What do you need to start?
To be able to install and run Joomla!, you'll need hosting space and a few tools. Here's your shopping list.
1. Hosting space
First of all, you'll need hosting space; a place on a web server where you can set up your site to make it accessible to anyone with Internet access. Your hosting account should support the PHP scripting language (as Joomla! is written in PHP); it should support the type of database that Joomla! uses, called MySQL; and it has to run the Apache server software. Specifically, these are the system requirements for Joomla! 1.5:
- PHP 4.3.10 or above
- MySQL 3.23 x or above
- Apache 1.3.x or above
You shouldn't have any difficulty finding hosting accounts that meet these system requirements. If you're not sure, any hosting provider should be able to tell you if they support Joomla!.
You can find detailed system requirements at the Joomla! official help site: http://help.joomla.org/content/view/1938/302.
Tip
And what if you don't have hosting space?
If you don't have a hosting account yet, you can install Joomla! on your computer. This does involve installing the web server software first. This means you'll make Joomla! run on your computer as if it were a real, "live" web server.
- The quickest way to do this is to use an all-in-one installation package. Go to http://bitnami.org to download the free, open-source "BitNami Joomla! Stack" that will automatically install both web server software and Joomla! in one go.
- Another option is to first install the web server software, and then install the Joomla! software on your computer. There are several free web server software packages available, such as WampServer for Windows, and XAMPP for Windows, Linux, and Apple computers. See www.wampserver.com or www.apachefriends.org.
Although this approach is OK for testing purposes, there are some drawbacks. You'll only have access to Joomla! from just one computer, and when your site is ready for the world, you'll have to install it on a real web server anyway. In this book, we'll focus on installing and running Joomla! on a web server.
2. FTP software
To transfer files from your computer to a web server, you need special File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software. An FTP program is comparable to the Windows file Explorer or the Mac Finder. You use it to manage files and move them from one place to another—the only difference being that the FTP program allows you to move files from your computer to your hosting space on a web server (and vice versa).
If you're new to FTP, perform a Web search for 'FTP Tutorial' to get familiar with the basic procedures. See for example http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/ftp.
Tip
Looking for FTP software? Check out the free (open-source) FileZilla software, available for computers running Windows, Apple, and Linux. You can download it from http://filezilla-project.org. If you're using the Firefox you might be interested in FireFTP, an FTP plugin for your browser—as explained next.
3. A great browser (think Firefox)
If you're perfectly happy with whatever your current browser may be, you won't have any trouble managing your Joomla! site with it. However, people creating websites often install more than one browser on their computer. Apart from the ever-popular Microsoft Internet Explorer (www.microsoft.com), you might want to install the up-and-coming Google Chrome (www.google.com). But you'll definitely want to use Mozilla Firefox (www.mozilla.org). Having more than one browser allows you to check if your site looks OK in all of the major browsers.
A special benefit of having Firefox at your disposal is that there are many extensions for this browser that will make your web developing life much easier. One of these is Firebug that helps you to style your web pages (more about Firebug in Chapter 11 on templates). Another great Firefox plugin is FireFTP that turns your browser into a full-blown FTP client. Go to http://fireftp.mozdev.org to see how it works and to download a copy.