Getting Started with Softaculous

Softaculous lets you install popular web applications such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal directly from cPanel with minimal effort.

Softaculous is an auto-installer built into cPanel that lets you install hundreds of popular web applications - WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, and many more - in just a few clicks.

Accessing Softaculous

First, log in to cPanel. You can find Softaculous in any of three ways:

Under the Software section:

Softaculous under the Software section in cPanel

In the dedicated Softaculous Apps Installer section towards the bottom of cPanel:

Softaculous Apps Installer section in cPanel

By typing Softaculous into the Find box at the top of cPanel:

Searching for Softaculous using the Find box

Installing an application

Once Softaculous opens, choose the application you want from the list on the left, or pick one from the Top Scripts section in the centre of the page. Most installations ask for the same core details.

Choose protocol

Select https:// or https://www. if you have an SSL certificate installed (recommended). If not, choose http:// or http://www. depending on whether you want visitors to land on the www or non-www version of your domain.

There is no SEO difference between www and non-www, but whichever you choose, keep it consistent and do not change it after installation.

Choose domain

Select the domain you want to install the application on from the dropdown.

In directory

This sets the path relative to your domain root. The directory must not already exist.

To install at https://your-domain.com/blog/, type blog.
To install at https://your-domain.com/, leave this field empty.

Admin account

Enter the details for the administrator account: username, password, full name, and email address.

Select language

Choose the display language for the application.

Advanced options

This section lets you set a custom database name and table prefix, and configure automated backups. Softaculous picks a random database name and table prefix by default - it is best to leave those as they are.

To enable automated backups, set the backup frequency to Once a day:

Softaculous automated backup frequency setting

Depending on the application, you may also see options for site settings, plugins, and themes. These can all be changed after installation, so set them however you like at this stage.

Not sure which application to use? See How to decide which script in Softaculous is right for you.

Handling existing files

If files already exist in the target folder, Softaculous will show an error:

Installation cannot proceed because the following files already exist in the target folder.

For example, an index.php file may already be present. You have two options:

Go to cPanel > File Manager, back up the file, and delete it before retrying.
If you do not need the existing file, tick the Overwrite Files checkbox that appears on the install form after the error:

Overwrite Files checkbox in Softaculous