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Installing WordPress
It does take a bit of care to install and set
everything up at the outset, but the time you spend now getting
everything into shape will be more than repaid later.It’ll enable you to focus on your content (the purpose of a blog!) instead of struggling with your configuration.
So here’s how I set up new Wordpress blogs.
Initial Installation
The first step is to decide whether you want your blog on its own domain (e.g.www.yourblog.com) or whether it’s going to be in a directory within your existing domain (www.yourdomain.com/blog).
Once you’ve decided where it’s going to be, you have two options for installing it:
- 1-click installation – if this is offered by your hosting provider
- Standard, manual installation
If your hosting provider offers 1-click installation and this is your first blog, I recommend you take them up on it.
The process will vary a bit from hosting provider to hosting provider, so just find and follow their instructions – they’ll be very straightforward. Contact their support desk if anything’s not clear.
If you decide to install your blog manually, Wordpress has developed extremely good, clear instructions - without doubt they are the best source of the installation steps! You can find them here.
Print them off and have them beside you as you work your way through the steps.
A summary of the steps:
- Download the zip file from Wordpress.org to your PC
and unzip it into a new folder. When you check the folder after
unzipping, you’ll find a sub folder containing all the
WordPress files. The sub-folder will be named
'wordpress'.
- Set up a new database on your server, using the MySQL
Databases link from your hosting provider’s control
panel.
Hosting providers that use cPanel have a wizard to take you through these steps.
This will become your blog database that contains your posts and comments. Setting up a MySQL database is very straightforward – just follow the wizard or your hosting provider's instructions.
- Insert the details of the new database (database name,
username and password) into your configuration file
(sample-config.php) within the wordpress folder and rename that
file to config.php. You may also need to set the server but the
default is 'localhost' and most times you won't need
to change this.
You should change the database table prefix from 'wp_' to something else. The prefix must end with an '_' (underscore), but before that you can use letters and other '_'s. For example you could change it to 'mc_sm_'. This is a useful additional security step, so you should do this.
- Upload the wordpress folder to your server. You can
rename the folder before uploading it – I suggest
‘blog’ unless you’re giving it its own
domain.
If it’s getting its own domain upload only the contents of the wordpress folder – i.e. all the files and folders within it, but not the folder itself.
- Fire up your browser and type in the URL that you’re given in the instructions from Wordpress.
After entering that URL you'll see a Welcome screen:
All the fields except for the Username are changeable from the Admin screens later, so don’t worry too much about getting a perfect site title immediately.
Make sure your username is long and doesn’t contain the word ‘admin’. It is possible to change this field later but it’s a bit of a fiddle. There’s a description of how to change your username here.
Another way is to create a new user with Administrator privileges. Once you’ve tested that you have full access to your admin screens via the new user, you can delete the existing user. Be sure to fully test the new user first!
This is described in one of the early emails if you opt in through the box near the top of the sidebar to the right (it's one of the WordPress security tips).
It really is very straightforward, but the best tip is to go to the WordPress instructions I linked to above and print them off so you can have them beside you as you install it.
That’s it. (Again – sorry if you were expecting more!)
You're now ready to start configuring your new blog.