How to install PrestaShop manually

This article describes how to install PrestaShop manually. You can do this if your account does not include Softaculous or Webuzo, or if you want to install a specific version of PrestaShop.

Installing PrestaShop

PrestaShop is compatible with all A2 Hosting accounts.

To install PrestaShop manually:

1. Download the PrestaShop installation file at http://www.prestashop.com/download to your local computer.
2. Extract the .zip file on your computer.
3. Use FTP to upload the extracted files to the document root directory of your A2 Hosting account.
   For information about how to access your account using FTP, please see this article.
4. Create a MySQL database and database user for PrestaShop. You will need this information during the web configuration process.
5. Use your web browser to go to the installation URL http://www.example.com/install, where example.com represents your domain name.
6. Select a language for the installer to use, and then click Next.
7. Review the license agreement, select the check box, and then click Next. The Store information page appears.
8. Under Information about your Store, fill in the fields with the appropriate information for your store.
9. Under Your Account, fill in the fields to set up a username and password.
10. Click Next. The System Configuration page appears.
11. In the Database name text box, type the name of the database that you created in step 4.
12. In the Database login text box, type the name of the database user that you created in step 4.
13. In the Database password text box, type the password for the database user.
14. Click Test your database connection now!
15. If you receive a Database is connected message, click Next. Otherwise, make sure that you entered the correct database settings, and then try again.
16. The PrestaShop installer creates database tables and configures other settings.
    This process takes a few minutes. Make sure you do not interrupt the installation process!
17. After installation is complete, for security reasons you must delete the PrestaShop installation folder before you can log in. For example, if the document root directory is /var/www/html, you can type the following command to remove the installation folder:

    rm -rf /var/www/html/install/

18. To log in to PrestaShop, go to the URL http://example.com/admin/login.php, where example.com represents your domain name.
    

    For security reasons, PrestaShop adds a four-digit number to the name of the admin folder. Make sure you use the new folder name the next time you log in. If you forget the login folder name, you can check the directory listing of the document root directory and look for the adminxxxx folder.

More Information

To view the official online PrestaShop documentation, please visit http://doc.prestashop.com.