How to Install Applications with Softaculous Print

How to Install Applications with Softaculous

Softaculous is a one-click application installer available in cPanel. It lets you install WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, PrestaShop, and 400+ other web applications in under two minutes — no manual file uploads or database setup required. Softaculous handles everything automatically.

Prerequisites

• An active Unisolva hosting account with cPanel access
• At least one domain or subdomain pointing to your hosting account

Steps

1. Open Softaculous

1. Log in to cPanel at yourdomain.com/cpanel
2. Scroll down to the Software section
3. Click Softaculous Apps Installer
4. The Softaculous dashboard opens showing all available application categories

2. Find the application to install

5. Browse categories on the left panel (e.g. Blogs, CMS, Ecommerce, Portals/CMS)
6. Or use the Search bar at the top to search by name (e.g. "Joomla", "PrestaShop")
7. Click on the application name to open its detail page
8. Click Install Now to start the installation wizard

3. Configure the installation

The installation form asks for a few details:

Choose Installation URL

• Protocol: choose https:// (SSL is always available on Unisolva — always use HTTPS)
• Domain: select which domain to install on from the dropdown
• In Directory: leave blank to install at the root (yourdomain.com). Type a folder name to install in a subdirectory (e.g. type "blog" to install at yourdomain.com/blog)

Site Settings

• Site Name: enter the name of your website
• Site Description: enter a short description (you can change this later)

Admin Account

• Admin Username: choose a username for the admin login — do not use "admin" (it is a common target for hackers)
• Admin Password: use a strong, unique password — click the key icon to generate one automatically
• Admin Email: enter your email address — this is where password reset links will be sent

4. Choose your version and language

9. Under Select Version, leave the default — Softaculous installs the latest stable release
10. Under Select Language, choose your preferred language

5. Advanced Options (optional)

• Database Name: Softaculous fills this in automatically — leave as is unless you have a reason to change it
• Auto Upgrade: enable this to have Softaculous automatically update the application when new versions are released (recommended for security)
• Automated Backups: Softaculous can take scheduled backups — your hosting plan already includes Cloudflare-integrated off-site backups, so this is optional

6. Complete the installation

11. Scroll to the bottom and click Install
12. Softaculous installs the application — this typically takes 30–60 seconds
13. When complete, Softaculous shows the installation details including:
    • Your site URL (e.g. yourdomain.com)
    • Your admin panel URL (e.g. yourdomain.com/wp-admin for WordPress)
    • Your admin username and email
14. Bookmark the admin URL — you will need it to log in and manage your site

Managing Existing Installations

You can view, update, backup, and remove any Softaculous installation:

15. In cPanel, open Softaculous Apps Installer
16. Click My Installations (top right icon, or All Installations in the left menu)
17. Find the application you want to manage
18. Use the icons to: Update (arrow icon), Clone, Backup, Edit details, or Remove

Removing an Installation

19. In Softaculous, go to My Installations and find the app to remove
20. Click the red X (Remove) icon next to it
21. Tick Remove Directory and Remove Database if you want to fully clean up the files and database
22. Click Remove Installation

Verify It Worked

• Visit your domain in a browser — the application home page loads
• Navigate to the admin URL and log in — the admin dashboard opens
• In Softaculous > My Installations, the new installation is listed

Related Articles

• How to Access and Navigate cPanel
• Getting Started with WordPress on Unisolva Hosting (WordPress category)
• How to Use WordPress Toolkit — Staging, Cloning & Auto-Updates (WordPress category)