phpMyAdmin Key Features
phpMyAdmin’s web-based GUI is easy to learn and use, providing access to common database management tasks.
The interface also makes it easy to view and monitor key database statistics, such as traffic volume and query speed.
The list of phpMyAdmin features to make note of are:
- Support for MySQL Functions
- Intuitive Web Interface
- Data Models and Import/Export
- Administer Multiple Databases and Database Servers
- Browser-Based Access
- Create Tables and Databases
- Write in SQL
Support for MySQL Functions
phpMyAdmin has support for all common functions from MySQL, such as:
- Create, browse, copy, drop, rename, and alter databases, tables, views, fields, and indexes
- Execute, edit, and bookmark SQL statements and batch-queries
- Manage MySQL users and user rights
For anyone having dealt with MySQL, this will greatly impact the learning curve and time spent adapting.
Intuitive Web Interface
phpMyAdmin’s web-based GUI is easy to learn and use, providing access to common database management tasks.
The interface also makes it easy to view and monitor key database statistics, such as traffic volume and query speed.
Data Models and Import/Export
With phpMyAdmin, you can import data into a database from a CSV file.
This is especially helpful if you are converting a spreadsheet-based data management system into a real database application.
Import Data
You can also use phpMyAdmin to import data directly via SQL queries, which makes converting from another database system to MySQL a very simple process.
Export Data
phpMyAdmin also supports robust data export into a wide variety of formats and file types, including CSV, SQL, XML, PDF, OpenDocument Text and Spreadsheet, MS Word, and LaTeX (among others).
There are also utilities for transforming stored data into other formats. For example, you can display BLOB data as an image.
Besides stored data, you can also create graphical representations of your data structure in several standard formats.
Administer Multiple Databases and Database Servers
phpMyAdmin gives users the ability to manage several databases, or even several database servers, from a single control panel.
Besides making administration of multiple projects or applications more efficient, this multi-db and multi-server ability makes development workflow easier.
phpMyAdmin provides tools for cloning and syncing databases with each other, which allows you to easily set up development, test, and production environments and manage them all from a single location.
Browser-Based Access
The best part about phpMyAdmin is that you don’t need to learn the arcane language of the shell or SQL to manage your database. All you need is a web browser.
To add a database, you just navigate to your installation, click ‘Databases,’ then type in the name of the database you want to create and click ‘Create.’
Creating Tables and Databases
Adding tables and dropping them is also easy. With SQL databases, you have to specify at the outset what the formats of your tables will be.
Will this field be an integer or a character field? How long will it be?
You can define these in a few clicks instead of trying to figure out the SQL syntax.
Dropping Databases and Free Demos
Creating a table through the standard MySQL shell is tedious. With phpMyAdmin, you just use drop-down menus.
Dropping a database is similarly easy. It’s probably too easy.
If you’re new to databases, phpMyAdmin or MySQL/MariaDB, it might not be a good idea to try to learn about your company’s sales database.
Fortunately, the phpMyAdmin project has a free demo server you can experiment with without incurring the wrath of your local DBA.
Write in SQL
If you really want to use SQL, you can do that too. Just click on ‘SQL’ and type in your code in the box. It’s great if you’re learning the language.
You might also want to download a package like XAMPP that includes Apache and MariaDB, a fork of MySQL that attempts to be as functionally identical to MySQL as possible. (The reason for the split was MySQL’s acquisition by Oracle.)
It also includes phpMyAdmin.
Documentation and Community
One of the more impressive “features” of phpMyAdmin is its incredibly complete documentation.
The first layer of documentation is a very well organized set of application docs maintained by the project development team. These files cover all the basic issues such as installation and typical use cases.
Some of the perks of a good documentation and community base are outlined below. Here are the five most important ones to take into account:
- phpMyAdmin Wiki
- Published Works
- Forums
- Q&A Sites like Quora
- phpMyAdmin Community
phpMyAdmin Wiki
There is also a fairly large phpMyAdmin wiki, where the user community and developers have come together to provide hundreds of pages of information.
This information covers almost every situation, bug, or possible confusion.
Having a wiki like this is a blessing since it can often avoid hours of robotic support contact when searching for answers.
