How to Manually Install PHP Software

Step-by-Step Guide: Manual installation of PHP application on your website for host PHP Environments This tutorial will explain how to manually install a PHP application on your website. Please note that InMotion Hosting does not provide technical support for manual installations or use of third-party software. For support, please visit the third party vendor’s website. For more application-specific instructions, you may need to refer to the software’s documentation or the vendor’s website itself.

Requirements:

  • FTP Access
  • An available MySQL Database
  • The PHP software you wish to install

Step 1: Create the MySQL Database

  • Log into cPanel using the username and password provided in your welcome email.
  • Go to “MySQL Databases” and create a database.
  • Right below where you created the database, create a new user and password.
  • Underneath where you created the user, you’ll see two dropdown boxes, one with the user and the other with the database name. Add that user to the database, giving it “ALL” permissions.

*Note that the database and username has two parts: yourinmotionusername_databasename, and yourinmotionusername_username. For example, tester5_php1 and tester5_admin. You will need this for the software configuration.

Step 2: Upload Files to Server

  • Open your FTP client and log on to your FTP server.
  • Locate the folder on your computer that contains all the files for the PHP program you are trying to install.
  • Upload them onto your website.
  • If you want the PHP program to be the main application on your site, you will publish directly into the public_html folder.
  • Otherwise, create a subfolder inside your public_html and upload the files into it.

Step 3: Run the installation

Typically accessing the installation folder directly in your web browser will lead you to the install page, otherwise you will need to refer to the documentation or README file for the location. Most of the installations are self explanatory and configure automatically. Either way, you will eventually need to provide the database information:

  • Hostname: localhost
  • db name: tester5_php1 (as you created in step 1)
  • db username: tester5_admin (as you created in step 1)
  • Password: whatever password you created for the user in the database

You may also me prompted to specify Administrative login information. This information is in no way related to your cPanel or InMotion, but is the information you will need to log in to the software’s administrative control panel.

Once the installation is complete, you’ll probably be warned to remove the installation directories, which is a good idea for security purposes. Newer software versions may actually prevent you from logging in until you have done so.

Step 4: Log In to Admin Control Panel

Now that you software is installed, it should give you a link to log in to the administrative control panel. This is where you will continue to develop this part of your website.

For more details, take a look at our guide on How to Install PHP 8.0.

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