If you are creating a fresh installation of Vanilla, all you need to do is upload all of the Vanilla files to your server. Once you are finished uploading, open this file in your web browser and click the install link below.
If you are upgrading from an existing version of Vanilla, here are a few things you should do first:
The upgrader will be performing structural changes on your database, you should have a backup of your old database just to be safe.
Download and save your old Vanilla files to your local machine. Specifically, we can use your old appg/settings.php file for importing old settings.
When you are finished backing everything up, upload all of the new Vanilla files to your server, open this file in your web browser and click the upgrade link below.