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Do not uninstall anything. Try reinstalling the package twice in a row. If the problem persists, please first download and install the FOF 3 package and then retry installing Akeeba Backup Professional.

Normally this package is already included in the installation ZIP file and your site should have it already installed (since you have the Core version installed). If the problem is not fixed according to these instructions please let me know. I apologize in advance for a late reply as I'm traveling today.

We received the following reply by email

I can't tell you how grateful I am for your precise, prompt response. I had already tried to install it half-a-dozen times when I bleated. But here's a recurring problem with the Joomla downloaded file installation. I choose the downloaded file, only to have the file's contents appear in my Mac's file manager for a further choice - with no clue what the next choice should be - sometimes the size of an included file is the right answer - but rarely. I know this is pure child's play to veterans, but if I can't use the Web Install utility I'm stuck - so I can't even install the FOF 3 package! Where did I go wrong? I have abandoned some of my purchases in despair.

First of all, please do not reply by email as written at the bottom of the email you receive when we send you a ticket reply. By pure luck I saw your email reply. Typically this is not the case.

Regarding your issue, you need to tell Safari to stop unzipping the downloaded ZIP files. Otherwise you will never be able to install any Joomla! components properly. Please read the relevant Apple Support Communities post.

Once you do that, you will be able to download a SINGLE ZIP file containing Akeeba Backup called something like pkg_akeeba-5.1.0.b1-pro.zip (the 5.1.0.b1 part may be different, it's the version number). You can then install it on your site.

Please note that we explicitly warn about this in our documentation. Check the first big, red warning box on that page. Sounds familiar? :)

PHP 7.0 is cutting edge and super fast – a fact which reflects well on your search engine rankings since search engines love fast loading sites! The entire PHP world has concluded that this is the way to go and we should all use no other PHP version than 7 on production sites.

That said...

...while Joomla! 3.5 or later and Akeeba Backup 4.x/5.x support PHP 7 out of the box not all third party extensions on your site may play well with it. My standard recommendation is to first try to upgrade to PHP 7.0 but if you observe strange behavior on your site and / or certain pages not loading just switch to PHP 5.6.

Why? PHP 5.4 went End Of Life last August. Even though Linux distributions try to backport security fixes from newer PHP versions this is not always possible due to architectural differences. Therefore any End Of Life PHP version (anything lower than 5.5) is dangerous to use on a production site within 6-12 months of the End Of Life (EOL) date. PHP 5.5 will go EOL on July 10th 2016, so it's basically on its death bed. PHP 5.6 will be supported until January 1st 2019, almost the same as 7.0, making it a much safer choice! For most accurate information on PHP versions and end of life status please check out PHP's official Supported Versions page. Be informed, stay safe.

Also remember to update all extensions on your site: components, modules, plugins and templates. Most Joomla! extension developers have issued updates in the past two months adding PHP 7 support. Those who haven't done so will without a doubt do so over the next few months. So even if PHP 7 doesn't fly on your site yet you can be virtually certain that by October it will.

I am very glad I could help you!

Akeeba software and JCE are definitely PHP 7 ready. I believe that Yoo has released updates to everything with PHP 7 compatibility – the new people they've got on board are fantastic and do listen to the users. If you get stuck with PHP 7 drop them a line, they should be able to help you.