nopCommerce is a ready-to-use eCommerce platform that has plenty of inbuilt features. However, for a person with no tech background it might be nearly impossible to customize it; setting up might also turn out to be quite challenging and time consuming.

To make your life easier, we prepared a complete nopCommerce installation guide. In the upcoming articles, we will explain how to install nopCommerce on Windows and Linux.

Part one – Installing Windows Server and SQL Server

In this guide, we consider Windows Server 2016 and SQL Server Express (free edition for small databases).

Installation packages are distributed as disk images (.ISO, .VHD, etc.) or installation packages (.MSI, .EXE). It is recommended to download Windows Server and SQL Server as .ISO disk images. VHD format is used for virtual machines.

Once downloaded, you can mount ISO disk image as an external disk on your computer (Mount command) or burn it to a DVD (Burn disk image command) and then install on a computer via optical drive. Alternatively, it is possible to burn the image to a bootable flash drive and use it instead of a DVD.

Note: Hyperlinks, terms and conditions as well as documentation mentioned in this manual may be revised by Microsoft and other authors. In this case, we advise to use search in order to get up-to-date data.

Windows Server Package

Windows Server Package is available for download via subscription which can be individual or business.

Free trial version for 180 days can be found here.

It is recommended to select an ISO option and download the installation package as a disk image which should be mounted before the installation.

Official installation documentation can be found here.

SQL Server Package

Free SQL Server Express edition can be found here or here. Prior the installation, download a program that would download the installation package and run the installation program.

For other editions it is possible to download the installation package image similarly to Windows Server here.

Using Developer Edition Package, you can also install Evaluation and Express editions.
License conditions for SQL Server Editions:

• Express – free edition with a limited functionality (there is only a relational database management system) and limited performance: 1 processor, 1GB of RAM, 10 GB maximum database size. This edition can be used in a production environment for a small database or at first stages of a nopCommerce store.
• Compact – free edition for learning and demonstrations, designed for mobile devices.
• Standard – paid edition for mid-tier databases, includes business analytics services and has a higher performance level. This edition is optimal for nopCommerce.
• Enterprise – paid edition for large databases, offers business analytics services and unlimited performance (depending on hardware).
• Developer – fully-functioning free edition (similar to Enterprise edition), designed for development and testing, can also be used for learning and demonstrations.
• Evaluation – fully-functioning free edition (similar to Enterprise edition), available for a 180-day trial period, can be used both in test and production environments.
• Web – paid edition that can be used in case the database is located at a hosting provider resources and involves monthly payments.

Official documentation: Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2017

Microsoft .NET Core Package

Current version can be downloaded from here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download. Click a command button «Download .NET Core Runtime».

As a result, file dotnet-hosting-2.2.2-win.exe should be downloaded. The last digit might be different for new releases.

Installation order

1. Windows Server OS installation
2. Web-server Internet Information Services installation
3. SQL Server installation
4. Microsoft .NET Core program components installation
5. nopCommerce installation and set-up

Windows Server installation

When connecting a disk or launching an image with the installation package, installation program setup.exe should be started automatically. If not, start it manually. In case a computer has no operation system, a DVD or USB boot disk should be prepared and inserted in the computer before turning it on.

In BIOS settings of the computer, launch order should be defined, and DVD or USB should be the first to be installed.

After the program initial launch, a window with language, time and keyboard settings pops up.

It is recommended to install Windows in English, set English as a main language and then add other required languages.

Click Next to continue.

On the next screen you’ll see the options of installing a new operation system or reinstalling an existing one. Select Install Now.

The program will then ask for a Windows activation product key. Enter the key now or after the installation. To continue the installation without entering the key, click I don’t have a product key.

It is recommended to choose Standard Edition with a graphic interface (Windows Server 2016 Standard (Desktop Experience)).

Accept the license terms on the next step. Then select an installation type Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) for the new installation.

Further, select a disk to which the operation system will be installed. If required, Format it.

The installation process then begins. This includes files copying, installation of the features and updates.

Once the installation is complete, the system will automatically restart itself and then ask to enter a password for an inbuilt Administrator user.

Internet Information Services installation

Internet Information Services is a standard component of Windows Server and is a part of the operation system installation package.

To start the installation, launch Server Manager and select Add roles and features in Configure this local server section.

The installation assistant program starts. Click Next on the Before you begin screen.

On the Select installation type screen select the first option Role-based or feature-based installation. The second option allows to perform the installation on the remote or virtual machine.

On the Select destination server screen select the first option Select a server from the server pool. This server must be selected from the servers list.

On the Select server roles screen select the option Web Server IIS. You’ll see a dialogue in which you then set Include management tools (if applicable)) option. After that click Add Features.

For a learning installation, default selections on the screens Select features and Select role services can be used.

On the Confirm installation selections screen you’ll see selected services and functions. It is recommended to select Restart the destination server automatically if required option. On the next screen you will see the installation process.

Once the installation is complete, launch Internet Information Services Manager to test it.

SQL Server Database installation

Connect a disk with SQL Server Package. The installation program should start automatically. If not, launch setup.exe manually.

On the initial screen, select Installation and New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation section.

Enter the product key or select the free edition to begin with.

Click to accept the license agreement I accept the license terms. After that, a Setup Rules check will be performed.

After the checkup is successfully completed, in the production environment it is recommended to select Use Microsoft Update to check for updates option on the Microsoft Update page.

Another setup rules check takes place on the next page. In case some rules were broken, a corresponding symbol (cross inside a red circle) will be displayed. In this case, further installation is impossible. Fix this issue or start the installation from the beginning.

On the Feature Selection page select a mandatory component Database Engine Services. To be able to use full-text search in an e-store, you may additionally install Full-Text and Semantic Extraction component.

On the Instance Configuration page, a name for database server item is being set up. It is recommended to keep the default one.

On the Server Configuration page, service accounts, and language settings are set up; permission for quick disk space allocation in case of the database growth may be given.

On the Database Engine Configuration page, authentication mode is set up, settings for database file storage folders and access to them are defined.

Add current user to a database server administrator list by clicking Add Current User.

For learning purposes default settings can be used.

On the Ready to Install page, selected components and parameters are displayed.

On the Installation Progress page, current operation and the entire installation progress are displayed.

At the end of the installation process, you’ll see a page Complete. At the bottom of the screen there is a link to a summary log file. In case all the operations were successful, they will be marked with a green symbol. Otherwise, the errors should be checked in the summary log file.

To make sure the installation was successful, you may start Sql Server Configuration Manager. Select SQL Server Services and find an element SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER. Note: this is a system name of the database server item and depends on the selected value on the Database Engine Configuration page). It is important to check launch mode: the value in the State column should be ‘Running’, in the Start Mode column the value should be ‘Automatic’.

Microsoft .NET Core program components installation

To install Microsoft .NET Core, launch a program dotnet-hosting-2.2.1-win.exe. The last digit might be different when a new version is released.

In the new window, select I agree to the license terms and conditions, the button Install will then be unblocked, click it.

Pay attention at the Please restart IIS after the installation completes reminder.

Once the installation is complete, launch IIS Manager to restart the web-server.

It is highly recommended to install Windows and other programs updates, otherwise there might be errors during the site launch.

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Once the system is ready, move on to installing and setting up nopCommerce. We recommend to use our guide for that.