Fantastico Installer Enhances Usability

The Fantastico installer is not very popular yet but it is installed on more than 10,000 servers around the globe. Here is a brief overview of the features of this tool. Let us see how it is different from other such tools and what are its short comings.

First of all, this software will spare you aggravation and expense by allowing you to make web hosting automatic. It does this by installing software applications on your server using scripts. This is a library of scripts, created by a third-party, which lets you plug in any software application available to the system. Ordinarily this would take hours. However, this software will allow your computer to take about a minute to install through your control panel.

Most web hosts offer this utility free of charge, but you generally have to install it prior to use. The majority of Fantastico Installer programs are from open source, at this time they number around forty (with a few commercial products also available in certain cases). These programs have a great appeal to those who like to do things on their own, and who want greater site control in their own hands even though they don’t control the server that hosts their site.

What are the programs available via the Fantastico Installer and its php scripts? They run the gamut from blog programs, content management, customer relationship software and discussion boards to e-commerce programs, guestbooks, mailing lists, and site-builders. These tools can be installed by users with little- to no- technical knowledge or expertise with web servers, making for a more robust website.

One issue that must be avoided is out of date scripts. Not all web hosts regularly update their scripts, so your program may be outdated. Sometimes security flaws are present in early releases, then fixed in later versions or releases. This can result in the presence of security flaws that remain in the older version you may be using. Additionally, even the most current versions may not be properly configured to optimize security, which can result in opportunities for hackers or spammers.

The Fantastico installer can take your basic vanilla webpage and make it look like it was designed by a professional.

Meet the Author

Vlad

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Promotional Dude Dec 15, 2007, 2:02 pm

    Woops, sorry about two comments. there was a Mysql error on comment submit, so I rewrote it and tried to repost (which there was an error again). So please delete one of my comments, and you might want to test your comment system. I am using the latest stable version of firefox.

  • Promotional Dude Dec 15, 2007, 1:57 pm

    Fantastico is great, I use ti all the time. One word to the wise: make sure you check the project website for each of the scripts it installs to make sure you are gong to install the latest stable version. I have found several that have not been updated in fantastico lately. Other than that I love using it b/c it saves tons of time like you said.

  • Promotional Dude Dec 15, 2007, 1:54 pm

    Fantastico is great, however some of the products in it are not updated, so be sure the check that you have the latest stable version at the project website before installing via fantastico. Other than that I use it, it saves time.

  • Phil Dec 11, 2007, 3:21 pm

    Fantastico is great for newbies but more experienced users usually prefer manual installations and updating. Fantastico sometimes also has outdated versions of scripts.

  • TyLLY_4 Dec 3, 2007, 3:06 pm

    You have been stumbled upon!

    i love fantasstico, it makes my life as an amateur web designer much much easier. (before fantastico i would have to install all scripts manually and any of my normal sites takes 3 to 4 diff scripts)
    but it really really sucks that hosting providers dont take the time to set up right. a lot of times you try to autoinstall only to discover theres a wrong url …