Published Works
A number of books have been written about phpMyAdmin, including several specifically authorized and endorsed by the project development team.
Forums
Similar to other popular tools, phpMyAdmin has a bunch of forums with quality information.
Some forums are privately run, others are official sources and are more popular.
Q&A Sites like Quora
Possibly the best source of legitimate experience-based feedback, advice, and information comes from Quora.
Quora has been considered one of the most trusted Q&A sites of our time, with experts across all industries present on the platform.
Struggling with a high-level question regarding phpMyAdmin? Quora could just be where you find the answer.
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phpMyAdmin Community
If all that isn’t enough, the user community for phpMyAdmin is quite large, so there is almost always someone to ask if you ever run into trouble.
The community and user base of this tool are adamant on making it grow and keeping it sustainable.
From forums to Reddit pages and Quora topics, there are plenty of resources out there.
A simple Google search can go a long way if you know what answer you’re looking for.
Potential Drawbacks of phpMyAdmin
Using phpMyAdmin for managing and monitoring MySQL databases from a web-based GUI does not hinder accessing the database or server via another manner, such as the command line or shell scripts.
So, from a technical standpoint, there is no downside to using phpMyAdmin.
However, there are a few other drawbacks to consider.
Ease of Access Can Create Problems
One potential problem with phpMyAdmin is the ease of accessing and editing data directly, rather than through an application built with the database.
This is a powerful ability and can be abused, causing serious problems like data loss, corruption, and de-normalization.
Easy to Use, But Not Totally Non-Dev Friendly
Even though phpMyAdmin is easy to use by non-experts, it is important for any mission-critical database application to be managed by a professional database admin.
Someone who ideally understands the potential for disaster.
Not Compatible with Some Databases
phpMyAdmin works only with the MySQL database. MySQL is very popular, robust, and free, so this usually isn’t a problem.
However, if you need to use PostgreSQL, SQLite, or another database, phpMyAdmin is not the tool for you.
Getting phpMyAdmin
Because phpMyAdmin and MySQL are well-supported throughout the industry, it’s likely that it will be preinstalled on your server.
Otherwise, it’s easy to install on a server. If your server runs a Linux distribution, you can use the package manager to install it.
Debian and Ubuntu Installation
For example, on Debian or Ubuntu systems, the command is: ‘sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin’
You can also install it manually by unpacking the phpMyAdmin .zip or .tar file that you downloaded from the project website into your document-root or the directory where the web server serves the pages from.
After that, you can then either edit the config.inc.php file in a text editor or use the web-based wizard by navigating to the server’s address in your browser.
With the former, SSH access is helpful. Otherwise, you’ll have to download the file, edit it, and upload it back to your server.
You Are Responsible for Updates
The downside is that once you install phpMyAdmin or any other tools on your own, you’re responsible for maintaining them.
This includes installing security updates and new versions. A hosting provider will apply these updates to you and make sure they don’t break anything.
Things to Consider for phpMyAdmin Hosting
Many hosting companies provide access to phpMyAdmin already, and it is supported by a number of popular control panels including Plesk, cPanel, and InterWorx.
Prioritizing Support and Availability
If you need phpMyAdmin, be sure to select a hosting provider that supports it. Hosting providers won’t advertise phpMyAdmin as a major feature since it’s so ubiquitous. It’s a ‘killer app’ for web database management, so it’s likely to be installed on a web server that has MySQL or MariaDB on it anyway.
Top 3 Hosts for phpMyAdmin
While phpMyAdmin is popular, web hosting companies don’t seem to advertise it very much, perhaps a line in their technical specs, if anything. It’s still one of those things you can expect to be on a server.
For this reason, it’s better to consider the overall price and features that you’ll get.
| SiteGround | Bluehost | InMotion | |
| Cost | Start at $6.99/month | Start at $2.75/month | Start at $2.49/month |
| 1-click install of MySQL | No, but well supported | Yes | No, but well supported |
| Support | 24/7 Phone, chat, ticket | 24/7 Chat and phone | 24/7 Support by phone & chat |
| Storage | 10GB at lowest tier | 50GB at lowest tier | 10GB at lowest tier |
In the meantime, take a look at a slightly more detailed view of each host.
