Introduction

WHMCS is the most widely used support and billing application for Web Hosting companies. It allows you to automate every aspect of your web hosting business in the most intuitive way imaginable and integrates it with thousands of third-party applications and frameworks. 

This tutorial will cover the installation process for WHMCS using the Softaculous App Installer. Before starting the installation, please ensure you have purchased the application, and you have access to the WHMCS license key.

Purchasing our Web Giant or Site Nova plans include a free WHMCS license. If you own one of these solutions, don't hesitate to contact our technical support team over our ticketing system and grab your license!

Getting Started

Before starting the WHMCS installation, you must log into your cPanel account. If you are unsure how to do that, please follow our How to Access the cPanel service tutorial.

Once you log inside your cPanel account, please navigate to the "Software" category, where you will find the "Softaculous Apps Installer" icon. Please click on it.

Upon clicking on the "Softaculous Apps Installer" icon, cPanel will redirect you to the Softaculous interface, where you will see the "Top Scripts" in the middle of the screen, your installations, and outdated scripts right on top.

Please navigate to the search bar on the top left. Click on it and type "WHMCS" inside. Doing so will unveil the "WHMCS" option underneath. Please click on it.

Upon doing so, Softaculous will redirect you to the WHMCS installation page. Please click on the blue "Install" button underneath the WHMCS icon to begin the installation process. 

Doing so will display the installation page, where you can customize your installations however you please. 

To keep things as plain as possible, we will review each section one by one starting with the first "Software Setup" section.

Software Setup

This section will let you choose the main configuration options for your WHMCS installation.

• Choose Installation URL - You will notice two drop-downs and one text field in this section. The first drop-down will allow you to select a protocol. The protocol selection is entirely up to personal preference. However, we recommend always selecting an HTTPS version, regardless if it's with WWW or without. HostArmada offers free SSL certificates on all our plans, so you will always have the option of choosing HTTPS. The second drop-down will allow you to select the domain name for which you want to install WHMCS. The text field at the end will let you define a directory where you wish to install the application. Usually, people use the domain for their hosting product website. For WHMCS, they use a sub-directory called "billing", "clients", or something similar. 
• Choose the version you want to install - At the time of writing this tutorial, WHMCS supports versions 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, and 8.5. Installing the latest version is always a good idea, as you will get the latest features and updates. However, ensure that the selected version is compatible with the third-party services or frameworks you would like to integrate with WHMCS.
• Data Directory - WHMCS stores sensitive information in an inaccessible folder via a web browser. Usually, this folder will be deployed inside the home directory of your web hosting account, and we recommend keeping this setting. You should only change the name if you prefer having a more distinguishable name. 
• CRON Job - WHMCS requires a CRON job to run correctly. We recommend leaving the default setting unless you are familiar with a more optimal timing setup.

Site Settings

This section will enable you to enter the license key and personalize your WHMCS.

• Company Name - Please write your company name in this text field.
• Admin Folder - Please type the admin URL for your WHMCS installation in this text field. The default choice is "admin", however, you can pick a different one if you want to.
• Company Email - Please type your company email address in this text field.
• Valid License Key - Please enter a valid license key you received with your WHMCS purchase in this text field.

Admin Account

This section will let you select how you access the WHMCS backend.

• Admin Username - Please enter your WHMCS admin username in this text field.
• Admin Password - Please enter your WHMCS admin password in this text field. Choose a strong password using the scale underneath. Usually, 65/100 is considered a robust password.
• First Name - Please enter your first name in this text field.
• Last Name - Please enter your last name in this text field.
• Admin Email - Please enter the administrative email address for your WHMCS installation.

Choose Language

This section will allow you to choose the preferred language for your application frontend and backend. 

• Select Admin Language - Please select your WHMCS's backend language using this drop-down menu.
• Select Site Language - Please select your WHMCS's frontend language using this drop-down menu.

Advanced Options

This section will allow you to use advanced options to customize your WHMCS installation further. We recommend leaving this section with its default settings.

• Database Name - You can select a specific name for your WHMCS database. Note that you cannot change the prefix. In a cPanel server, the prefix will always be your cPanel username.
• Auto Upgrade - By default, this setting is disabled, and we recommend keeping it this way. Sometimes, an automated update can break a vital functionality on your website, cause a lot of headaches, and require an application rollback that may lose you orders and customers. Always perform upgrades manually and ensure that all your integrations are compatible with the updated version.
• Disable Update Notifications Emails -  This option is disabled by default. Enabling it will send you notifications when new updates are available for WHMCS.

Now that you have filled in all the information in the respective fields/drop-down menus, it's time to install WHMCS. To do that, please click on the blue "Install" button at the bottom of the page. If you wish to receive the installation details at a specific email address, please type it in the text field directly below the "Install" button.

Upon doing so, you will see a progress bar showing you how much time Softaculous will take to install WHMCS. 

The process takes a few minutes, and once done, the Auto Installer will congratulate you on a successful installation and will provide you with the site's main and admin URLs.

With the above done, you are now ready to start using WHMCS! 

Conclusion

That was easy, wasn't it? Hopefully, our tutorial helped you with the installation process and brought you one step closer to starting your brand new web hosting business!