How to install phpBB
phpBB is an open-source (free) fully featured bulletin board and forum. It’s one of the most popular forums due to its features, price, additional modules, and the massive community of helpful developers and users. This tutorial goes through the basics of installing the bulletin board from scratch onto your website.
Before we start you will need to make sure that your website supports PHP 4+ and you have a MySQL database. If you’re not sure, contact your web hosting company or ISP. phpBB supports multiple platforms including Linux, Mas OS X, and Microsoft Windows. This tutorial covers the installation of phpBB 2.0.21.
You will need the following to hand:
- A copy of phpBB
- Website FTP details
- MySQL database details (hostname, username, password)
1. Download phpBB
Download a copy of the bulletin board software from www.phpbb.com. Unzip the downloaded file, taking a few minutes to read the documentation provided (docs folder).
2. Upload to Your Web Space
The next step is to upload the files to your web space. You will need to have FTP access in order to do this. If you do not have any FTP details or if you experience problems connecting, consult your web hosting company or ISP. Upload the entire contents of the “phpBB2″ folder to the root of your web space.
3. Start the Install Process
Once you have successfully uploaded the content of the “phpBB2″ folder, open your web browser and visit your website, for example:
http://www.mydomain.com
You will be re-directed to the installation wizard. If you are not automatically re-directed, visit the following file in your web browser:
http://www.mydomain.com/install/install.php
Follow the instructions in the wizard, entering your database connection details and setup details when prompted. If you are unsure about your MySQL database version contact your web hosting company or ISP. When the wizard has finished you have successfully installed the software.
4. Tidy up the Installation
Once you have successfully installed phpBB you must make sure you delete the “install” and “contrib” folders to prevent anyone overwriting your forum.
Finished!
That’s it! You have successfully installed phpBB onto your web space. Now you can start to configure the forum by entering the administration area. You can access this by visiting the following URL in your web browser:
http://www.mydomain.com/admin
You will need to enter your admin username and password you gave when installing the software.
Work your way through the admin sections amending the settings as you wish. If you’re not sure what a setting is, refer to the documentation. Further help and support is available on the phpBB website or in the documentation provided.
For more information on web development please contact us on +44(0)1202 315285 or info@acmultimedia.co.uk. Learn more about AC Multimedia.
Further Information
I once installed phpBB, but then got hack/spammed with p0rn. It replace my main images. I think opensource apps sometimes allow hackers to see the inner workings of well-used software.
This outlines the need to make sure you keep up to date with latest versions of open-source software. Since the code is public it’s far easier to exploit. Good point.
Ya Phpbb is free,, but why most of the people choose v bulletain. Although it charges 160 USD but what are the key difference that make it so expensive.
Thanks for this article as I was looking through web to find a guide. Thanks once again.
Thanks for all these PHP installation process.
Great article sir! This is a really great guide. Thanks for providing stuffs like this.
I have found your blog interesting and useful. Nice post as well. waiting for your next post and tips for website designing.
Thanks
Hi everyone,
I tried to add image but I don’t know how to do this
Can anyone be kind to tell me how?
thanks a lot
Just an introduction. Glad to be here, I’m new. Saying hi to all you all.
SLK
Awesome post, I will be sure to come back and visit!