How to install osCommerce
osCommerce is an open-source (free) fully featured e-commerce website. It’s one of the most popular online stores 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 store from scratch onto your website.
Before we start you will need to make sure that your website supports PHP 4.1+ and you have a MySQL database. If you’re not sure, contact your web hosting company or ISP. osCommerce supports multiple platforms including Linux, Mas OS X, and Microsoft Windows. This tutorial covers the installation of osCommerce 2.2 Milestone 2 (Update 060817).
You will need the following to hand:
- A copy of osCommerce
- Website FTP details
- MySQL database details (hostname, username, password)
1. Download osCommerce
Download a copy of the shopping cart software from www.oscommerce.com. Unzip the downloaded file, taking a few minutes to read the documentation provided (documentation.pdf).
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 “catalog” folder to the root of your web space. You do not need to upload the “extras” folder.
3. Start the Install Process
Once you have successfully uploaded the “catalog” folder, open your web browser and visit the “install” folder within the “catalog” folder, for example:
http://www.mydomain.com/catalog/install
Follow the instructions in the wizard, entering your database connection details when prompted. When the wizard has finished you have successfully installed the software.
4. Tidy up the Installation
Once you have successfully installed osCommerce you must make sure you delete the “install” folder to prevent anyone overwriting your online store. You must also change the permissions for the “configure.php” file within the “includes” folder.
You will see an error message appear at the top of the page if the permissions are incorrect or the “install” folder still exists.
Finished!
That’s it! You have successfully installed osCommerce onto your web space. Now you can start to configure the store by entering the administration area. You can access this by visiting the following URL in your web browser:
http://www.mydomain.com/catalog/admin
If you can, we recommend that you password protect this folder or rename it to a less obvious name to prevent unauthorised access.
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 osCommerce website or in the documentation provided.
For help on using or installing osCommerce please contact us on +44(0)1202 315285 or info@acmultimedia.co.uk. Learn more about AC Multimedia.
Further Information
I’ve got a question.currently i’m using joomla as to develop my e-commerce website.how in any way can i change to do it using the oscommerce template?pls…
Very helpful, thank you.
The shopsystem runs perfectly.
When I type in my website domain name, (www.albynactivegroup.com) is appear an error massage:
Forbidden
You don’t have permission to access / on this server.
——————————————————————————–
Apache/2.0.54 Server at http://www.albynactivegroup.com Port 80
Can you pls tell what mistake I have been make? TQ
Dear sir/madam,
i tried to change the permissions for the “configure.php” file within the “includes” folder to 644, 650, 755 and 444. But I still get the same massage. Can you please tell me how can I solve this problem? Thank you.
Hello, login your cpanel, there is file manage icon, use this to change the 444 write permissions only, thanks.
I have tried and tried and tried to install oscommerce, and everytime I fall at the changing permissions thing. I do exactly what the instructions in the oscommerce pdf say, and end up with a totally blank screen. Can someone point me to a total idiots guide - oh and one that doesn’t witter on about cpanel, please, not everyone uses it.
After reading this article, I feel that I need more information on the topic. Can you share some more resources please?