---
title: Installing Kentico
---

> 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 how to install Kentico for the purpose of developing websites using the [Portal Engine](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/developing-websites/developing-websites-using-portal-engine.md) model.

Related pages

- [Additional database installation](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/additional-database-installation.md)
- [Installing new sites](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/configuring-kentico/managing-sites/installing-new-sites.md)

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. Accept the license terms.
4. Click **Next**.
5. Click **Custom installation**.

   ![Custom installation](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k12sp/installing-kentico/Installer_custom.png "Custom installation")
6. Check if the installation location for the program files suits you (these are only the setup files, not the web project).

   - Click the file system path if you wish to specify a custom location for the program files.
   - [When should I install only program files?](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/installation-questions-and-answers.md#when-should-i-install-only-program-files)

   ![Choosing the program files installation location](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k12sp/installing-kentico/Installer_custom_programfiles.png "Choosing the program files installation location")
7. Click **Next**.
8. Select the **Portal Engine** development model and click **Next**.

   > **Info:** If you wish to use the **MVC** development model, see [Installing Kentico MVC projects](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/installing-kentico-mvc-projects.md).
9. Specify the installation location for your web project (the default path is _C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Kentico12_).

   ![Selecting the installation type](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k12sp/installing-kentico/Installer_custom_targetlocation.png "Selecting the installation type")
10. Choose your installation type configuration.

    - **Register to IIS** – if enabled, the installer registers the web project as an application in the local Internet Information Services server. If you do not have IIS installed, the utility automatically installs the simplified version, IIS Express.
    - **Web 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 disable the _Register to IIS_ option. See [Installing Kentico Azure projects for Cloud Services](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/deploying-websites/running-kentico-on-microsoft-azure/running-kentico-in-azure-cloud-services/installing-kentico-azure-projects-for-cloud-services.md) for more information.

    > **Info:** [When to register installed projects into IIS?](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/installation-questions-and-answers.md#when-to-register-installed-projects-into-iis)
    >
    > [How to install Kentico to the IIS root?](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/installation-questions-and-answers.md#how-to-install-kentico-to-the-root-of-a-website)
    >
    > [Which web project type to choose?](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/installation-questions-and-answers.md#which-web-project-type-to-choose)
    >
    > [Which .NET Framework version do installed projects target?](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/installation-questions-and-answers.md#which-.net-framework-version-do-installed-projects-target)
11. Click **Next**.
12. Select the **I have access to SQL server** option.

    - [What if I do not install the database with my web project?](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/installation-questions-and-answers.md#what-if-i-do-not-install-the-database-with-my-web-project)
13. Specify the name of your SQL server.
14. Choose an authentication option for your SQL server.

    > **Info:** If you choose the **Integrated Windows authentication** option, make sure that your Windows account exists as a user in the SQL server database, and has full permissions and the correct schema configured (the recommended database schema is _dbo_).
15. Click **Establish connection**.
16. Type the name of a new database for your web project.

    ![Setting up the database installation](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k12sp/installing-kentico/Installer_custom_database.png "Setting up the database installation")
17. Click **Next**.
18. Choose which components you wish to install and click **Next**. We recommend leaving the default configuration with all components included).

    - [What are performance counters for Health Monitoring?](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/installation-questions-and-answers.md#installationquestionsandanswers-performancecounters)
    - [What are Windows services for Scheduler and Health Monitoring?](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/installation/installation-questions-and-answers.md#what-are-windows-services-for-scheduler-and-health-monitoring)

    ![Selecting installation components](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k12sp/installing-kentico/Installer_custom_modules.png "Selecting installation components")
19. Choose a starter site:
    - **Dancing Goat** – a showcase of some of the Kentico Integrated Marketing Solution functionality and a 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.

> **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 (for example [Content Personalization](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/on-line-marketing-features/managing-your-on-line-marketing-features/content-personalization.md)). The initial trial license is equivalent to an EMS license.

20. Click **Next**.
21. Decide whether to enable the [Kentico improvement program](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/release-notes-kentico-12/kentico-improvement-program.md) for the installed instance (via the **Send anonymous usage records to Kentico** checkbox).

    ![Opting in for the Kentico improvement program](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k12sp/installing-kentico/Installer_custom_improvements.png "Opting in for the Kentico improvement program")
22. Click **Install**.

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

> **Info:** **Default sign in credentials**
>
> To sign in to the administration interface after the installation, use the **administrator** username with a blank password. We strongly recommend [setting a new password](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/managing-users/user-management.md) for the administrator account after the installation.