Installation Quick Start

Overview

These are the high-level steps for setting up mojoPortal content management system with links to more detailed documentation for each step.

  1. Download the mojoPortal deployment package for the database you plan to use, usually MS SQL.
  2. Unzip the package
  3. Upload the contents of the 'wwwroot' folder (in the package) to the root folder of your website
  4. Copy the user.config.sample file from the root of the 'wwwroot' folder and rename it to user.config
  5. Set the connection string for your database in user.config, usually your host can tell you what the connection string is.
  6. After uploading the files make sure the /Data folder is writable by the web process user (the user that is the identity on the application pool of your site in IIS Web Server).
  7. Visit yoursiteroot/Setup/Default.aspx to complete the installation.

First, you need web hosting of some kind, so have a look at our Hosting Requirements and when you are ready, acquire hosting.

Download the release version of mojoPortal to a folder on your local machine, typically you will want mojoportal-x-x-x-x-mssql.zip

Extract the contents of the .zip file and you will have a number of files and folders. 

The 'wwwroot' folder corresponds to the root of your website, upload the contents of the 'wwwroot' folder (not the folder itself) to the web root folder at your hosting provider. See Uploading Files to a Hosted Server for more details and tips.

Database Creation and Connection Settings

Your web host will typically provide a web control panel and there will be something there that allows you to create your database and database user. Create your database and user and make note of the database name, the username and password, and the server name. You'll need this information to set the connection string in Web.config or ideally user.config (See Web.config Guide for more detail about the optional but recommended use of a user.config file). To set your connection string, you will edit the Web.config or user.config file using a text editor like notepad on your local machine, then you will upload it and overwrite the one you uploaded previously (it's in the root web folder). Typically you will be using MSSQL and to set your connection string you want to edit this setting:

<add key="MSSQLConnectionString" value="server=yourservername;UID=yourdatabaseusername;PWD=yourdatabaseuserpassword;database=yourdatabasename" />

Documentation for other databases can be found here.

Running mojoPortal Setup

After setting your connection string and uploading the edited file, visit the web page at http://yoursiterootordomainname/Setup/Default.aspx and mojoPortal setup will proceed with installing the tables and other database objects into your database.

File Permission Errors

If the setup page indicates problems with file permissions, then you need to look in your hosting control panel for the permission manager or file manager and set the permissions on the /Data folder so that it and all sub-folders and files inside it are writable by the web process user (the user that is the identity on your application pool in IIS Web Server). The way this is done varies by hosting providers so if you have trouble you may need to ask your host.

Security Exception Errors

If you get any errors that say security exception, it probably means your hosting provider is enforcing a Medium Trust security policy. As Microsoft is no longer supporting Medium Trust configurations, mojoPortal is no longer supported in Medium Trust hosting environments. Your best bet in this case is to find a new hosting provider who uses modern security practices to secure your site.

Signing Into Your New Site

Once setup completes you will be able to sign into your new site using admin@admin.com and the password admin. The next thing you should do is go to the MyAccount page and change the password and change the email address to your own email address. After doing that you should sign out and then sign in again using your real email address and new password. You should also consider your password encryption options.

Additional Help with Installation

If you have difficulties and you can't find the answer in the documentation, please post in the forums and we will try to help you.

Post-Install Checklist

Once you have your site installed and running and you are able to login, there are some additional configuration steps that you should follow for best practices and security when using mojoPortal content management system.

  1. Configure email and make sure it works so that if you forget your password and get locked out you can recover it.
  2. Make sure you only made the /Data folder writable, the rest of the folders should not be writable. Ideally the /Data folder should also be marked as not executable.
  3. Generate a custom machine key, this is very very important for security, and you should do this before changing to encrypted passwords.
  4. Of course change the admin login to your own email address and password.
Last Modified: Mar 16, 2023