Here’s the typical procedure you will follow:

1. Chose a web hosting company and go to their site.
2. Select a hosting plan. The entry level hosting plan is typically enough. Just make sure it includes at least one MySQL Database (sometimes just referred to as "Database")
3. Many web hosts will offer a Free domain name. But you can also reuse a domain name you already have. Make your choice and enter your domain name.
4. If you enter a new domain, you can register it with different extensions (.com, .net, .org etc. but only one is free and will be deducted from your subscription).
5. Next you’ll select your billing cycle. Paying for 12, 24 or even 36 months at a time will get you the lowest monthly fees.
6. On the next screen, you need to fill in your contact information and choose a payment option (credit card, paypal)
7. You will get a confirmation email and your account will be processed.
8. Wait for the Activation / Welcome email to arrive (may take a few minutes). This email will contain the administrative "control panel" URL for your account. This is often called the CPanel (which is a well known vendor of Control Panel software).
9. Log into your control panel. The url may look like http://123.123.123.123/cpanel. Use the login and password given in your Activation / Welcome email.
10. On the CPanel, locate and click the Fantastico icon. On other control panels, locate the icon that is designed to easily install scripts for you.
11. In the script installation tool, locate and click on b2evolution.
12. Click on "new installation"
13. The installer may ask a few questions, especially an admin password for b2evolution.
14. At the end of the install process, make sure you bookmark the admin URL of your blog. (You may also email this information to you by entering an email address.)
15. You are almost done, but you still may need to remove the default boilerplate homepage your hosting company has installed on your site by default.
16. Go back to your CPanel/control panel and find the file manager icon. Click it.
17. Your site is typically located in the public_html folder. Sometimes it may be called www. If you see both, don’t worry, one is an alias of the other. Click on the folder icon in front of public_html for example. In order to open the folder, you may need to specifically click on the icon and not on the name.
18. Click on the file index.html (either the icon or the name is probably fine, since this is a file and not a folder).
19. At this point, click on "delete file".
20. You can close the File Manager window. You are done! :)

If you registered a new domain with your web host it is most probably already active and you can see your new blog by pointing to your domain in your browser. Otherwise, check with your web host.

For further information about using b2evolution after installation, go to: Guided Tour.

Can I install without using Fantastico ?

Yes, Fantastico automates some of the installation steps for you, but you do not need to use it if you don’t want to.

If you don’t use Fantastico, you will need to create a MySQL database + user with the MySQL Databases icon in cPanel.

Can I upgrade the version installed by Fantastico to the latest release of b2evolution?

Yes. First, go to Fantastico and check if they have added the latest version since you last checked. You may be offered the option to upgrade automatically.

If Fantastico does not install the latest version, you will be able to Upgrade manually. However, once you have upgraded manually you won’t be able to use Fantastico again for future upgrades (this is not a problem, but we thought we should tell you anyway ;).