These are instructions for installing the open source Vanilla Forum Board System on your Bluehost.com account.

  1. Download the full installation file package from getvanilla.com
  2. Unzip or Unpackage the the tar or zip file
  3. Upload the contents of your Vanilla folder to your directory of choice via FTP.
  4. Login to your Bluehost Cpanel and click on the MySQL Databases button on the mainpage of your cpanel.
  5. Create a new database
  6. Now create a new user
  7. Now attach the user and the database you just created together
  8. Change the permissions of your /conf folder to 777
  9. Run the Vanilla Install script by pointing your browser to the base URL of your website (e.g., http://www.example.com)
  10. Go through the setup wizard
  11. Fill out your database connection information
  12. Setup your administrator user
  13. Fill out the rest of the information the setup wizard demands

That's it. You now have a fully working open source Vanilla Forum system on your Bluehost web hosting server account. Total setup time approximately 10 minutes.