Installation of Drupal

If you want to install Drupal on your own computer (which is considered Best Practice) rather than on the web, go to Preparation for local installation of Drupal first

If you want to install Drupal straight on the web, check if your provider fulfills the technical requirements.

The installation of Drupal requires 2 steps: installing the Drupal-files (putting them on your computer or website) and the configuration of Drupal.

Drupal often stores its files in a compressed format, they will often have the extension .tar.gz. I use 7-Zip to extract them.

Install the Drupal-files

• Download the latest release of Drupal on drupal.org. You find the link on the first page of the site.
• Extract the file. The releases (and also the modules and themes) come in a compressed format, with the extension .tar.gz. You can use 7-Zip to extract the files. After following these instructions you should now have a folder called Drupal 6.x, where x is the version.
• Make a new settings-file: Make a copy of the sites/default/default.settings.php-file under Drupal 6.x, paste it in the same directory and rename it into settings.php. Control if the file permissions of settings.php are set to writable. If not, change the permission
• Place the content of the Drupal 6.x-folder folder in the root of your website.

Configure Drupal

The set-up is almost ready now. In fact, this is the point where you run Drupal for the first time by entering the path in your browser:

• For those who are running drupal on their own computer with WampServer, type 'http://localhost/site_name' in your browser, where you replace site_name with the name of your site.
• For those who installed the files on the net, the path will probably look like 'http://www.site_name.com', where you replace sitename.com with the name of your site. If you keep on getting an Internal Server Error, you might have a problem with the .HTACCESS file on the web. In that case it's best to contact your provider and explain the problem. They can change that file.

From here, you follow the instructions that Drupal gives you.

• Language: Unless you downloaded Drupal in a different language, you choose English. Drupal has been translated in dozens of languages, and you will be able to add and change a language later.
• Verify requirements: If you made a settings-file, you shouldn't have any problem here. Otherwise, follow the instructions on the screen.
• Database-configuration: Here you make the connection between your drupal-files and the database where your content is kept on. After finishing this step, Drupal will test the connection, and when it fails it will bring you back to this screen.
  • For people who installed Drupal locally: Database name = the database name you just created with phpMyAdmin. Database username = root. No password. No changes in the Advanced Options. Press Save and continue. A screen will come up 'Installing Drupal'
  • For those who installed Drupal on the web, you should find the settings in the documentation your provider gave you. In case you're not sure, look at passwords, usernames in my documentation.
• Configure Site:
  • Start by choosing your site name and email-address. You can change this later.
    • Site name: Can be anything, spaces are allowed. This is the name that will be displayed on your website.
    • email-address: This address will be used by Drupal to warn you about possible upgrades, etc.
  • Administrator account: here you create your 1st-user account. The 1st-user has the highest rank, and is allowed to change everything. Make a note of the username and password you fill in.
  • Server settings:
    • Enable Clean URL's. The message underneath should say: 'Your server has been successfully tested to support this feature' or similar. If there is a problem and you're installing Drupal on your own computer, control the settings of the Apache modules, and see of rewrite_module is checked. If not, check it. If you install Drupal on the web, you have to contact your provider
    • Enable 'Check for updates automatically'

Your installation should be complete now. If you get a warning about your email, you can deal with that later. You can click on your new site.

You get a welcome-screen saying Welcome to your new Drupal website!

Go to 'Welcome to your new Drupal website!'