What is a Web Application?
In general terms, a web application is a piece of software that runs on a web server. A web server is just a specialized computer designed to host websites. With your Coventry.Domains account you are given your own web hosting so you can access a web server to host your own websites.
You can create a website from scratch by writing code yourself, or you can use a web application to help you structure and publish a website. Web applications can be used for content management, word processing, community building and much more.
Most web applications have two parts: files and a database. When you install a web application, you will need to make sure all of the files are copied over into the appropriate location and that a database (and database user) has been set up to connect to those files. Often, you will have to do some configuration to make sure the application knows how to access the database.
With Coventry.Domains there is an automatic process that makes sure your web applications are set up properly for you. Coventry.Domains uses a special script installer called Installatron (in cPanel) that allows you to automatically install a range of open source applications. When you use Installatron, you don’t need to worry about moving files, creating databases, or doing the initial set up. It’s all done for you! In order to run on the Coventry.Domains servers, web applications must be able to run on a LAMP server, which is the particular kind of web server that we use. Occasionally, a web application may require additional components or modules that need to be installed on the server.
Applications available in Installatron
Installatron, the script installer that is part of the coventry.domains cPanel, allows you to easily install Web Applications to your Web space.
Your applications will be displayed in groups depending on their function. These functions are:
- Community Building
- Content Management
- eCommerce and Business
- Photos and Files
- Surveys and Statistics
- Miscellaneous
Once in your cPanel, they will look like this:
Installing a web application with Installatron
To get started you’ll need to login to your control panel by going to http://coventry.domains/dashboard.
In the ‘Applications’ section in your cPanel either choose a featured popular web application or click through to view ‘All Applications’ and choose a web application from the full range in Installatron.
After clicking the icon, a page will appear with information about the application, links to resources and a link to install it. Click “Install this application” when you are ready.
A page will appear with a number of settings you can choose/change. The image below shows these settings; here is a rundown of them:
- Location: You’ll need to choose where to install your new application. You can install it at the root of your domain or in a subdomain (which you need to set up first). In addition, you can place your application in a directory (in either your root domain or a subdomain).
- Version Information: You can choose a version of the application. Generally, we recommend choosing the default version. It is likely to be the most recent, stable release.
- Updates: By default, the system is set up to automatically upgrade (and create backups upon upgrading) all applications. In addition, by default, the database will be set up for you automatically. We recommend NOT changing these options.
- Username/Password: An username/password will be automatically generated for you. You can choose to change this if you like.
- Website Title: Pick a title for the site that will be created when you install your application. You should change this from the default title! After installation, you’ll be taken back to the main Installatron page, with details about the application you just installed. At anytime you can come back here to review the application details, back it up manually, clone it or uninstall it.
