Installing Joomla
9 answers. What your server needs, and how to install Joomla on hosting or your own computer.
- Which PHP version should I use?
PHP 8.4 for Joomla 6 and PHP 8.3 for Joomla 5. Change it in your hosting panel; most hosts let you switch in one click.
CompatibilityJoomla 5–6 - How do I install Joomla on my hosting?
Use your host's one-click installer (Softaculous, Installatron), or upload the Joomla zip, create a database, and open your domain to run the installer.
- How do I install Joomla on my computer?
Install XAMPP or MAMP, unzip Joomla into its htdocs folder, create a database in phpMyAdmin, then open localhost/your-folder in the browser.
- Which hosting is good for Joomla?
Any host with PHP 8.3+, MySQL 8 or MariaDB, SSH or a file manager, and daily backups. Avoid plans that limit uploads below 64 MB.
- Do I need to create a database first?
Usually yes: create an empty database and a database user in your hosting panel, then enter them in the installer.
- The installer is stuck at "Creating tables"
Your server stopped the script. Raise max_execution_time to 300 in the PHP settings, empty the database, and run the installer again.
Fix - The installer shows a blank page or error 500
A PHP extension is usually missing. Ask your host to enable json, simplexml, dom, zlib, gd, zip, mbstring and mysqli.
Fix - Can I add sample content after installing?
Yes. The Home Dashboard has a Sample Data panel: install the Blog sample to see how articles, menus and modules work together.
- What do I need to run Joomla 5 or 6?
Joomla 6 needs PHP 8.3 or newer; Joomla 5 needs PHP 8.1 or newer. Both need MySQL 8.0.13+ or MariaDB 10.4+ (10.6 or newer recommended), and at least 256 MB of PHP memory.
CompatibilityJoomla 5–6
