Documentation›DoorFall Search›Getting Started

Installation Instructions

Step-by-step instructions for installing DoorFall Search on your server.

Before you begin

You need a web hosting account or server with PHP 8.x, MySQL or MariaDB, HTTPS, cURL, PDO MySQL, DOM/XML and mbstring. You also need a valid DoorFall Search license key beginning with DFS-.

Step 1 — Download DoorFall Search

Download the DoorFall Search ZIP from your DoorFall customer account.

Keep an untouched copy of the ZIP as your original backup.

Step 2 — Choose the installation location

Decide where DoorFall Search will run.

For a complete domain such as:

https://search.example.com

upload the files to that domain's document root.

For a subfolder such as:

https://example.com/search/

create the search folder and upload the files there.

Step 3 — Upload and extract the ZIP

Upload the DoorFall Search ZIP using your hosting File Manager, FTP or SFTP.

Extract it in the chosen installation directory.

After extraction you should see files and folders such as:

install.php

index.php

search.php

admin/

includes/

assets/

These must be directly inside the directory where DoorFall Search will run. Do not accidentally leave all files inside an additional DoorFall_Search_v1.0 folder unless you actually want that folder in the public URL.

Step 4 — Create an empty MySQL database

Open your hosting control panel and create:

  1. A new MySQL/MariaDB database.
  2. A database user.
  3. A password for that user.
  4. Give the database user full privileges for the new DoorFall Search database.

Write down:

Database Host

Usually localhost, but some hosting companies use another hostname.

Database Name

Example: account_doorfallsearch

Database Username

Example: account_doorfalluser

Database Password

The password assigned to the database user.

DoorFall Search does not require you to manually import an SQL file. The installer creates the required tables.

Step 5 — Open the installer

Open the installation URL in your browser.

Root-domain example:

https://search.example.com/install.php

Subfolder example:

https://example.com/search/install.php

The DoorFall Search installer should now appear.

Step 6 — Enter database information

Enter the Database Host, Database Name, Database Username and Database Password from Step 4.

If the connection fails:

  • confirm the database name is exact;
  • confirm the username is exact;
  • re-enter the password;
  • confirm the user has privileges on this database;
  • check whether your host uses something other than localhost.

Do not continue until the database connection succeeds.

Step 7 — Enter your DoorFall Search license

Enter the DFS-... license key from your DoorFall customer account.

The installer contacts the DoorFall licensing service and activates the license for this domain.

One DoorFall Search license can be active on one domain at a time.

If activation fails, confirm:

  • the key was copied correctly;
  • the license is Active and not Suspended or Revoked;
  • the license is not currently activated on another domain;
  • your server can make outbound HTTPS connections.

Step 8 — Create the Administrator account

Enter the requested Admin username/email and create a strong password.

This account is used to access DoorFall Search Admin.

Your DoorFall Search Admin credentials are not the same as your DoorFall.com customer-account credentials.

Store the Admin password securely.

Step 9 — Complete installation

Finish the installer.

DoorFall Search creates its database tables and configuration and then allows you to enter Admin.

After a successful installation, do not run install.php again.

Step 10 — Configure DoorFall Search

Log in to Admin.

Open Settings and configure:

  • Search engine name
  • Accent color
  • Homepage headline
  • Homepage tagline
  • Logo
  • Favicon
  • Search box placeholder
  • Suggested searches
  • Results per page
  • Source diversity
  • SEO title and description
  • Footer and static-page links

Save the settings and open the public homepage to confirm the branding.

Step 11 — Test your first website

Go to Sources.

Before adding a website, use Test website for crawling.

Enter:

https://example.com

and click Test website.

DoorFall checks whether the site can be reached, whether robots.txt permits crawling, whether normal HTML is returned and whether the tested page contains usable indexable content.

Do not add a source just because it opens in your browser. Some websites deliberately block automated crawlers.

Step 12 — Add the first source

If the test is suitable, complete Add Website Source.

For the first test use a modest Max pages value.

Example:

Name: Example Music Site

Website URL: https://example.com

Category: Music

Priority weight: 1.00

Max pages: 25

Save the source.

Step 13 — Run a small crawl

Open Crawler and select the new source.

Run a small batch such as 10 pages.

Check:

  • Queued
  • Total Indexed
  • Indexed This Run
  • Processed This Run
  • Failed
  • Blocked
  • Retry Scheduled
  • Skipped

A few skipped pages are not necessarily a problem. Review the reason shown for each issue.

Step 14 — Test public search

Open the public DoorFall Search homepage.

Search for words that should exist on the pages you just indexed.

Confirm that titles, descriptions, source names, URLs and favicons look correct.

Step 15 — Configure automatic crawling

Open Crawler Health.

DoorFall displays the cron information for your installation.

Configure that cron job in your hosting control panel.

The server cron wakes DoorFall to process work. Each source's Automatic recrawl setting determines when that particular source is due to be crawled again.

Example:

Server cron: every hour.

Source Automatic recrawl: Weekly.

This means DoorFall checks hourly for work, but that source is only scheduled when its weekly recrawl becomes due.

Step 16 — Add the remaining sources

Add sources gradually.

Test each website before adding it and crawl a small batch first. This makes it much easier to identify a problematic source.

Step 17 — Review Search Quality

Open Search Quality and review:

  • Missing Titles
  • Missing Descriptions
  • Thin Content

Remove poor pages from the index when appropriate.

Step 18 — Production check

Before promoting the search engine:

  • confirm the DoorFall license is Active;
  • confirm cron runs automatically;
  • confirm crawler queues are moving;
  • test several real searches;
  • review zero-result searches;
  • check source diversity;
  • create Privacy/Terms/About pages if required;
  • confirm SEO settings;
  • make a backup of the application and database.

Your DoorFall Search installation is now ready for normal use.

Last updated August 21, 2026