Vanilla Forums is a popular open-source community forum software that allows you to create and manage online communities. In this tutorial, we will guide you step-by-step through the process of installing and setting up Vanilla Forums on Windows 11.
Before we begin, make sure your system meets the following requirements:
First, you need to download and extract the latest version of Vanilla Forums software from its official website.
Once the download is complete, extract the files to the htdocs directory of your XAMPP installation. For example, if your XAMPP is installed on the C: drive, you can extract the files to C:\xampp\htdocs\vanilla.
Before installing Vanilla Forums, you need to create a MySQL database where it can store its data.
To do so, open the XAMPP control panel and click on the Shell button. This will open a command prompt window.
Type the following command to log in to your MySQL server:
mysql -u root
Then enter your MySQL password when prompted.
Next, create a new database using the following command:
CREATE DATABASE vanilla;
This will create a new database named vanilla. You can choose any other name you prefer.
Before you can access Vanilla Forums, you need to configure it.
Open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost/vanilla/. You will be redirected to the Vanilla Forums installer.
Follow the on-screen instructions to configure Vanilla Forums. When prompted, enter the following information:
After you have filled in all the required information, click on the Install Vanilla button. Vanilla Forums will now install and configure itself.
Once the installation process is complete, you can now access Vanilla Forums by navigating to http://localhost/vanilla/ in your web browser.
You will be prompted to create a new administrator account. Fill in the required information and click on the Create Account button.
You can now log in to Vanilla Forums and start creating your online community!
In this tutorial, we have shown you how to install and set up Vanilla Forums on Windows 11. With Vanilla Forums, you can create and manage your own online community easily and efficiently.
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