One Click Installs

Many web hosts offer the option to install a pre-built web application with the click of a button. This means that the software, database, and configuration files will all be automatically generated and you will be provided with an instantly created website. This saves you the hassle of needing to setup the application piece by piece.

The options available to you vary from host to host. Generally, most web hosting service providers will have a few different options which include several Content Management Systems (CMS), forum software, eCommerce applications, classified ad applications, client management software, webmail, or a Wiki.

In reference to a “platform” that generally means what technology “stack” is being used. The most common platform for one-click installs is sites which use PHP and MySQL. Any .NET host will have a variety of ASP.NET application templates, and other providers will offer NodeJS, Python or JAVA. Again though, the most widely available one-click sites are PHP based, with CMS platforms like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, being among the most popular applications.

This does not have a single answer. Selecting a CMS requires advanced planning of what the point of your site will be in terms of what it needs to communicate, or what additional features you need. The two platforms in PHP with the highest user-base are WordPress and Joomla. WordPress has the most users, and the highest number of Plugins/extensions, while Joomla has a focus on security and user management. There are also other great options on platforms other than PHP, so take consideration before picking a platform. Sometimes performance is more important than functionality.

A one-click install is visited by you, the user. You click on a button and it sends a RESTful message to your webhost. In turn, your webhost has a script which has deep permissions to use the folder structure you have and the database, to create new sub-folders, databases, tables, etc. Every application has a pre-built install script that tells the database (usually MySQL) what tables to make and populates them with the starting data needed. The required PHP files are dropped into the specified directory and the domain/subdomain is automatically pointed there. Voila, you have a new site!

Depending on you host, many modern hosts have very high amounts of storage that you are allotted to use before installing an application. With that said though, most applications are pretty light-weight in terms of actual disk space. The bulk of the information that could push you over the edge is the content which might be populated. So if you setup a Wiki or a Blog, don’t dump a ton of video files in without checking your size limits. Also, during the install, if size is an issue, the install likely will not work and you will be alerted.

Not speaking on behalf of all hosts, but based on the most common types of installs around, there are some limits to what can or cannot be installed. As PHP is the most common platform, other software stacks are often not available. Also, while mobile websites can be setup from a CMS or certain applications, there are not a lot of out-of-the-box dedicated mobile applications, or anything that would run native on someone’s phone, so don’t expect anything beyond a mobile website. Finally, any application you might dream of that requires reliable high bandwidth, such as a video sharing site, won’t be found very often, because this requires a powerful content delivery network (CDN) which are expensive and often proprietary.

There aren’t any super well-known applications that will automatically set this up for you during one-click installs. However, if you install a popular CMS, eCommerce or Social platform, there is a strong chance that “OAuth” plugins will be very easy to find. However, this will even require some manual setup too, as for any application that uses Google or Facebook login, you will need to create a developer account on those sites and generate API Keys to be used on your site. The good news is that there are lots of ways to set this up that don’t require starting from scratch.

Again, this totally depends on who your host is and what application you choose to install. Some services have proprietary applications that you can install, which allow you to pick the theme and customize the primary content before the application gets generated. Also, with popular CMS platforms, some hosts will provide integrated views to their Themes & Plugins marketplace during the install, and some will even let you pick the theme prior to install completion.

That depends, are you trying to put something up quickly, or are you more interested in learning about how websites work? A one-click install is very effective and will avoid a lot of basic human errors, but making those errors often will show you how the data connects to the code, and how that generates the HTML that gets displayed for site visitors to see. Moreover, setting up a site on your own allows for deeper customization, and if you become a good developer it means you can create whatever you desire. One-click installs are a great service, and a great way to get started on the web.