SiteGround
phpMyAdmin with SiteGround Hosting.
SiteGround’s hosting plans start at $6.99 a month. You get 10 gigabytes of space on the lowest tier, which should be adequate for a small site.
With the higher tiers, you get more space. Cloud and dedicated servers are also available for those who need even more space. All of the plans include SSH access. The higher tiers offer a higher priority in technical support.
Bluehost
phpMyAdmin with Bluehost Hosting.
Bluehost’s plans start at $2.75 a month. The best feature is its unlimited bandwidth. This makes Bluehost a good option for traffic-heavy sites.
Bluehost offers 1-click installation of popular web applications that depend on MySQL like WordPress. Clients have a money-back guarantee with a refund within 30 days if they aren’t satisfied.
InMotion
phpMyAdmin with InMotion Hosting.
InMotion also offers an attractive plan for hosting database-driven websites, starting at $2.49. Customers get unlimited bandwidth and disk space on fast SSD drives.
The lowest tier has up to two databases. This should be plenty for people new to databases. The highest tier also offers an unlimited number of databases.
Looking for a phpMyAdmin host that provides great value?
InterServer’s plans provide unlimited SSD storage and free site migration. Their “Price Lock Guarantee” means your hosting price will never go up. Use this special discount link to save even more.
phpMyAdmin Frequently Asked Questions
- Will phpMySQL run on my server?
Since it’s based on PHP, phpMyAdmin should run on just about any server – even IIS, given that PHP and MySQL are installed.
- How do I install phpMyAdmin?
You can install phpMyAdmin on Linux and Windows. In fact, it is already included in many Linux distributions, and this is the easiest way of enabling phpMyAdmin. But even without this, there is a lot of information online (including video) that shows how to install it.
- I’ve heard phpMyAdmin can be a pain to configure. Is this true?
It all depends on your skill set. Luckily, plenty of phpMyAdmin documentation is available online, so you should have no trouble finding detailed instructions for each step. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be surprised how easy it can be. Of course, inexperienced users might need some advice, in spite of comprehensive online documentation.
- Is there anything to watch out for when using phpMyAdmin on a Windows machine?
A number of bugs have been reported by phpMyAdmin users on IIS, but in most cases they are the result of poor installations rather than any inherent technical issues. The PHP ISAPI filter can also cause problems, and users are advised to use cookie authentication instead.
- Which MySQL versions are supported by phpMyAdmin?
phpMyAdmin supports MySQL versions 5.5 and later. However, if you need support for earlier databases, old versions of phpMyAdmin are available.
- Does phpMyAdmin cost anything?
phpMyAdmin is free, and this is unlikely to change. The software is published under the GNU General Public License 2.
- How many languages is phpMyAdmin available in?
phpMyAdmin is available in almost 80 languages.
- Can I import and export data via phpMyAdmin?
phpMyAdmin allows data imports from standard CSV and SQL files. Data can be exported to CSV, SQL, XML, PDF, Word, LaTeX, and other formats.
It also exports to ISO/IEC 26300, which means it outputs to office suites by OpenOffice, Corel, and Adobe.
- How does phpMyAdmin compare to MySQL Workbench?
First of all, phpMyAdmin is installed on most managed hosting environments, so you don’t have to deal with it. It is web-based and works on any platform, and it does not use local resources. However, it doesn’t handle remote offline databases as well as MySQL Workbench.
In addition, MySQL Workbench offers a visualized database structure and can handle multiple connections in one location. However, it’s more resource-intensive than phpMyAdmin and might be too complex for novice users.
- Is expert support available?
phpMyAdmin comes well-documented, so you should be able to find a solution to practically any problem online. Unfortunately, if this is not sufficient, official commercial support is not available. You can, however, hire a consultant who specializes in MySQL.
- Is phpMyAdmin available on a shared hosting account?
Since phpMyAdmin is free, well-documented, and very popular, a lot of hosting companies provide you with access to phpMyAdmin “out of the box”. It is also supported by cPanel and Plesk, the most popular control panels in the industry.
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