Chapter 3. Installation, Configuration, and Maintenance

By now, you should have a good understanding of what CiviCRM and constituent relationship management tools can do for your organization. You should also have taken the time to plan your implementation, including thinking through your existing data sources, and mapping out how they will translate to CiviCRM. Don't underestimate the importance of the planning process—while you may be anxious to install CiviCRM and begin working with it, your project will be better positioned for success if you invest more of your time in preliminary planning.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• Installing CiviCRM
• Walking through the initial configuration of the system
• Discussing advanced configuration options you need to be aware of, including access control permissions
• Reviewing the upgrade process
• Outlining recommended maintenance procedures
• Planning a backup strategy

Since CiviCRM may be implemented in Joomla!, Drupal, or WordPress content management systems (CMS), there will be aspects of this chapter that are specific to each environment. We have sought to clearly indicate where the guidance is environment-specific. As you work through this chapter, be sure to take note of the context in which it relates to your implementation.

Aspects of this chapter may get more technical as we provide basic troubleshooting steps and address hosting environment considerations; don't be scared off by the technical discussion. For most implementations, the installation and configuration process is quick and painless. It's also worth noting that the installation, configuration, and upgrading of CiviCRM are the most technical aspects involved in using CiviCRM, and you can outsource some or all of this work to professional services such as those listed at http://civicrm.org/experts.