Preparation

1. Find a good host, most of today's hosts are flexibly, I would just post on the forums of either site you have chosen to use (links above) and ask for some recommendations... Dont always go for the cheapest !
2. Try both variants either Ravens Nuke or Xtreme and take your time testing them to get a feel of them
3. See what themes are available for your new site, Clan Themes covers both Ravens and Xtreme so if its gaming your in luck !

Downloads

Ill list the downloads that will help you on your way:

1. Notepad ++ -- for editing text and php install files.
2. FileZilla -- A free FTP client for uploading your files to your server.
3. Gimp -- Instead of using Photoshop and is free (not essential but will come in handy later when you want to play with images)
4. Either Nuke Xtreme v2.0 or Ravens Nuke v2.4.01 (releases at time of writing)

Installing PHPNuke

Installing PHPNuke comprises of 3 main simple steps:

1. Uploading The CMS / files to your web hosts server via FTP program.
2. Making the database via your web hosts control panel or PHPMYADMIN.
3. Running the install script to install PHPNuke onto your site.

What ever you do, do not do the easy thing and ask your host to do it, all they will do is install the latest version of PHPNuke v8.1 which is rubbish !! You have been warned, if you get stuck as at the developers site and they will assist, as with all CMS there is installation instructions as well, so make sure you have read them fully before asking otherwise they will tell you to go read the installation instructions first ! (one of my pet hates too)

You can watch this video tutorial on How to install PHPNuke Evolution, the principle is exactly the same for all versions of PHPNuke.

Setting up PHPNuke

Once you have PHPNuke installed its rather straight forward to manage, there is a admin interface located at yoursite.com/admin.php where you can manage your sites front end. You can also add 3rd party add-ons, blocks, modules, themes and mods... many can be found in our downloads section.

If you are new to all this and want to watch a few videos to help you on your way then there are a few here:

• Basic FTP
• How To Set up Your PHPNuke Forums
• Creating PHPNuke Blocks From Scratch
• Inserting SQL Files Through PHPMYADMIN
• 6 Ways to Debug a Raven Nuke or Phpnuke Problem Quickly (A Must Read)