There are other methods for installing Drupal. Many experienced Drupal developers use the script collection Drush to automate downloading and installing Drupal. There are even tools available for automating Drush, creating new Drupal sites in assembly-line style. (Anyone fascinated by this should check out the Ægir project.)

New Drupalists sometimes prefer prepared single-click installations, where as much as possible is pre-configured. These installations normally require that the automated installer knows the server configuration. This is why these are offered by some web host providers, but not in the default Drupal installer. Another way for an installer to know the server setup is to install a server while installing Drupal.

One example of hosted one-click installers is found at WebEnabled. An example of an installer including both Drupal and a server to run it on is Acquia Drupal.