Before installing Drupal
Installing Drupal requires that you first have a web server and a database server.
For "local" and "online" Linux-based servers using Apache and MySQL, the software needed to run Drupal is known as the "AMP stack", although Microsoft-based servers and databases are also available in similar packages known as stacks.
AMP Stack
- Apache (or another web server)
- MySQL (or another database server)
- PHP
Web hosting provides this, or you can install them for free on your Linux, Mac, or Windows computer.
Preamble
The documentation for Drupal 8 on drupal.org is located in two separate areas.
- This “Before Installation” page is part of the public Drupal Community Documentation.
- Additionally, similar materials are described in another part of the Drupal community documentation: the Drupal 8 User Guide, starting with page 3.1 Concept: Server Requirements in Chapter 3. Installation.
The main differences between the two documentation areas are discussed here. (Link opens in a new tab/window.)
Installation Prerequisites
Web Hosting:
All software required to build, run, and develop a Drupal site is included by default in most, if not all, commercial shared web hosting providers - drupal.org/hosting. (Link opens in a new tab/window.)
- If you don’t have web hosting yet, you can find one that suits your needs and supports the Drupal community at Drupal Shared Hosting ~ drupal.org/hosting
- If you already have web hosting, you can continue exploring how to install Drupal on your web hosting:
- Parent page of this page (open Drupal community documentation): Installing Drupal 8
- Drupal 8 User Guide (closed Drupal community documentation): Drupal 8 User Guide – Chapter 3. Installation
Local:
If you want to install Drupal locally on your Linux, Mac, or Windows computer, you must first obtain or already have a “stack” that includes a web server and a database server. To learn about this:
- (open Drupal community documentation): local server setup
Managed:
If you want to pay a company to manage all the “back-end” or “behind-the-scenes” maintenance of your site, allowing you and your users to focus on creating and uploading content, many of these companies will not charge for your test site until you publish it live:
Three Instances of Drupal per Site
By the way, once you have a live Drupal site, sometimes you'll run a total of three Drupal sites on your computer or web host.
“Development Site / Dev”: Before launching your site publicly on the web, you need to create a test version of your site for development. This test version can be on your own computer or online on your web hosting company’s server.
“Staging Backup Site / Stage”: Before making changes to your live site, you'll want to copy your Drupal codebase and database to create a backup site to ensure you have what you need to restore your live site in case something goes terribly wrong.
“Live Site / Production”: After your site goes live, you’ll want to create another “development site” to test any new features you add. If changes cause problems, you don’t want those problems to appear on your public site.
Of course, you can delete the “backup” installation once you’ve confirmed that your codebase and database are sound, but be sure to keep at least three separate copies of the codebase/database in three different locations.
Three separate locations mean separate online companies or different USB drives/hard disks in different places. This will prepare you for disasters like a fire in your home/office or the hacking of one of your online storage providers.