMS normally takes data from a database and creates webages on demand, so if the CMS files and/or database did not transfer that will likely not possible. You may want to contact your last host to see if they can put your files together in a migration package.
Kindest Regards,
Scott M