Introduction

In this tutorial, we will introduce another approach for installing PrestaShop 1.7. Manually installing PrestaShop comes in handy when you cannot do so via the Softaculous Auto-Installer for some reason. At the end of this guide, you will not only have an Online Store empowered by PrestaShop but you will be familiar with the basic concept of installing web applications manually.

Getting Started

The very first step we will need you to take is to download the files needed for the installation. You can do that from PrestaShop’s official website. When you access the page, simply click on the “Download” button and the latest version of the application will be downloaded to your local computer.

Once you initiate the download, please allow it a few moments to be successfully completed. Afterward, you will need to extract the archive file locally. You will end up with a folder called “prestashop_x.x.x.x” which contains another “prestashop” archive file you will need to extract. Please, make sure to extract it in the same folder in order to keep everything organized. Afterward, you may delete the archive files as they are no longer needed. When you are done you are ready to move to the next step.

Uploading the Installation Files

Now that you have the archive file successfully extracted on your local computer you are ready to upload the files to your web hosting account. You can do that with your favorite FTP Client. All you will need to do is to connect it to your web hosting account. If you are not sure how to do that, you can find detailed instructions in our FTP-based tutorials available here.

When you successfully connect your FTP Client, please locate the “prestashop” folder containing the installation files (from the left panel) and make sure you are located under the directory where you desire PrestaShop to be installed (from the right panel). Afterward, select all files (“ctrl” + “a”) and click on the “Upload” button.

After the upload process is successfully initiated, please allow it with a few moments in order to successfully finish. Once the process is completed you are all set to continue to the next step.

Creating a database

The next thing you will need to do is to create a database which will be assigned to PrestaShop. This can be done within a few clicks using the “MySQL Database Wizard” tool available in cPanel. Once you are logged into your cPanel account, please navigate to the “Database” section and click on the “MySQL Database Wizard” icon.

When you select it you will be presented with the Wizard’s Dashboard. In the first step, you will be required to define the name of the database. Once you are ready, please click on the “Next Step” button.

In the second step, you will have to create your Database user. Please enter the desired database username and password in the corresponding fields and make sure to keep the details on file since you will need them when you are setting up the PrestaShop application later on. Once you are ready, please click on the “Create User” button.

In the third step, you will need to determine the privileges granted to the user. Please make sure to select “All Privileges” by clicking the checkbox at the top. Once you are ready, click on the “Next Step” button in order to finalize the creation of the database.

Now your database is created and you are ready to continue further with the installation of PrestaShop.

Setting up PrestaShop

The final step you will need to take in order to proceed with the installation is to access your store’s web address followed by “/install” string (i.e. https://yourdomain.com/install) from your favorite Web browser. Then, you will be presented with the “Installation Assistant” and within six simple steps, you will have your new PrestaShop up and running.

In the first step, you will need to select the installation language. When you are ready, please click on the “Next” button.

In the second step, you will be required to agree with PrestaShop’s terms. Please take a moment to read them thoroughly and once you are ready, click on the “Next” button.

In the third step,  a check of your hosting account environment will be initiated to confirm its compatibility with PrestaShop’s requirements. Unless there is an issue, you will be automatically redirected to the next step.

In the fourth step, you will need to enter your store details.

Please specify the following information:

• Shop name - Here you will need to enter the name of your store as it will be displayed in the browser title bar.
• Main Activity - This field is optional. If you wish, please select the main activity of your business from the dropdown menu.
• Country - From this dropdown menu, you will need to select the base country where your business operates.
• Store Timezone - From this dropdown menu, you can select the default timezone of your store.
• First name / Last name - These two fields determine the store owner.
• Email address - In this field, you will need to enter the desired administrative email address which will be used for all update notifications, password reset requests, etc. Please note that the email address specified here will be considered as the login username for your PrestaShop Admin Dashboard.
• Shop password -  In this field, you will need to enter the password for your Admin account. Please make sure to select a strong password as using insecure login credentials may influence your website security and make it vulnerable to various attacks.
• Re-type to confirm - You will need to simply re-type your password in this field.

When you are ready, please click on the “Next” button.

In the fifth step, you will need to enter the details associated with the database you have created in the previous step of this tutorial.

Please, leave the “Database server address” set to “127.0.0.1” unless the database in question is stored on a remote server and enter the database name, username, and password in the corresponding fields. The “Table prefix” is optional so you can leave it as it is.

Once you are ready and you click on the “Next” button the installation process will be initiated. Please allow it with a few moments in order to be successfully completed. When it is done you will be promoted with “Your installation is finished!” message.

Now, a few important things to mention. When installing PrestaShop manually the admin folder which contains all PrestaShop admin files will be autogenerated. Please note that the admin login URL address will be based on the name of this folder. In our case, it set to “admin757mbegnj” which means that in order to access our Admin Dashboard we will need to type our domain name followed by it (e.g. https://domain.com/admin757mbegnj/). You can review and rename the folder by navigating to the root folder of the PrestaShop installation either by FTP or via the “File Manager” integrated into cPanel. The second thing you will need to do is to delete the “install” folder. Either way, you will not be allowed to access your PrestaShop Admin Dashboard due to security reasons.

Once you do that, you will be all set to start customizing your brand new PrestaShop Online Store. We would like to congratulate you on successfully installing the application and wish you good luck with your project. If at any point you have experienced difficulties, please do not hesitate to contact our Support Team for further instructions or troubleshooting.