Joomla! on OS X: How to install and set up?

Question

Joomla! on OS X: How to install and set up?

Hi All,

I am wanting to install/set up Joomla! on my PowerBook, and can't seem to find any clear, concise information on how this is done. What I want to do is set it up on my local machine, build a site using Joomla! and test it locally, then eventually publish it to a remote server.

I'm not too experienced in web design/development so I don't know much - bear with me. Would anyone here mind breaking it down as step-by-step as possible?

What do I need to download, what needs to be installed; where. If there are any Command Line commands, could you walk me through them?

I do/did check out the Joomla! forums but no one seems to be able to provide a clear answer (or perhaps are more PeeCee oriented and don't feel confident in guiding a Mac user?).

Thanks for your patience and time, I hope this isn't asking too much.

PB G4 15" AL | 1 GHz | 1GB ram, Mac OS X (10.4.7), 1 dead pixel

Posted on Oct 15, 2006 11:37 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 17, 2006 7:17 AM in response to Michaelography

download and install MAMP on your mac
http://www.mamp.info/

The abbreviation MAMP stands for: Macintosh, Apache, Mysql and PHP.
With just a few mouse-clicks, you can install Apache, PHP and MySQL for Mac OS X!

now you can install Joomla, Mambo, phpBB2 etc on your Mac's virtual server and test/develop/have fun/learn

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Answer 2

Dr. Smoke

Level 9

56,586 points

Oct 16, 2006 10:10 AM in response to Michaelography

Hi, M.

1. Your question belongs on the Joomla Installation Forum. I presume you've read their Installation Guide which, in the typical fashion of Open Source projects, is rather terse and geared to either Linux or Windows users.

You said you "did check out" their forums, but have you tried posting this question on their forums? I'd suggest that and, if you don't get an adequate response, then perhaps you'd be better served by using a different product.

I don't mean to send you somewhere else, but you should be able to find help from Mac OS X users who've installed Joomla on their Installation Forum.

2. You wrote:

"I'm not too experienced in web design/development..."

IMO, Joomla is not a product for you to begin with.

You can try the following apps for free:

- Site Studio It's only US$30.00 to purchase. It's designed for coding in HTML.

- Freeway Express. It's US$89 to purchase and takes a graphical approach to Web design. <a href="http://www.softpress.com/products/freewayprointerf.php"">Freeway Pro</a> offers more functions, but Express may be enough if you're just starting and, if memory serves, you can upgrade from Express to Pro.

If you are a student, you can get pro-level Web Design apps such as <a href=" http://www.adobe.com/products/golive/main.html">Adobe GoLive CS2 and Dreamweaver at deep educational discounts, e.g. US$100 or less.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

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Answer 3

Oct 16, 2006 3:57 PM in response to Dr. Smoke

Thanks, Doc. I appreciate your response and understand your point of view. However, Joomla! is what the decided CMS will be for my client's redesigned site as they are currently using Mambo. Since they are both familiar with the interface and these CMS'es provide the range of features they require, it just makes sense.

Unfortunately, I am the one 'stuck' with the need to step up and learn this - fairly quickly! I have predicted it will be challenging (to say the least). What's even harder about the situation is that the redesign/layout of the new site was created (by another person) without the understanding of how these CMS'es work (their capabilities/incapabilities, etc.). So, I'll need to not only learn how to implement Joomla locally then remotely, but also how to create a template based on the redesign and make it all work...

Yes, I am also cross posting my questions in the Joomla forums, but occasionally I get better and/or more immediate reponses from fellow Mac users here. (Sidenote: while my post count is low with this account name, I have been posting to this forum for several years with a couple of other account names. When I finally decided to buy a .Mac account, I figured why not use the same account name and start fresh!)

Thanks again for your help!

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