What is Vanilla Forum?
Vanilla Forum is an open-source, feature-rich forum software designed for simplicity and ease of use. It allows users to create and manage online communities with a clean, modern interface. Vanilla offers customizable themes, plugins, and powerful admin tools, making it a great choice for both beginners and experienced forum administrators.
Softaculous helps you install web applications very easily. Please, follow the steps below to install Vanilla Forum:
Step 1. Log in to your cPanel account.
Step 2. In the Software section, click on Softaculous Apps Installer.
Step 3. cPanel will redirect you to the Softaculous interface.
Step 4. On the left side, locate the Forums category. Click on it and then select Vanilla.
Step 5. Click on Install.
Step 6. Fill in the necessary fields under the Software Setup section:
- Choose Installation URL: Choose the appropriate protocol/domain. Inside the "In Directory" field, if you want to install this in a subdirectory (e.g., example.com/forum), enter the directory name. Otherwise, leave it blank to install in the root directory (e.g., example.com).
Step 7. Enter the following details under the Site Settings field:
- Site Name: Name of your forum, such as Technology Forum.
Step 8. Under the Admin Account field, enter the following information:
- Admin Username: Your new Vanilla username (for security reasons, do not use "administrator" or "admin").
- Admin Password: Use a strong password.
- Admin Email: Your email address. It is helpful for admin account password reset, notifications, etc.
Note: Copy the admin username and password to Notepad. You will need these to access the admin area of your Vanilla forum later.
Step 9. Advanced Options: Leave this section as is unless you want to change the database name or enable automated backups. Please note that frequent backups may consume a lot of disk space.
Finally, scroll down to the end of the page and click on Install.
