Chapter 2 · Getting started

Requirements and installation

PHP Bid runs on any ordinary PHP hosting account. The installation takes about ten minutes: upload the files, create a database, import one SQL file and enter the database details in config.php.

Server requirements

Component	Requirement
PHP	7.4 or newer (tested up to PHP 8.2), with the extensions `pdo_mysql`, `mbstring`, `curl` and `gd`.
Database	MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+.
Web server	Apache with `mod_rewrite` (for the search engine friendly URLs - optional). Nginx and LiteSpeed also work.
HTTPS	Strongly recommended, and required by Stripe for live payments.
E-mail	The PHP `mail()` function must be able to send e-mails (it can on almost every hosting).

Almost every shared hosting plan with cPanel, Plesk or DirectAdmin meets these requirements.

Step 1 - Upload the files

Unzip the PHP Bid package on your computer and upload the content of the PHPBid folder to your hosting with an FTP program (FileZilla, WinSCP) or the file manager of your hosting panel. Upload it to the web root of your domain (often public_html) or to a sub-folder such as /auctions.

Step 2 - Create the database

In your hosting panel open MySQL Databases and create a new database, for example mysite_phpbid.
Create a database user with a strong password and give it all privileges on the new database.
Open phpMyAdmin, select the database, click Import and import the file database/install.sql from the package.

The SQL file creates all the tables with the prefix phpbid_ and adds demo categories, auctions and pages, so you can see the site working immediately. You can delete the demo content later from the admin panel.

Step 3 - Edit config.php

Open config.php in the main folder with a text editor and enter your details:

$DOMAIN_NAME="www.yourdomain.com";

$DBHost="localhost";
$DBUser="your_database_user";
$DBPass="your_database_password";
$DBName="your_database_name";
$DBprefix="phpbid_";

$DEBUG_MODE=false;

$SECURITY_SALT="change-this-to-a-long-random-text";

$DOMAIN_NAME - your domain, without http://. If you installed in a sub-folder, add it: www.yourdomain.com/auctions.
$DBHost - almost always localhost.
$SECURITY_SALT - replace it with a long random text (40+ characters). It protects the sessions, forms and the cron link. Set it once and do not change it later.
$DEBUG_MODE - keep it false on a live website. Set it to true only for a short time if you need to see PHP error messages.

Step 4 - Folder permissions

The folders uploaded_images and thumbnails must be writable by PHP, because the photos of the items, the logo and the blog images are saved there. On most hosting accounts they are writable already; if uploads fail, set them to 755 (or 775) in your FTP program.

Step 5 - Log in to the admin panel

Open https://www.yourdomain.com/ADMIN/ and log in with the default administrator account:

Username: administrator
Password: abc123

The PHP Bid admin panel login page — The login page of the admin panel.

Change the password now: go to Home › Change Password and set a strong password before your site goes public. See Admin login and dashboard.

Search engine friendly URLs

The package includes an .htaccess file with the rewrite rules for short URLs like /en-auction-rolex-submariner-7. Upload it together with the other files (it is a hidden file, so make sure your FTP program shows hidden files). Then turn the URLs on in Settings › Configuration Options › Languages & URLs. See SEO, tracking and social media.

Moving to another server later

Copy all the files, export the database with phpMyAdmin and import it on the new server, then update the database details (and the domain, if it changed) in config.php. Keep the same $SECURITY_SALT.