What you need before you start
Getting your auction website live on shared hosting requires four things to be in place before you touch the installer. If you have all four ready, the actual installation typically takes under an hour.
- A domain name. Any registrar works — Namecheap, GoDaddy, Google Domains. Make sure your domain's nameservers are pointed to your hosting provider before starting, as DNS changes can take up to 24 hours to propagate (though usually much faster).
- Shared hosting with PHP 8.1+ and MySQL. Most hosting accounts created in the last two years meet this requirement automatically. If you're on an older account, check your control panel for a PHP version selector — most hosts let you choose. You also need mod_rewrite enabled, which is standard on Apache-based shared hosting.
- FTP client or File Manager access. You'll use one of these to upload your script files. FileZilla is free and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Your hosting's cPanel includes a built-in File Manager that also works fine for this.
- Your script files from CodeCanyon. After purchasing BidKing, log into your Envato account, navigate to Downloads, find your purchase, and download the ZIP file. Keep it on your desktop — you'll need it shortly.
Choosing the right hosting
Not all shared hosting is created equal, and the right choice depends on your budget, technical comfort level, and expected traffic. Here's a realistic breakdown of the most common options:
Hostinger (~$3/month)
Hostinger's Business or Cloud Starter plans are the most affordable option for getting started. Their hPanel interface is clean and beginner-friendly, PHP version switching is straightforward, and their one-click SSL setup via Let's Encrypt works reliably. The trade-off is performance: Hostinger's shared servers are resource-constrained, which works fine for a new platform with modest traffic but can become limiting once you're running concurrent live auctions with dozens of active bidders. Good for: validating your concept, first 6–12 months, low-traffic use cases.
SiteGround (~$15/month)
SiteGround sits in the middle tier — more expensive than Hostinger but with noticeably better performance, cPanel-based hosting that most tutorials apply to, and support quality that's genuinely helpful when you run into issues. Their SuperCacher tool adds a caching layer that measurably improves load time for auction listing pages. Good for: launch-stage businesses, buyers who value strong support, Apache/cPanel familiarity.
DigitalOcean ($6/month Droplet)
A DigitalOcean Droplet is a VPS (Virtual Private Server), not shared hosting — but at $6/month for the basic Droplet, it's price-competitive with shared hosting while offering full root access and significantly better performance. The trade-off is setup complexity: you manage the server stack yourself (Ubuntu, Apache/Nginx, PHP, MySQL). If you're comfortable with a Linux terminal, DigitalOcean is the best option for growth. If you're not, stick to cPanel-based shared hosting for now. Good for: technical buyers, platforms with real growth ambitions, production environments beyond early stage.
Recommendation: Start with Hostinger or SiteGround for simplicity. If your platform grows to the point where shared hosting is a bottleneck — typically around 50+ concurrent users — migrate to a DigitalOcean Droplet. The migration is a copy-paste operation once you know what you're doing.
Setting up your database
Before uploading any files, create a MySQL database in your hosting control panel. In cPanel, the process is under the MySQL Databases section and takes about two minutes:
- Click Create New Database, give it a name like
auctiondb. Note the full database name (your hosting prefix will be added automatically, e.g.username_auctiondb). - Under MySQL Users, click Create New User. Give it a username and a strong password. Write both down — you'll need them in the installer.
- Under Add User to Database, select your new user and database, click Add. On the privileges screen, select All Privileges and click Make Changes.
You now have a blank database ready for the installer. Four pieces of information to note: database name (with prefix), database username (with prefix), database password, and database host (almost always localhost on shared hosting).
Uploading the files
Open your hosting's File Manager (in cPanel, it's in the Files section). Navigate to public_html — this is your web root, where your domain's files must live.
Upload the ZIP file you downloaded from CodeCanyon directly to public_html. Once uploaded, right-click it and choose Extract. After extraction, you should see the script's folders and files directly inside public_html — not inside a subdirectory. If the extraction created a folder like bidking-v2.0, move its contents up one level into public_html itself.
The result should look like: public_html/index.php, public_html/app/, public_html/assets/, and so on — with the main index.php at the root. If you want the auction site at a subdirectory (e.g. yourdomain.com/auctions), leave the files inside the subfolder instead of moving them up.
