How to Install

To install the program, you will need your unique Product ID. This will be in the email you received when you ordered the program.

You will also need:

• The program zip
• PHP v8.0 or later
  • PHP Extensions: mysqli, gd, curl, openssl, mbstring (these are very common and almost universal)
• MySQL 5.7+ or later: Or a compatible database server (MariaDB, Percona, etc.)
• Your MySQL server information:
  • MySQL hostname (usually "localhost")
  • MySQL database name
  • MySQL username
  • MySQL password
• An FTP program to upload the files
• A web browser

1) UNZIP FILES Unzip the software files on your local computer, preserving the directory structure.

More information on Unzipping Files

2) FIND WEB ROOT Using an FTP program, log into your server and locate your "Web Root". This is the top-level directory you can place web pages which will be displayed on your website.

This is the same directory in which your website's homepage resides. It's often named /www/, /html/, /public_html/, /httpdocs/, /htdocs/ or something similar.

More information on FTP
More information on your Web Root

3) CREATE A DIRECTORY UNDER YOUR WEB ROOT

Create a new directory under your Web Root with your FTP program. We recommend you call the directory /cmsb/ but any name you choose is fine. You will use this directory in place of /cmsb/ below.

4) UPLOAD FILES Upload the folders and files from /cmsb/ into the web directory that you created in step 3.

Make sure that the files are transferred in the correct mode (either "ascii" or "binary"). (Most FTP program have a auto-detect setting for transferring files in the correct mode.)

Mac Users: If your FTP program has a setting for "Translate ISO characters" (e.g. Fetch), make sure it's disabled before you upload.

More information on FTP upload modes (ascii or binary)
More information on Mac "Translate ISO Characters" issue

5) RUN THE PROGRAM Finally, run the admin program /cmsb/admin.php with your Web Browser. It will probably look something like this:

http://example.com/cmsb/admin.php

The program will take you through the final steps of the installation, including setting file and directory permissions if necessary.

More information on CHMOD and Unix File Permissions
More information on Windows File Permissions

6) TROUBLESHOOTING "INTERNAL SERVER ERROR" ISSUES (Updated: Oct 2015)

The CMS comes with some default server config files in the /cmsb/ folder named .htaccess, .user.ini, and php.ini. These config files attempt to reset PHP and Apache settings to standard values and turn off deprecated or problematic features that would otherwise cause errors or problems.

These files aren't supported on all servers, but on many they will prevent problems. However, they are OPTIONAL and you can safely remove these files if needed.

If you are getting errors on install try each of the following steps until the errors stop occuring:

1. Disable /cmsb/php.ini by renaming it to php.ini.disabled
2. Disable /cmsb/.htaccess by renaming it to .htaccess.disabled
3. Disable /cmsb/.users.ini by renaming it to .user.ini.disabled
4. Contact support or post in the forum.