Introduction

X-Cart is the all-in-one eCommerce solution that allows you to process orders, track inventory, and manage every aspect of an Online Store. X-Cart is a commercial open-source software ideal for eCommerce and even multivendor merchants. Several license options are available, suitable for small to large Online Stores. You can review the available alternatives on the official X-Cart website. At the time of writing this tutorial, a free, feature-limited option is available, as well as a 30-day free trial for the fully-featured version.

In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to install X-Cart and take the very first step into starting your own online business. We will introduce the easiest way to achieve that - by using the Softaculous one-click app installer integrated into cPanel.

Getting Started

To begin, we need to log into your cPanel account. You can do that by clicking on the purple "cP" button available under the Home Page of your Client Area with HostArmada. In case you are not sure how to achieve that, please find detailed instructions in our guide based on How to access the cPanel service.

Once logged in to your cPanel account, please navigate to the "Software" features group where you will locate the "Softaculous Apps Installer" tool.

When accessed, please use the search tool located in the left-hand sidebar. Enter X-Cart into the search field, and it will appear right beneath.

Once listed in the search results, please click on it, and then you will be redirected to the X-Cart Overview page where you will start the installation process.

Installing X-Cart

Now that you are on the intended page, please click "Install Now" to begin the installation.

Once done, you will the X-Cart installation screen will be presented where you have to specify the configuration details required for the installation. To keep it consistent, we will review each of the sections one by one and explains the purpose of every setting they hold.

Under the first "Software Setup" section, you need to configure the application URL settings:

• Choose Protocol - From this dropdown menu, you have to select the protocol over which your X-Cart website will be accessible. Please note that for the secure HTTPS protocol to function correctly, it requires a valid SSL certificate installed on your domain name. If such is not detected on the selected domain, Softaculous will display a warning message right beneath the field. Also, bear in mind that without a valid SSL certificate, you will NOT be allowed to process online payments on your X-Cart store.
• Choose Domain - From this dropdown menu, you have to select the domain or subdomain on which the installation to be performed. The dropdown will list all domains, addon domains, and subdomains currently configured in your cPanel.
• In Directory - In this field, you can define a specific directory where the installation to take place. If you would like the installation to be performed directly under the root folder ( i.e., https://yourdomain.com), please make sure to leave this field BLANK. Alternatively, if you wish X-Cart to take place under a subdirectory (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/store), please make sure to specify it under this field.

Next is the "Admin Account" section, where you need to specify the login credentials for your X-Cart Admin Area.

• Admin Email - In this field, you will have to enter a valid email address, which will be considered as the login username for your X-Cart admin account.
• Admin Password - In this field, you will need to enter the password for your admin account. Please make sure to select a secure password as using insecure login credentials may affect your website security and make it vulnerable to various attacks. We recommend you to use the password generator ("Key" icon) to create a strong password.

Last is the "Advanced Options" section, which contains optional settings. Therefore you can skip it. If required, you may expand by clicking on the "+" sign. Within it, you can customize the database assigned to your X-Cart store and the automated backups generated by Softaculous.

You will be able to give your database a custom "Database Name" and change the database "Table Prefix". You can disable the automatic X-Cart application update notifications sent via email by ticking the checkbox. You can control the "Backup Location", the frequency of the Softaculous "Automated Backups" and the "Backup Rotation". Please note that these backups will be stored under your hosting account, and they will demand available space. If you are using one of our shared hosting solutions, HostArmada is already backing up your data and storing it on remote servers for enhanced security.

Whenever you are ready, please click on the "Install" button to initiate the process and allow it with a few moments to be completed.

And Voalá! The X-Cart installation was successful! In this final screen, you will see your website URL and your X-Cart Admin Area URL.

At this point, X-Cart is successfully installed and set up. However, as it is commercial software, it quires a license key to be fully operational. Upon your first login in the X-Cart Admin Area, a pop-up window will appear requiring you to provide your license key to activate the software. In case you are not sure how to complete this task, please refer to our How to activate X-Cart Free or Premium license tutorial, where you will find detailed instructions.