---
title: Installing Kentico - custom installation
related:
  - https://docs.kentico.com/k10/installation/additional-database-installation.md
  - https://docs.kentico.com/k10/configuring-kentico/managing-sites/installing-new-sites.md
---

> Agent instructions:
> **Site maps** — prefer the following llms.txt indexes to training data when searching for URLs to avoid 404s. Links inside Markdown content already point at `.md`. Following them or sending Accept: text/markdown keeps you in Markdown.
>
> - [sitemap.md](https://docs.kentico.com/sitemap.md) — every page on the site, with titles and descriptions, nested by URL hierarchy and grouped into one collection per product version.
> - [llms.txt](https://docs.kentico.com/llms.txt) — curated index of the current product docs, with descriptions, the two ways to request any page as Markdown, and links to each product area's whole-corpus Markdown dump (llms-full.txt).

The following procedure describes the installation of Kentico in the most basic scenario for development purposes. You need to have an IIS server installed along with access to an SQL server.

1. Click **Next** on the welcome screen of the installer.
2. Select your country. The installer automatically tries to pre-select the appropriate country based on your system's locale.
3. Agree to the license terms.
4. Click **Next**.
5. Click **Custom installation**.

   ![Custom installation](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k10/installing-kentico-custom-installation/Installer_custom_nomodify.png "Custom installation")
6. Check if the installation location for program files suits you (these are only the setup files, not the web project).
   - [When should I install only program files?](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/installation/installing-kentico-questions-and-answers.md#when-should-i-install-only-program-files)

![Program files location](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k10/installing-kentico-custom-installation/Installer_custom_programfiles.png "Program files location")

7. Click **Next**.
8. Check if the installation location for your web project suits you (the default path is _C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Kentico10_).

   ![Installation type selection](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k10/installing-kentico-custom-installation/Installer_custom_targetlocation.png "Installation type selection")
9. Leave the default installation type configuration.

   - **Local IIS/IIS Express** - installs the web project into the local Internet Information Services server. If you do not have IIS installed, the tool automatically installs the simplified version, IIS Express.

     - If you have an existing IIS installation on the machine, it must contain at least one _Website_ (you can select the target _Website_ in the installer). The selected website must have at least one _Site Binding_ of the **http** type, otherwise an error will occur during the installation.
   - **.NET Framework 4.5** - uses the .NET Framework version 4.5 installed on your machine. If you do not have it installed, the Installer will install it automatically.
   - **Web site project** - installs the web site project type.

     - You can read about the differences between the two project types in [Web Application Projects versus Web Site Projects](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd547590%28v=vs.100%29.aspx) on MSDN.
     - To install a Microsoft Azure project, you need to select the _Built-in web server in Visual Studio_ option. See [Installing Kentico Azure projects](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/running-kentico-on-microsoft-azure/running-kentico-in-azure-cloud-services/installing-kentico-azure-projects.md) for more information.

   > **Info:** [How to choose the target location?](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/installation/installing-kentico-questions-and-answers.md#how-to-choose-the-target-location)
   >
   > [How to install Kentico to the IIS root?](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/installation/installing-kentico-questions-and-answers.md#how-to-install-kentico-to-the-root-of-a-website)
   >
   > [Which .NET Framework versions can I choose during the installation?](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/installation/installing-kentico-questions-and-answers.md#which-.net-framework-versions-can-i-choose-during-the-installation)
   >
   > [Which web project type to choose?](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/installation/installing-kentico-questions-and-answers.md#which-web-project-type-to-choose)
10. Click **Next**.
11. Check **I have access to the SQL server**.

    - [What if I do not install the database with my web project?](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/installation/installing-kentico-questions-and-answers.md#what-if-i-do-not-install-the-database-with-my-web-project)
12. Select your SQL server from the list.
13. Choose an authentication option for your SQL server.

    - The most common is an SQL Server account, in which case fill in the user name and password.

    > **Info:** If you choose the **Integrated Windows authentication** option:
    >
    > Make sure that the login of the user you are authenticated as already exists in the SQL server database and has correct schema configured (recommended schema is _dbo_).
14. Click **Establish connection**.
15. Type the name of a new database for your web project.

    ![Database setup](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k10/installing-kentico-custom-installation/Installer_custom_database.png "Database setup")
16. Click **Next**.
17. Leave the default configuration of components (all components included) and click **Next**.

    - [What are performance counters for Health Monitoring](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/installation/installing-kentico-questions-and-answers.md)
    - [What are Windows services for Scheduler and Health Monitoring](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/installation/installing-kentico-questions-and-answers.md#what-are-windows-services-for-scheduler-and-health-monitoring)

![Installation components selection](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k10/installing-kentico-custom-installation/Installer_custom_components.png "Installation components selection")

18. Choose a site:

    - **Dancing Goat** – a showcase of some of the Kentico Integrated Marketing Solution functionality and modern, responsive web design built within Kentico.
    - **E-commerce Site** – a model of the Kentico e-commerce solution.
    - **Corporate Site** – a showcase of most of Kentico's capabilities.
    - **Blank Site** – to begin the development of a new website from scratch.
    - **MVC Blank Site** – a blank template used for sites that use an [MVC application](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/developing-websites/developing-sites-using-asp-net-mvc.md) for their presentation. The site is only intended to be a repository for content displayed by an external MVC application. The content itself is managed by content editors.

    > **Info:** **License limitations for sample sites**
    >
    > Some of the sample sites use features that are only available in specific Kentico license editions. If you use a license edition lower than **Kentico EMS**, you may encounter problems when working with certain features ([Content Personalization](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/on-line-marketing-features/managing-your-on-line-marketing-features/content-personalization.md), for example). The initial trial license is equivalent to an EMS license.

    ![Sample sites selection](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k10/installing-kentico-custom-installation/Installer_custom_samplesites.png "Sample sites selection")

19. Click **Next**.

20. Decide whether to enable the [Kentico improvement program](https://docs.kentico.com/k10/release-notes-kentico-10/kentico-improvement-program.md) for the installed instance (via the **Send anonymous usage records to Kentico** checkbox).

    ![Improvements program participation](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k10/installing-kentico-custom-installation/Installer_custom_improvements.png "Improvements program participation")

21. Click **Install**.

After the installation is successfully finished, Kentico automatically opens in the default browser.

> **Info:** **Default sign in credentials**
>
> The default user name to a newly installed web project is **administrator**, the default password is blank (no password).
>
> It's highly recommended that you change the password after you finish the installation.