How to Install phpBB

phpBB is one of the most popular freeware pieces of forum software on the Internet. Setting it up can be a hassle if you're not prepared. Follow these steps to install phpBB on your computer. This eHow assumes you have already downloaded the phpBB install files and unzipped them to a handy location on your computer. You must also have a database in place and a database user account for the phpBB software to access the database.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet access
• Computer

1. Log on to your Web site using an FTP client. You'll need your username and password.

2. Upload the contents of the phpBB2 folder (created when you unzipped the phpBB install zip file to your hard drive) to the location you've chosen for your forum. This could be the root directory of your Web site or a subdirectory.

3. Navigate to the following address in your Web browser:
   
   http://www.yourdomain.com/phpbblocation/install/install.php
   
   "www.yourdomain.com" is your domain name and "phpbblocation" is the directory to which you uploaded the phpBB files. If you uploaded them to the root directory of your Web site, omit that part of the URL, like so:
   
   http://www.yourdomain.com/install/install.php
   

4. Enter your database server hostname into the text field. This is usually "localhost" (without the quotes). If you run into an error, contact your Web hosting provider for the correct hostname.

5. Enter the name of the database you created for phpBB into the "Your Database Name" field.

6. Enter the database username and password into their respective text fields.

7. Enter the admin email address, administrator username and administrator password (and confirmation) values into their respective fields.

8. Click "Start Install." phpBB should now set itself up, using the information you've provided.

9. Delete the "Install" and "Contrib" phpBB subfolders, as directed by the Web site. You're ready to go!

Tips & Warnings

• You may wish to create a new email address for the phpBB admin account -- that is, unless you want people emailing you at your personal email address.
• Write down your administrator account information. If you lose the account information, you'll have trouble changing the properties of your forum.
• Keep the directory structure intact when you first unzip the phpBB install file you download. If you don't, you won't be able to set up your forum.
• Your Web host may have nonstandard values for the information you have to supply to the phpBB install process. If you run into errors, contact the host to make sure you have the right information.