Once you have installed your new Joomla! web site it is time to make changes to it. You will want to take it offline while you are completing this. Here is how:

Step 1. Visit yourdomain.com/administrator. If you uploaded Joomla! into a sub-directory you would visit http://yourdomain.com/mysubdirectory/administrator. Be sure the domain name corresponds to the domain name you own and is hosted on your hosting account. Log in using your admin username and password you had set up during installation.

Step 2. Once logged in, you will see the main administration panel in the back-end of your website. Select “Site” from the main navigation bar and then select Global Configuration from the drop down menu.

Step 3. Now select “Yes” for the option “Site Offline”.  Make sure “Use Custom Message” is selected for “Offline Message”.

Step 4. Next to the option “Custom Message” add your custom text that visitors will see when they visit your web site while it is offline.

Step 5. If you would like to add your company logo click select next to the option “Offline Image”.

Step 6. The media manager window will open. Select “Browse”.

Step 7. Find your custom image on your local computer. Click on the image and select “Open”. Select “Start Upload”.

Step 8. You can now see your logo in the media manager. Select the image in the Media Manager and select “Insert”.

Step 7. The media manager will close. Click “Save” in the top right hand icon set.

Step 8. Visit http://mydomain.com and you should see your offline message with your logo and a log in form.

To proceed customizing your newly installed Joomla! website just log in using your administrator username and password. You will now be able to view your website.

If you run into any issues, please let our support team know.

To install WordPress 3.3.1  follow the instructions below.

Step 1. In order to install WordPress, you will need to create a database. If you are hosting your website through Great FX Media, you can find detailed instructions on creating a database in our knowledgebase. Be sure to make note of the database name, database user and the database user password. You will need it later in this tutorial.

Step 2. Download the most current stable version of Wordpress from the official  WordPress website. Download it to your computer and make a note of where it will be located when the download is complete.

Step 3. Extract the contents of the downloaded file. Right click on the file you have just downloaded. Select Extract to WordPress-3.3.x. Yours may say extract all or something similar.

Step 4. Open the newly extracted folder and open the file wp-config-sample.php with a text editor such as Notepad. Change the following to coincide with your database information. Make sure to just change the highlighted text, leaving the single quotes intact.

Step 5. In the same file scroll down to the section “Authentication Unique Keys and Salts”. Visit https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/. This will generate random strings to enter into the area below. You can delete the whole area below and copy and past your newly generated information in its entirety in its place. This step is not required for your WordPress installation to work but it does ad an extra layer of security to your WordPress installation.

Step 6. In the same document, select file->Save-As and save the changed file as wp-config.php in the same directory as wp-config-sample.php. Delete wp-config-sample.php. This file is no longer needed.

Step 7. Upload all of the contents from your extracted files on your computer to the public_html directory or a sub-directory on the server  as shown below. Including the file you created in step 6.  It is recommended that you use an FTP client for this. Be sure to upload the contents only.

Step 7. Open your web browser and go to http://mydomain.com/wp=admin/install.php. Be sure the domain name corresponds to the domain name you own and is hosted on your hosting account.  This will start the installation as seen below. Enter your site title, desired usernmame, password (twice) and your e-mail address. Also displayed is a check-box asking if you would like your blog to appear in search engines like Google and Technorati. All of this information can be changed later in the Administration Panels.

Click Install WordPress

Step 8. Your WordPress installation will be complete and you will be presented with a Success! page.

Click Log In

This will take you to the administration log in screen. User name and password will be the same as you entered in  step 7.

Congratulations. You can now log into the administration section of your newly installed WordPress website.

If you run into any issues while installing WordPress, please let our support team know.

How to Install Joomla! 2.5

To install Joomla! 2.5 (also works with Joomla! 1.6/1.7) follow the instructions below.

Step 1. In order to install Joomla!, you will need to create a database. If you are hosting your website through Great FX Media, you can find detailed instructions on creating a database HERE. Be sure to make note of the database name, database user and the database user password. You will need it later in this tutorial.

Step 2. Download the most current stable version of Joomla! from the Joomla! website. Download it to your computer and make a note of where it will be located when the download is complete.

Step 3. Extract the contents of the downloaded file. Right click on the file you have just downloaded. Select Extract to Joomla_2.5.x. Yours may say extract all or something similar.

Step 3. Upload all of the contents from your newly extracted files on your computer to the public_html directory or a sub-directory on the server. It is recommended that you use an FTP client for this. Be sure to upload the contents only-not the single folder as shown below.

Step 4. Once the Joomla! files have completed uploading into the public_html directory, open your browser and visit http://yourdomain.com. If you uploaded Joomla! into a sub-directory you would visit http://yourdomain.com/mysubdirectory. Be sure the domain name corresponds to the domain name you own and is hosted on your hosting account.

Step 5. The Joomla! installation page will  open as shown below.

Select English for this installation. Select Next.

Step 6. Joomla! now performs the pre-installation Check. Please note All Great FX Media hosting accounts have been completely optimized for Joomla! Click Next.

Step 6. This will take you to step 3 of the Joomla! installation. Be sure to read the Joomla! licensing information. When done Click Next

Step 7. This will take you to the database configuration screen. Enter in the database username, database user password and the database name. The other fields can be left at their defaults. Click Next.

Step 8. FTP Configuration. The FTP configuration is used if you are having difficulties installing Joomla! and permissions. You can leave these at the defaults. Click Next.

Step 9. Main Configuration. On this page you will find the site name, site description, key words, admin user, email and password. It is recommended, for security reasons that you not you the default Admin username.
You also have the option of installing sample data. If this is your first time using Joomla!, I would recommend installing the sample data. This will give you some information to experiment with. Click Next.

Step 9. Finish. This is the last page of the installation process. You should see a page like the one below congratulation you on your new Joomla! installation.

In order to access your new Joomla! installation, you must delete the installation folder in your directory. This can be done either with your FTP client or click on “Remove installation folder”.

Your Joomla! installation is now ready for use.

If you run into any issues while installing Joomla!, please let our support team know.