Things you will need:
A Wii console
An SD Card (formatted in FAT16 or FAT32)
A computer with Internet Access
An SD Card reader for your computer
Things you should know:
If you don’t know what homebrew is, read my article.
The Wii was not designed by Nintendo to support homebrew. There is no guarantee that using homebrew software will not harm your Wii. About.com does not take any responsibility for any problems arising out of installing homebrew. Proceed at your own risk.
It is also possible that installing homebrew could void your warranty.
Future Wii updates to the Wii may kill your Homebrew Channel (or even, as was the case with System Update 4.2, brick your Wii), so you might want to not update your system after installing it. To prevent Nintendo from automatically updating your system, turn off WiiConnect24 (go into Options, then Wii Settings and you'll find WiiConnect24 on page 2).
It is a good idea to read the Wiibrew FAQ before proceeding.
It would probably be a good idea to format your SD card before you begin; I had a number of problems with homebrew applications that were fixed after I reformatted my card. I formatted it in FAT16 (also just called FAT) on the advice of some guy on Yahoo Answers who says the Wii reads and writes faster using FAT16 than FAT32.
Do not buy a kit to install homebrew on your Wii. All homebrew tools can be found for free on the internet; these kits simply repackage these free tools.
