Install WordPress

Up and Running in Just 20 Easy Steps

The purpose of these instructions is to provide a guideline and a reference for installing the content management system WordPress on your website. These instructions cover downloading the necessary files, uploading them to your web hosting location, setting up your database, and properly configuring WordPress for first time use.

Step 1: Using a web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome, navigate to http://wordpress.org/download/. Click on the latest version to download the zip file.

Note: A zip file is a set of files compressed into one file to make the storing and sharing of a group of files easier.

2: Unzip the downloaded file by double clicking on it and extracting the file to a folder on your computer. Take note as to the location of the folder you have selected so you can locate these files later.

3: Using a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) application, enter the name of your web hosting account, your username, and your password.

Note: It is recommended to use the free FTP application Filezilla, which can be downloaded from filezilla-project.org.

4: Once connected to your web hosting account, copy the files you extracted in Step 2 from your PC to the “public_html” folder on the web hosting server.

5: Now that the files are uploaded to your web site, you must create and configure a database for WordPress to connect to.

Note: WordPress uses what is known as a MySQL database to store and retrieve information about your website.

6: Log into your hosting provider’s cPanel. A cPanel is a web page that allows you to configure your webpage’s account. You will need to refer to your hosting provider to access the cPanel.

7: In cPanel locate the MySQL database wizard and click on it. Enter a database name such as: “yoursitename-wordpress-db” and then click next.

8: Enter a username and password and take note of these as you will need them to configure your WordPress setup file later. Click create user, and check the All Privileges checkbox. Complete the task by clicking finish.

9: In a web browser navigate to http://yoursite/wp-admin/install.php and you will see the WordPress logo on the installation page.

10: Enter the information from Steps 7 and 8 and “localhost” under Database Host. Click Submit.

11: Enter your website’s title along with a username and password that you will use to update, edit, and modify your WordPress pages.

12: Fill in your email address so WordPress can send you an email with your website’s credentials. This will also allow you to retrieve your password if you ever forget.

13: Click Install WordPress and you should receive a Success! message if all has gone well. Enter your WordPress username and password from Step 11 and click Log In.

14: Congratulations, you just installed WordPress! You should now be at the dashboard where you can start adding pages.

15: WordPress themes come in free versions and paid versions, with the paid versions having more complex designs and options. They can be found at http://wordpress.org/themes/.

16: To install a theme click on Appearance down the left side of your WordPress dashboard and then click on themes.

17: On the themes page you will see the themes that WordPress comes with and a tab to install new themes. Click on the “Install Themes” tab and search for the one you want.

18: Beneath the theme you want, click Install Now. You can also Preview the theme and find out more Details.

19: On the Install Theme page, enter the FTP information you used back in Step 3 (hostname, username, and password) and click Proceed.

20: To activate this theme click the Appearance link again down on the left side of the dashboard, scroll down to the installed theme, and click Activate.

You’re all set! I hope that you enjoy WordPress and found these instructions quick and easy to follow.