How to install phpMyAdmin on managed hosting accounts

This article describes how to install phpMyAdmin on a managed hosting account. phpMyAdmin is perfect for managing your databases, including repairing and optimizing them. All managed hosting accounts already include phpMyAdmin in cPanel. However, if you want to use a version of phpMyAdmin newer than the version included with cPanel, you can install phpMyAdmin locally on your account.

There are two ways you can install phpMyAdmin locally:

  • Softaculous
  • Manual installation
Please note that local installations of phpMyAdmin are not supported, while phpMyAdmin through cPanel is supported.

Method #1: Softaculous

You can install phpMyAdmin with just a few clicks by using the Softaculous application installer included with cPanel.

phpMyAdmin is only available in Softaculous Premium. If you are using Softaculous on a managed VPS, you must either upgrade to Softaculous Premium to install phpMyAdmin, or use the manual installation method below instead.

To install phpMyAdmin using Softaculous, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to cPanel.
    If you do not know how to log in to your cPanel account, please see this article.
  2. Open Softaculous:
    • If you are using the Jupiter theme, on the Tools page, in the Softaculous Apps Installer section, click Softaculous Apps Installer (or any of the icons under Scripts or Categories).
    • If you are using the Paper Lantern theme, in the SOFTACULOUS APPS INSTALLER section of the cPanel home screen, click Softaculous Apps Installer (or any of the icons under Scripts or Categories).
  3. In the Search text box, type phpmyadmin and then press Enter.
    Alternatively, you can use the navigation pane on the left side. To do this, click DB Tools, and then click phpMyAdmin.
  4. Click Install. The installation page appears.
  5. In the Choose Protocol list box, select the protocol.
    If you have an SSL certificate installed on your site, select https:// or https://www. If you do not have an SSL certificate installed on your site, select http:// or http://www.
  6. In the Choose Domain list box, select the domain for installation, or accept the default value.
  7. In the In Directory text box, type the directory where you want to install phpMyAdmin.
  8. Confirm that the Database Host text box value is set to localhost.
  9. Click the Advanced Options icon icon to expand Advanced Options.
  10. If you do not want to receive e-mail notifications when application updates are available, select the Disable Update Notifications Emails check box.
    A2 Hosting strongly recommends that you receive e-mail notifications when application updates are available. Keeping your site updated helps prevent unauthorized access attempts and data loss.
  11. To receive site configuration information after the installation is complete, type an e-mail address in the Email installation details to text box.
  12. Review the installation options and settings, and then click Install. When installation is complete, Softaculous provides the login URL to the new phpMyAdmin installation.

Method #2: Manual installation

You can download the phpMyAdmin installation file directly from the phpMyAdmin site and install it manually. You may want to do this if Softaculous does not have the latest version, or if you want to install a non-standard version (such as a beta test version).

phpMyAdmin requires PHP version 5.5 or newer. If your account is using an older version of PHP, you must use the version switcher in cPanel to change the version before you install phpMyAdmin. For information about how to do this, please see this article.

To install phpMyAdmin manually, follow these steps:

  1. Use your web browser to go to https://www.phpmyadmin.net, and then click Download.
  2. Download the installation .zip file to your local computer.
  3. Use FTP to upload the .zip file to the public_html directory of your A2 Hosting account.
  4. Log in to cPanel.
  5. In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click File Manager.
  6. In the File Manager window, navigate to the public_html directory.
  7. Right-click the .zip file you uploaded in step 3, click Extract, and then click Extract File(s).
  8. After the extraction finishes, click Close.
  9. The files are extracted into a directory with a name like phpMyAdmin-4.5.0.2-all-languages. To use a more user-friendly directory name, right-click the directory, click Rename, type the new name, and then click Rename File.
  10. Use your web browser to go to the directory name you specified in step 9. (For example, if your domain name is example.com, and the directory name is myphp, you would go to http://example.com/myphp.) The phpMyAdmin login page appears.

More Information

For more information about phpMyAdmin, please visit https://www.phpmyadmin.net.

Get phpMyAdmin Hosting

Article Details

  • Product: All managed hosting accounts
  • Level: Intermediate

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