Documentation

Supported platforms

The installer is built around two environments, with more on the way:

Local with Laravel Herd is the easiest start — Herd handles PHP, Node, and your database for you, so there is nothing to configure. Install Herd, place WebProCMS in your sites folder, visit the site in your browser, and the installer takes over.

Other production hosts can work too if they meet the requirements below, but RunCloud is what the installer documents step by step.

PHP

• PHP 8.4 or newer — the version WebProCMS is developed and tested on.
• proc_open is recommended but not required. When it's available, WebProCMS uses it for faster native updates and backups; without it, the CMS falls back to its built-in pure-PHP updater and backups, so installs on hosts that disable proc_open by default (GoDaddy, Hostinger, and other shared hosts) still work.
• symlink (or proc_open) must be available on a standard install. Either one can create the public/storage link that serves uploaded media; with both blocked, images 404 until php artisan storage:link is run over SSH. symlink is the one to allow — see the next point. (Flat-layout installs, where the whole app sits in one document root, serve media through a rewrite rule and need neither.)
• Allow the proc_* functions as a group, or not at all. proc_open, proc_close, proc_get_status, and proc_terminate have to match. Common PHP libraries check for proc_open and then call the others without checking, so allowing proc_open while its siblings stay blocked converts a safely skipped code path into a fatal error — strictly worse than blocking all four. The installer detects this half-open state and warns before you install.
• Nothing else on a typical "disabled functions" list needs changing. WebProCMS routes around the common blocks — a disabled tmpfile is replaced at runtime so uploads keep working, and set_time_limit is called only where it's safe to skip. The installer probes your live PHP settings and warns on its own screen if something it genuinely needs is missing, so there's no list to paste in ahead of time. On Laravel Herd none of this needs changing — the defaults work.

Server memory (RAM)

WebProCMS runs no Node build on the server — CSS and JS ship pre-built, and CSS for newly-used classes is generated in pure PHP. So RAM is about serving traffic, PHP-FPM workers, the database, and media — not builds.

• 1 GB — a small single site at low traffic.
• 2 GB — a safe default for most installs (one site, hundreds of daily pageviews).
• 4 GB+ — several sites on one box, large Tailwind catalogues, or room for Redis caching.

Database

WebProCMS requires MySQL / MariaDB. Have the host, port, database name, username, and password ready before you install — the installer tests the connection before proceeding.

SSL certificate (production)

On a production server, issue your SSL certificate before installing. The installer sets your site address to https://, and without a certificate the redirect to the dashboard after install will fail. On RunCloud this is a one-click Let's Encrypt certificate under your web app's SSL/TLS section.

Node.js

Node is not required on the server. All CSS/JS bundles ship pre-built, and CSS for newly-used classes is generated in pure PHP at runtime — so WebProCMS runs on hosts with no Node at all. Node and npm are only used for local development and for building releases.

• Laravel Herd ships with Node, so local development is ready out of the box.
• RunCloud / VPS servers need nothing extra — no Node install, no build step.

Quick checklist

Before moving on to Installation, confirm:

• A supported platform (Herd locally, or a RunCloud server)
• PHP 8.4+, with symlink and proc_open allowed (production — see the PHP section above)
• 2 GB+ RAM recommended (1 GB works for a small site)
• SSL certificate issued (production)
• MySQL / MariaDB credentials at hand

Once everything checks out, head to Installation.