Installing ExpressionEngine with Freeola

Welcome to the Freeola Internet customer support pages. This guide is designed to give some general information about installing ExpressionEngine using Freeola Hosting. For more internet help topics please visit our main Support Page.

Please Note

This guide was written using ExpressionEngine 5.2.3 as a reference. Other versions of the software will use almost the same instructions, but there may be some slight wording or graphical changes.

In order to install and use ExpressionEngine, or any other blogging software, you will be required to have purchased and have access to Freeola MySQL Web Hosting. The database included in this package is required to store your content for the installation and running of ExpressionEngine.

1. Before you install ExpressionEngine it is best to know 4 pieces of information relating to your SQL database:
   
   - Database Server which will be localhost.
   - DatabaseName will be the name you assigned the database when creating this.
   - Username will also be the name you assigned the database.
   - Password will be the corresponding password to the account.
   
   

2. Download the latest release of ExpressionEngine and unzip the files to a folder on your computer, somewhere easily accessible like your Desktop. Then use your FTP client (Freeola would recommend using Filezilla) to upload the files to your site htdocs folder.

3. For the next part of the installation you will need to edit the permissions of the files and folders that you have just uploaded.
   
   Most, if not all, FTP Clients will provide an easy way to make this change, and can usually be done by simply 'right-clicking' the file/folder, selecting Permissions, then entering the required number.
   
   Using this method, set all files to 666 and all directories/folders to 777.

4. To run the Installation Wizard you will need to visit to the URL of the admin.php file you uploaded. So, for example, if your website address was example.com, you would visit http://example.com/admin.php.
   
   Follow the on-screen instructions to install ExpressionEngine, making sure to select Install Default Theme, if you do not want your domain name to appear blank while you are designing your content.
   
   

5. Once the installation process is completed, you will be presented with the login page for the software. Once logged in, you can start designing your website content.
   
   Any time you wish to make changes to your site in future, you can now use the 'admin.php' link to access this login page.

1. Once the Installation Wizard is finished, you should rename or remove the system/ee/installer/ directory from your server as this will help prevent any accidental re-installations or unauthorised access to your site.
   
   You can easily rename or remove folders using your FTP Client.

2. The developers of ExpressionEngine also provide a list of their Suggested Best Practices, however many of these are fairly advanced so you may not wish to make all of these changes at once.