Getting Started

Install Synaptik CMS in 3 easy steps, less than one minute to set up your new site. No database, no complex configuration.

One of the reasons SynaptikCMS exists is that most content management systems make you deal with a database before you've written a single word. SynaptikCMS doesn't have one — everything your site needs is stored in simple files, which means getting started is a lot more direct.

Installing Your Site

Upload the files. Get the SynaptikCMS package onto your web host, exactly like you would any other website — via your host's file manager, or an FTP client if you prefer. There's nothing to unzip on a separate database server, no connection strings to configure, no import step.
Storage Usage. See what takes up the most space on your server and the size repartition of your content.
Open the setup page. Visit your domain with /install.php at the end (for example, yoursite.com/install.php). This launches a short wizard.
Fill in the basics. Your site's name, the language you want to write and manage it in, an admin username and password, and — this one's worth pausing on — the name of your admin folder.

⚠️

Important : Always run the installer before using SynaptikCMS. install.php does more than configure your site, it sets up critical security protections:

Writes .htaccess rules to block direct access to /data/, /bckps/, and /private/
Blocks PHP execution inside /files/ (your media folder)
Generates your admin credentials file

Skipping the installer leaves your data folders unprotected and your admin panel inaccessible. After installation, install.php deletes itself automatically from your server.

Why the admin folder name matters

By default, most sites put their admin panel at a predictable address like /admin/. That's exactly what makes it an easy target for automated bots poking around the internet looking for login pages. During setup, you get to pick your own name instead — something only you know. It costs nothing to change, and it's genuinely one of the most effective things you can do to keep casual troublemakers away from your login screen. Pick something that isn't admin, cms, login, or your site's name, and you're already ahead of most sites.

What happens next

Once the wizard finishes, you're dropped straight into your new admin panel, logged in and ready to go. There's no separate "activation" step, no waiting on an email, nothing left half-configured. See /users/getting-started/first-login-and-dashboard for what to do next.

ℹ️

If someone else is handling the technical side of putting your site on a server — a developer, an agency, or your hosting provider's support team — point them to the server requirements reference instead. This page is about the parts you'll actually interact with.

Logging in

Your admin panel lives at whatever address you chose during setup — for example yoursite.com/your-admin-folder/. Bookmark it; it isn't linked from anywhere on your public site on purpose, so keep the address somewhere you'll remember it.

Log in with the username and password you set during installation. If you ever forget your password, the login screen has a recovery link that emails you a reset link — no need to dig through files on the server.

The dashboard

This is the first thing you see after logging in, and it's designed to answer "what's going on with my site right now?" without clicking into anything else.

A snapshot of your content — how many articles, pages, and projects you have, with a one-click shortcut to add a new one of each, or to jump straight to your media library.
Recent activity — your most recently edited or published items, so picking up where you left off yesterday takes one click.
Update notifications — if a new version of SynaptikCMS, your active theme, or a plugin is available, you'll see it here first, along with a news feed of what's new.
A traffic overview, if you have the Analytics plugin active — quick numbers on how many people are visiting, without leaving the dashboard.
Upcoming appointments, if you have the Booking plugin active — so you don't need to open a separate calendar to see what's coming up.
Pending comments, if you have the Comments plugin active — the most recent comments waiting for you to approve or reject.

Widgets like these only appear once the relevant plugin is switched on — the dashboard adapts to what your site actually uses, rather than showing empty sections for features you don't have. Each of these plugins also has its own switch, in its own Settings tab, to hide its dashboard widget specifically — handy if you'd rather keep the dashboard short and check that plugin's own page instead when you need it.

You may also occasionally see a security warning here if your server is set up in a way that leaves your content files publicly reachable — worth acting on quickly if it shows up, and it goes away once fixed.

Finding your way around

The sidebar on the left is organized around what you'll actually do most often:

Content — write and manage articles, pages, and projects, plus your categories and tags.
Appearance — pick a theme and build your navigation menu.
Tools — a set of focused helpers (SEO checks, image alt text, backups, and more) covered on their own pages.
Settings — the dials that control how your site behaves and looks by default.
Plugins — anything extra you've added on top of the core CMS.

If you're the only person managing the site, you'll see everything. If you've added teammates with more limited roles, their sidebar shows only what their role allows — see User Accounts & Roles.

A good first stop

Before writing your first piece of content, it's worth a quick pass through Settings → General to set your site's name and description, and Settings → SEO to fill in the defaults that show up when your pages are shared or found in search results. Both take a few minutes and shape how every page on your site presents itself from day one. See Settings, Tour of the Whole Panel for a full walkthrough.