Running the installer
Navigate to your domain in a browser. You should see the BidKing installer wizard — a multi-step form that handles the technical setup automatically. If you see a directory listing instead, check that your files are in the correct location and that index.php is present in the document root.
The installer will ask for:
- Database details — host, database name, username, password from the step above
- Admin email address — this becomes your login and receives system notifications
- Admin password — use something strong; you can change it later from the profile settings
- Site name and URL — your domain, exactly as you want it to appear
The installer creates all database tables and writes your configuration file automatically. Most installs complete in under two minutes. When the wizard finishes, it will prompt you to delete the installer file — do this immediately, as leaving the installer accessible is a security risk.
Configuring payment gateways
Log into the admin panel using the credentials you set during installation. Navigate to Settings → Payment Gateways. You'll see the full list of available gateways — enable the ones relevant to your market.
Setting up Razorpay
Log into your Razorpay Dashboard and go to Settings → API Keys. Generate a Key ID and Key Secret pair (do this in Test mode first). Copy both values into BidKing's Razorpay settings fields. Select INR as the currency and enable the gateway. Save.
Setting up Stripe
In your Stripe Dashboard, find your Publishable Key and Secret Key under Developers → API Keys. Paste them into the corresponding fields in BidKing's Stripe settings. Start in test mode — Stripe provides test card numbers (4242 4242 4242 4242, any future date, any 3-digit CVV) for end-to-end testing without real money.
Test each gateway before going live by completing a full payment flow: place a bid, win the auction, process payment with a test card, and verify the transaction appears as paid in the admin panel. This catches configuration errors before real buyers encounter them.
Setting up email (SMTP)
Auction platforms are email-heavy: outbid notifications, auction closing alerts, winner confirmation, payment receipts. Reliable email delivery is essential to platform trust. Do not rely on PHP's built-in mail function — it frequently lands in spam and is unreliable on shared hosting.
In the admin panel, go to Settings → Email (SMTP). Configure one of the following:
- Gmail SMTP — free, works immediately. Use your Gmail address with an App Password (required if 2FA is enabled). SMTP host:
smtp.gmail.com, port 587, TLS. Free tier works for up to a few hundred emails per day. - Mailgun — best for higher volumes. Free tier includes 5,000 emails/month. Requires adding your domain and completing DNS verification. More reliable deliverability than Gmail for bulk transactional email.
- Your hosting's mail server — available in cPanel under Email Accounts. Works but has stricter sending limits and weaker deliverability than a dedicated email service.
After configuring SMTP, use the admin panel's Send Test Email function to verify a message arrives in your inbox and is not flagged as spam.
Creating your first auction
With infrastructure in place, run a complete end-to-end test before inviting real users. In the admin panel, go to Auctions → Create New and set up a test listing:
- Product name and description (anything — this is just a test)
- Starting bid: $1
- Bid increment: $1
- Auction end time: 15 minutes from now
- No reserve price needed for testing
Open an incognito browser window, register a test bidder account using a secondary email address, and place a bid. Return to your main browser — the bid count on the listing should have updated. Watch the countdown reach zero, then follow the winner notification email and payment flow through to completion using a test card. If the entire cycle works, your platform is ready for real users.
Going live checklist
Before promoting your platform or creating real auctions, run through this checklist:
- SMTP tested — send a test email and confirm delivery
- Payment gateway in live mode — switch from test to production API keys
- SSL active — your domain should load on https:// with a valid certificate (Let's Encrypt, available free in cPanel)
- robots.txt present — basic SEO hygiene; disallow admin paths from indexing
- Favicon uploaded — small detail, meaningful for brand credibility
- Admin password changed from default — use a unique, strong password
- Backup taken — download a copy of your database and files before going live
- Live auction created — have at least one real auction published before sharing the URL
The installer handles the technical setup. Most buyers are live within an hour of purchase. If you hit a snag — permissions error, database connection issue, gateway not loading — message us on WhatsApp at +91 93399 32830. We guide every buyer through installation at no extra charge.