There are two ways to install WordPress: manually and with an autoinstaller. How do you decide? If you like to be in charge, you will want to do it manually. If you want quick and easy, choose the autoinstaller.
I personally prefer installing WordPress manually because the auto-installer used to use a default username of Admin, which was a great way for hackers to get into sites. That’s no longer the case, but old habits die hard.
Since my expertise is with installing WordPress manually, that’s what I’m going to focus on in this post. If you wish to use an autoinstaller, here is a link for doing that.
This tutorial may be a bit different than others you see, but this is the way I do it.
Manual Installation of WordPress
Step 1. Download the WordPress installation package
To start the installation process, you will need to retrieve the latest version of WordPress from its official download page.
Click on the Download button and it will save to your computer. Locate the installation package and proceed to the next step.
Step 2. Navigate to your File Manager
Be sure you are logged into your Siteground account. I’m assuming you have already set up your account and so you have your domain name showing. If not, create an account now and come back.
- Head over to My Accounts
- Click on Manage Accounts on the appropriate hosting account.
- Go to your cPanel
- Scroll down until you find File Manager under Files and click on it.
You will get a pop up box that looks like this:
Note that Document Root for yourdomainname.com is selected and I have Show Hidden Files checked. Click Go.
Step 3. Upload the WordPress zipped folder to your server
Click on public_html
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.
Click the upload button
Click on Choose File
Navigate to the WordPress file you located in Step 1 and click open. It will upload to the server and a box will appear in the lower right corner that will notify you of the progress.
Once complete, click on the Go Back link in the center of the page.
Step 4: Unpack the WordPress folder
Highlight the file and click Extract.
You will get a pop up where you can confirm where to put the files. Click Extract File.
You will get a pop up showing the extraction results. Click close.
You will then see the zip folder and the unzipped folder.
Double click on the wordpress folder (not the zip) and inspect the contents.
Here’s where what I do is probably a bit strange. Perhaps if I had selected public_html instead of public_html/test, I wouldn’t have to do this step. But I typically have several websites I’m working on and I want to be sure to keep them separate.
So here’s what I do next. Click on the Select All button (even though it appears to already be checked). This will highlight all the files.
Click on Move File
Notice that the URL is public_html/test/wordpress. Remove the ‘wordpress’ section and click on Move File(s). All of those files will be moved up a level, into the test folder (or whatever your file is called).
You can then remove the empty wordpress folder (check it first) and the wordpress zipped folder.
Step 5: 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 this tutorial.
Once you create your database, make sure to make note of the database name, username, and password because you will need that information later. I create a Notepad document and save it. You could use Word or Google Docs as well. Point is, by making it digital, I can copy/paste and not run the risk of having written it down wrong.
Step 6: 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 (this is the information I told you to save for future use) 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 (I check the box while I’m developing the site, and the go back and uncheck the box when the site is ready to go live). 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.
I hope you have found this tutorial helpful. If you found it overwhelming, no problem. I can do the install for you. Contact me and let me know.
Leave a Reply