Getting started

Install WireFlow on cPanel hosting

Everything from an empty hosting account to your first sign-in, in about 20 minutes.

WireFlow runs on ordinary web hosting with cPanel, the same kind that runs WordPress sites. You need your licence email (or you can start on the 14-day trial and add the key later).

What you need

• A hosting account with cPanel, PHP 8.2 or newer and a MySQL or MariaDB database (MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+)
• A web address for WireFlow, such as office.yourfirm.co.uk (a subdomain works well)
• The WireFlow zip from your licence email or your account page

1. Set the PHP version

1. In cPanel, open Select PHP Version (on some hosts it's MultiPHP Manager).
2. Choose 8.2 or 8.3 for the address you'll use.
3. Under Extensions, make sure these are ticked: pdo_mysql, mbstring, openssl, fileinfo, sodium. Also tick curl, gd and zip if you can.

2. Create the database

1. Open MySQL® Databases.
2. Create a new database, for example yourname_wireflow.
3. Create a new user with a strong password. Keep the password somewhere safe for step 4.
4. Add the user to the database and tick ALL PRIVILEGES.

3. Upload WireFlow

1. Open File Manager and go to the folder for your web address (for a subdomain, cPanel shows its folder when you create it).
2. In Settings, tick Show Hidden Files. WireFlow includes a .htaccess file that must be uploaded too.
3. Upload the WireFlow zip, then right-click it and choose Extract.
4. The files should sit directly in the folder, so you can see index.php, app, assets and storage side by side. If they landed in a wireflow folder inside it, move them up one level.

4. Run the installer

Open your web address followed by /install/, for example https://office.yourfirm.co.uk/install/.

1. Welcome to WireFlow checks PHP, its extensions and that the storage folders are writable. Fix anything marked red, then click Check again. Folder problems are usually solved by setting the folder to 755 in File Manager.
2. Database connection: enter the database name, username and password from step 2. The host is almost always localhost and the port 3306. Click Test connection, then Save and continue.
3. Your company and admin account: your company name, VAT details and logo, then your own name, email and password (at least 10 characters). Tick I also go out on jobs if you do. Click Complete installation.
4. When you see WireFlow is installed, delete the install folder in File Manager, then click Sign in.

5. Set up the hourly job

WireFlow needs to run a short job once an hour. It takes the nightly backup, sends overdue-invoice reminders and checks in with WireFlow HQ for updates and your licence.

1. In WireFlow, open System in the sidebar. The Scheduled jobs (cron) panel shows the exact command for your server.
2. In cPanel, open Cron Jobs, choose Once Per Hour and paste that command. It looks like this:

/usr/local/bin/php /home/USERNAME/public_html/wireflow/cron.php >/dev/null 2>&1

Without it, WireFlow runs the job itself at most once an hour when someone opens the dashboard, but a cron job is more reliable.

6. Turn on HTTPS

1. In cPanel, open SSL/TLS Status and make sure your WireFlow address has a certificate (AutoSSL does this for free on most hosts).
2. In File Manager, edit .htaccess and remove the # from the start of these two lines, so every visit uses https://:

RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Next

• Activate your licence
• First things to set up