|
Installing 1.0 and Sample Data with a host you can actually login to.
A Quick Guide from a UK fan of Magento
If you are serious about Magento it is worth getting a ‘proper host’, whether that be a virtual server or a dedicated one. This means you do not have to learn someone else’s control panel or suffer the indignity of only having one database for all your projects.
To install with the sample data I created a new database with phpmyadmin. From the main phpmyadmin screen I added a new user with a new user name. I put a tick in the box to create a database for this user, and clicked ‘go’.
I then downloaded the sample data using a ‘wget’ command. This saved me downloading to my PC and then FTP-ing to the server but did require some prodding around the Magento site to get the URL.
I then loaded the sql script for the sample data into the database, using the ‘import’ tab in phpmyadmin.
Then I downloaded the Magento installer, unpacked it and changed the Magento install directory from ‘magento’ to ‘shop’. This is because I want to use a weblog front end with a link from that page to the actual shop. My reason for this is that I am building a B2B site. At a later date I might add a new URL that goes straight to the store for a consumer showcase - but I am not there yet!
After unpacking the installer I moved the sample data media folder across to the shop/media directory, then ran a chown -R on the shop directory to get the permissions working with apache.
Next, I pointed my browser at the shop URL to start the install.
For the localisation settings I set the locale to UK and the timezone to GMT. I did not change the currency from ‘dollar’ as this led to problems in the preview edition, and I know that I can change this once everything is installed.
I put the db setting to that of my newly created user, i.e. with the user and database name the same. I did not add a tables prefix as this is a new db just for Magento (my weblog is in another database).
Having a certificate for my server and experience of https working with re-writes I put in the ‘use rewrites’ and ‘use secure URL’s’ options. I did not put the admin in SSL mode, although I may change this later when things are up and running. It is best practice to run admin in secure - but I am not there yet!
I gave a email address outside the server for the admin settings and made the login name different to ‘admin’. The reason for the ‘out the box’ email address is that I want to see if Magento works with my Postfix MTA.
After clicking next and saving the key to an offline text file I was set to go.
To get to the shop I held the ctrl key and clicked on ‘go to frontend’. This opened the front end in a new tab, and much to my pleasant surprise the frontend opened with sample products!
Then I went to my install tab and selected the backend. I went to the currency tab and set my currency preferences - base and default currencies being GBP and the update service on.
I refreshed my front-end and opened up a product. The prices were all in pounds. Result!
The new look backend looks very good, and the above steps got my install up and running with the correct locale settings and currency, complete with the sample products. Even if you document what you are doing then you should be up and running in an hour (subject to linux command line knowledge).
|
