Most of the popular hosting providers offer a one-click installation of popular platforms including WordPress. But what do you do when one-click installation isn’t available?
This section outlines how to manually install WordPress on your web hosting account.
Manually Installing WordPress
Step 1. Download the WordPress installation package
Step 2. Upload the WordPress Files to Your Server
Step 3. Create a MySQL Database for WordPress to use
Step 4. Go through the installation process
Step 1. Download the WordPress installation package
To start the installation process, first you need to download WordPress from it’s official download page. We recommend that you always download and install the latest stable version of WordPress.
Once you click on the Download button for the latest WordPress version, the installation package will be saved to your hard disk. Locate the installation package that you’ve just downloaded and extract it to a new folder.
Step 2. Upload the WordPress Files to Your Server
Now, you need to upload the extracted files and folders to your web server. The easiest way to upload the installation files is using an FTP client. For more information on how to upload files via FTP, please check the FTP Tutorial section.
IMPORTANT! If you want your WordPress to be the main installation on your account and to be accessible through your main domain (i.e. www.mydomain.com), you need to upload the extracted files to your public_html folder. However, you can always make a subfolder (i.e. public_html/blog) if you want to run only part of your website on WordPress.
Step 3. Create a MySQL Database for WordPress to use
Now, you need to create a MySQL database and assign a MySQL user to it with full permissions. For detailed instructions on how to do that, you can follow the steps described in MySQL Username and Database section.
Once you create your MySQL Database and User, make sure you write down the database name, database username and password you’ve just created. You will need those for the installation process.
Step 4. Go through the installation process
Now it’s time to navigate to your website to start with the installation process. If you have uploaded WordPress in your public_html directory you’ll need to go to http://yourdomain.com in your preferred browser.
The first thing you will see is a window, in which you must choose the desired WordPress language from a predefined list of languages. Once you choose the preferred language, click Continue.
On the next page you will see a message, asking you to prepare the necessary information for the installation. Since we already have this information, simply press the Let’s Go! button.
Enter the details for your newly created MySQL database and press the Submit button.
WordPress will now check if your settings are correct. If you have entered all the necessary information, you will see a confirmation screen. Press the Run the Install button to proceed.
On the next page you will have to enter the information about your administrative username and the title of your new site. Make sure that you use a strong password so that your administrator account is secure. Also bear in mind, that you should specify a real email address. It can be later used in case you forget your password. In addition, you can specify whether you’d want search engines to index your site or not. Once you fill in that information, press the Install WordPress button.
Your new WordPress application is now installed. You can use the Log In button to access your administrative backend and start posting in your new site.
