Well it's about time to get started, the first thing is to do before we download Joomla is make sure we have a web server, code execution engine (PHP), and MySQL. To start off we need a web sever, now if you don't have a web hoster don't worry, you can install Joomla on a local host and later transfer it to a web server. For the purpose of this install we are going to put it on a local host. Second we need an execution engine (PHP). To accomplish this we need a program like Visual studio but not everybody has the money to own such a program. One thing you can do is go to Microsoft's website ( http://www.microsoft.com/express/ ) and download the SQL Sever 2008 express edition. Now if you plan on doing more than just building a web site there are other express programs you can get for free. The only thing that makes the express editions different than regular Visual Basic package is that all of the componenets are bundled and the express is not. Other than that you have nothing to worry about.

The next thing on our list is an execute engine (PHP), this can be obtained through WAMP (http://www.wampserver.com/en/). With this download you get the PHP engine you need, Apache, and a SQL manager. Now I need to let you know the first problem I had with Joomla was with WAMP and how everything was setup but, we will address that later. For now just download this and I will show you how to set it up for Joomla.

Once you have those installed on your system then it's time for Joomla. You can download Joomla from ( http://www.joomla.org/ ), the official Joomla website. Now it is a little confusing when tring to install this program and get everything set up but, don't worry I will explain everything. For now go to the website and download it and I will walk you through installing it.

Realize that the hardest thing about Joomla is getting it setup on a local host and once you have done that everything else is easy. So until next time happy programming.