How to Manually Install WHMCS

To manually install WHMCS:

Step 1: Obtain a WHMCS License

HostGator no longer offers a free WHMCS license. You can purchase a WHMCS license directly from https://whmcs.com.

Step 2: Download WHMCS

Once you've requested your license from WHMCS, you may download the program by logging into your WHMCS client area at www.whmcs.com/members and following these steps:

1. Click on the My Licenses & Services link.
2. Select one of your active license keys to view its details.
3. Choose the latest stable version to download from the downloads listed at the bottom of the page.

Step 3: Install WHMCS

The following instructions will guide you through manually installing WHMCS.

1. Create the database

   You will need to log in to your cPanel and create a database and a database user in the MySQL Databases section. For more information, please refer to this article.

   • How To Create or Delete a MySQL Database or User
2. Manual setup
   1. After downloading the WHMCS installation files, you will need to unzip them to be uploaded to the server.
   2. Once you have unzipped WHMCS, it needs to be uploaded. This can be done via FTP or through your cPanel File Manager interface.
   3. You will need to rename the file configuration.php.new to configuration.php
   4. Next, you can rename the folder to whatever you like (billing, clients, etc.)
3. Run the installation script
   1. Visit the installation script at 'http://www.example.com/whmcs/install/install.php' to run the installation process (Replace example.com with your actual domain name, and replace "whmcs" with the directory you placed WHMCS in).
   2. After reading the WHMCS End User License Agreement, click I Agree to continue.
   3. The initial setup will perform some checks to ensure you meet the system requirements and permission requirements.
   4. Click Continue if everything checks out.
   5. Enter the License Key you received from WHMCS and the database you previously created, then click Continue.
   6. Enter the details in the form for the administrator account so that you can access and set up your WHMCS installation.
   7. Once done, click Complete Setup.
4. Finish up the installation

   You can complete the installation process by performing the following:

   1. In the installation path, delete the install directory.
   2. (Optional) For additional security, you can move the attachments, downloads, and templates_c directories outside of any publicly accessible directories.
      • You can follow the walkthrough provided by WHMCS to move the directories.
   3. Set up your cron to ensure WHMCS is performing its required scheduled tasks once a day.
      • This can be done through cPanel's cron job feature or through the command line using the example below. (Be sure to replace the username with your actual cPanel username.)

        0 0 * * * php -q
        /home/username/public_html/whmcstest/admin/cron.php

Related Articles

• How to Install WHMCS via Softaculous
• WHMCS Guide
• WHMCS Overview