When I was new to Joomla, I spent days trying to figure out how to upload my local Joomla site onto my GoDaddy host server. When I called GoDaddy support, they told me they didn’t support Joomla, which left me on my own. I searched all over the internet and didn’t find the answers I was looking for, so I went out and spent about $70 on Joomla for Dummies and Joomla! Visual Quickstart Guide, hoping I could figure out how to accomplish this one simple task. Nada. There were no good, clear, concise, complete how-to guides for getting this done. So I decided I would write one.

Here’s how to do it:

PART ONE: INSTALL JOOMLAPACK AND BACK UP YOUR LOCAL SITE

1. Go to http://www.joomlapack.net/download/JoomlaPack-Components-download.html and download the latest version of JoomlaPack.
2. Install JoomlaPack to your localhost site in the same way you would install any other component. (Go to Extensions > Install/Uninstall, browse to your downloaded file, and click the button that says “Upload File and Install.”)
3. Go to Components > JoomlaPack > and click “Back Up Now.” Make sure you don’t navigate away from that screen until you see a message that says “Backup is Complete.
4. Go to Components > JoomlaPack > Administer Backup Files. Click the checkbox next to the backup you just made. Click Download and save the file in a convenient location. It will have a .jpa file extension on the end of it.

PART TWO: DOWNLOAD KICKSTART

1. Go to http://joomlacode.org/gf/project/jpack/frs/?action=FrsReleaseView&release_id=10315. There you will find a page with release information and a bunch of tabs labeled “Notes, Changes, Files,” etc. Click on the “Files” tab, and click on the link to download the Kickstart Zip file.
2. Unzip the Kickstart file and move the php script file to the same folder where you put your Joomla local site backup.

PART THREE: TAKE YOUR LOCAL JOOMLA SITE LIVE ON THE INTERNET

1. 1. Go to GoDaddy.com and log in.
2. On the left navigation bar under “My Products,” Click on “Hosting.”
3. Put a check in the box next to the domain you’re trying to set up, and click “Manage Account.” This should bring up the Hosting Control Center.
4. Click on the Databases bar.
5. Click on MySQL.
6. Click “Create Database.”
7. Write down the Host Name, the database name, and your username and password. (You have to click on the little pencil icon to the right of your database before you can see all the relevant information. You may have to wait awhile for GoDaddy to create the database before you can see the hostname. Be patient.)
8. FTP your .jpa backup file and kickstart.php to the root folder of your web host directory using whatever FTP client you prefer. (I prefer Dreamweaver, but I hear Filezilla is good and free.)
9. Open up a web browser and type in http://www.substitute-your-domain-here.com/kickstart.php.
10. At the bottom of the screen, under FTP options, input the username and password you used to FTP the .jpa and kickstart files to your site in step 8. Leave everything else alone.
11. Click “Start.” Wait patiently while JoomlaPack Kickstart populates your site. WHEN IT IS FINISHED, DO NOT CLOSE THE WINDOW. Follow the directions on your screen and open a new window to complete the installation.
12. In the new window, select your language and hit “Next.”
13. Hit “Next” again if your installation check looks okay (comes back with all green Yeses”).
14. Hit “Next” again to agree to the GNU General Public License.
15. On the “Database Configuration” screen under basic settings, do the following:

    a. Leave the Database type set to MySQL.

    b. Replace the Host Name with the one GoDaddy provided you with when you set up the database.

    c. Delete “root” and replace it with the username you chose when you set up the database.

    d. Replace the password with the password you created when you set up the database.

    e. Fill in the Database Name with the name of the database you created when you set up the database.

16. You will get a congratulations screen. Hit “Next.”
17. Enter the FTP information you used to FTP the .jpa and kickstart.php files to your site in step 8. Click “Next.”
18. Confirm your email and password information. Hit “Next” to reach another congratulations screen.
19. Go back to the JoomlaPack Kickstart window that warned you not to close it until you had finished restoring your site.
20. Click the “here” link where it says, “When you have finished restoring your site please click here to activate your .htaccess,” etc.
21. You see a screen that says: ALL DONE! Kickstart has finished.
22. CONGRATULATIONS! After all that, your site is finally live. Whew!

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