Installing the Melbis Shop Server

It’s time for the final finishing touch — configuring your newly purchased virtual server and installing the core software of the Melbis Shop platform on it. We assume you have already successfully completed all the previous steps, and now you have all the basic keys to your business in hand. At this stage, to connect all components into a single system, we will need: your server’s IP address, the superuser (root) password, and, of course, your registered domain name.

Very important! For the automatic server installation to run smoothly and without errors, your domain must already correctly point to the server’s IP address. Please make sure that you have fully completed all settings on the registrar’s side and added the required DNS record (A record). We wrote about this in more detail in the previous section: domain name registration.

Please note: you should not try to open your website in a browser just yet. Updating global domain zones (DNS) is a process that takes some time. Information about the new domain must propagate across servers, which usually takes from a few minutes to several hours. In addition, your local internet provider or the browser itself may temporarily cache old data, so sometimes you need not only to wait, but also to restart your computer or router. However, this does not interfere with the remote installation procedure of the server core through our application — the process will run strictly via the IP address.

Step 1. Configuration and installation launch

Open the Melbis Shop client application that you installed earlier. In the top main menu, select "Design", and then click "Server" in the drop-down list. A special server management window will appear. Switch to the "Connection" tab there to specify the access credentials.

These three fields are strictly required:

• IP address: 121.122.123.124 — the unique network address of your server, consisting of four numbers separated by dots.
• root password: password that you created and specified when creating the virtual server on the hosting provider’s side.
• domain name: name of the domain you registered, in plain form (enter it without any additional prefixes such as https:// or www., for example: my-shop.com).

Next, switch to the adjacent "Installation" tab and confidently click the "Install server" button. A console will open in the lower part of the window, where command lines will begin appearing in real time. At this moment, our program does all the complex work for you: it connects to the server remotely, installs the required environment (web server, PHP, modules), downloads the latest Melbis Shop platform core, and sets the correct file permissions. This automated process should not be interrupted. Usually, the full setup takes up to five minutes.

 

After all scripts have finished running, you will definitely receive a system popup message from the program stating that the installation has been completed successfully.

Now is exactly the right time to open your favorite browser and try to access the website using your registered domain name. If everything went as planned, the domain has already updated and the server has been configured successfully, then you will see a technical window from the Melbis system with an error message. Don’t be alarmed! At this stage, this is absolutely normal and even a good sign. It means the web server is working, the core is responding, but we have only unpacked the platform and have not yet initialized the database structure.

Step 2. Database initialization and basic setup

Return to the client application. Now select "Design" in the top menu and open the "Installation" window. (If at this stage you receive a connection error, simply check the basic connection settings in the "System" -> "Connection" menu. Make sure the full URL of your domain is entered correctly there with the https:// prefix, and that the default login and password are set: admin).

In the installation window that opens, most of the complex settings have already been filled in automatically by the system for your convenience. The only thing required from you is to carefully check and, if necessary, specify your personal regional parameters:

• Settings language: choose the main language of the settings interface that is most convenient for you.
• Primary language: specify the two-letter language code (according to the international standard, for example, en, de) that will be considered the primary language for the customer-facing storefront of the website.
• Time zone: select your current time zone so that orders and logs are recorded with the correct time.
• Character set: specify the preferred character set (encoding) for the correct display of fonts in the Melbis Shop local application interface.

After checking the parameters, first click the "Install" button. This will start the most important operation: initializing and deploying a clean database on your server, as well as creating the table structure.

You will receive a system message that the operation has been completed successfully. After that, be sure to click the "Save" button to finally apply and save all the settings.

That’s it! Your own dedicated server is fully installed, configured, and ready to go. Now it’s time to return to your browser and refresh your website page. This time, instead of a system error, you will see the welcome screen of the minimal starter storefront.

At this stage, your project is technically viable, and you can already start working with the store in full: try creating your first sections, adding attributes, and filling the catalog with products. By default, along with the core, an empty basic demo storefront is installed. However, to make it easier for you to explore the platform’s rich functionality, you can download and deploy a fully ready-made, beautifully configured demo store with test products. We explain exactly how to do this in just a few clicks in the next section: installing the demo store.