Manually install Drupal 7 – Part 1/2 – Database and file setup

Though you can use the Fantastico tool to install Drupal, sometimes Fantastico may not have the most up to date version. If you wish to install the newest update you will need to do so manually. This two part article shows you how to manually install Drupal 7 onto your account. For the first part, we will focus on setting up the database and getting the base files uploaded properly. The second article will focus on the initial configuration of the Drupal 7 software.

The steps below are for those using cPanel software on their hosting account. If you have a hosting account with a provider that does not use cPanel, please contact them on how to properly set up a database on your account.

Creating a database and user for Drupal to use

1. 1. Log into cPanel
   2. Go to MySQL Database Wizard and click on the icon
   3. Type in the database name and click next step

1. 1. Fill in the username and password for the database user and then click the Create User button.

1. 1. From the privileges assignment page, select “ALL PRIVILEGES” and click “Make Changes”

1. Write down the database name, database user, and password you created as you will need those details later in the initial site configuration.

Downloading and Uploading Files to your Account

1. 1. Go to https://drupal.org/start and click on the link to download the latest version
   2. Select the version you want to download and click on the “zip” format

1. 1. Extract the files from the zip file you just downloaded

1. 1. Using a FTP program like FileZilla, upload the contents of the folder that was just created. Do not upload the /Drupal7.12/Drupal7.12/ folders. You only want to upload the contents of the folders to your destination. If you are uploading to the root of your main domain, you would place it in the ‘public_html’ folder. If you are looking to add it to a subfolder or addon domain, then  it would be under that specific folder name, such as ‘public_html/subfolder‘.

At this point, you’re ready to finish configuring your Drupal installation. Please see our next tutorial for part 2 of  the Drupal 7 manual installation on finishing the installation and configuring Drupal.

If you need further assistance please feel free to ask a question on our support center.