Installing WHBMP

This page covers a standard install through the web installer. For a VPS with CloudPanel or nginx see Installing on CloudPanel and nginx.

Before you start

1. Make sure the server meets the requirements.
2. Create an empty MySQL or MariaDB database and a database user with all privileges on it. In cPanel use MySQL Databases and add the user to the database.
3. Have your license key ready (see License and activation).

Upload the files

1. Download the WHBMP package (whbmp-X.Y.Z.zip) from your account at whbmp.com.
2. Upload the zip to the folder that will hold the application and extract it. On cPanel use File Manager > Extract.
3. Point your domain's document root at the public folder inside it. The other folders (app, config, storage and so on) must not be reachable from the web.
4. If you cannot change the document root, install into a folder outside public_html and copy or link only the contents of public into public_html, then edit the paths in index.php to match.

Run the installer

Open https://your-domain.com/install in your browser. The wizard has three steps.

Step 1: Requirements

The installer checks the PHP version, every required extension, the writable folders and whether it can create the .env file. Fix anything marked red and reload the page. You cannot continue until all required checks pass.

Step 2: Database

Enter the database host (usually localhost or 127.0.0.1), port (3306), database name, user name and password. The installer makes a real connection to test them and shows the exact error if it fails.

Step 3: Administrator

Enter your name, email address and a password of at least 8 characters, your company name and your main currency (USD, EUR, GBP or INR). When you submit, the installer:

1. writes the database details and your site address into .env,
2. creates all the tables,
3. creates your Super Admin account and the starting data (roles, email templates and default settings),
4. locks itself so the installer cannot be run again.

Sign in

After the install you land on the admin sign-in page. The admin path is /admin by default, so sign in at https://your-domain.com/admin.

After the install

• Set up the cron job. Without it nothing automatic happens: no invoices, reminders or suspensions.
• Activate your license.
• Follow the first steps checklist.

If the installer will not start

• A 404 page at /install: the document root is not the public folder, or .htaccess is not being read (Apache needs AllowOverride All; nginx needs the Laravel try_files rule).
• A blank page or a 500 error: check storage/logs/laravel.log and the folder permissions.
• "Could not connect": the database host, name, user or password is wrong, or the user was not added to the database.
• The installer redirects to /: WHBMP is already installed. To reinstall, start with an empty database and remove the install lock (see Troubleshooting).