WordPress, the world’s most popular content management system (CMS), has made it easier than ever to set up a website. Whether you’re starting a blog, an online store, or a portfolio, knowing how to install and use WordPress is the first step to having a professional website that’s just the way you want it. The best part? With the proper tools and a little guidance, you can get through the process in as little as five minutes.
In this tutorial, I’ll take you through the process of installing WordPress – we’ll start at how to quickly install WordPress and move along into selecting a host and configuring your new site. By the end of this post, you will have a completed WordPress website that is ready for you to add content and customizations.
Table of Contents
Why Do You Need To Select WordPress Specifically For A Business Website?
Before we get into how to install WordPress, let’s take a look at why WordPress is the platform of choice for millions of websites. With its flexibility, the easy-to-use interface and the huge ecosystem of themes and plugins, WordPress currently powers more than 40% of all websites on the internet. Whether you are a novice or a veteran developer, WordPress offers you the ability to make the site you are dreaming of. And it’s open-source, so it’s free to use and backed by a worldwide community.
The act of installing WordPress itself is a breeze, particularly with most contemporary hosting providers allowing one-click installations. This guide is about how to install WordPress on a hosting server and it is the most popular and versatile way to do it! Let’s prepare the requirements before we do anything.
How To Install WordPress What You Need Before Installing WordPress
Here’s what you’ll need to have in place before you learn how to install WordPress in 5 minutes:
- A Domain Name: This is a name of your website (for example www. yourwebsite. com). You can buy a domain through registrars like Namecheap, GoDaddy, or even your hosting provider.
- A Web Hosting Account: This is where your website’s files are stored. Well-known companies such as Hostinger, Bluehost, and SiteGround all have budget offerings with WordPress-specific perks.
- A Web Browser: You will need the browser installed on your computer to navigate to your hosting control panel and your WordPress dashboard.
- Optional: SSL Certificate: Although most web hosts will offer you a free SSL certificate (which keeps your site safe and enables HTTPS), it’s good to double-check.
If you don’t already have a domain or hosting you needn’t worry – most web hosting providers include domain registration as a feature with their plans, so getting one from a company shouldn’t be an issue. Once these are done, you can to check on how you can install WordPress.
How to Install WordPress – A Complete Guide
Learning how to install WordPress is pretty straightforward, so below I’ll walk you through a few simple and clear steps on how you can get started! I’ll demonstrate with Hostinger since they provide a simple one-click installation process, but the process is the same for the most part on other hosting providers (such as Hostinger, Bluehost, SiteGround, or DreamHost).
Step 1: Subscribe to a Web Hosting Plan
Jump To Here’s How to Install WordPress Step 1 – Setting up a WordPress Hosting Account Go to your preferred hosting provider (I love Hostinger) and select a hosting plan that meets your requirements. For newbies, all you might need at first is a shared hosting plan, which are both cheap and easy to get started with, typically costing anywhere from $2 a month to $10 a month.
- Selecting a Plan: Find a plan that includes WordPress features like one-click install, free SSL, and 24/7 support.
- Register a Domain: If you don’t have a domain yet, you can register one during signing up. Or, you can point the DNS of an existing domain to your hosting provider.
- Make the Purchase: Use the provider’s checkout process to open an account.
When your hosting account is set up, you will be provided with the login credentials to your hosting provider’s control panel (commonly cPanel or some custom thing like Hostinger’s hPanel). This is going to be the point where we begin telling you how to install WordPress.
Step 2: Log in to Your Hosting Control Panel
The hosting control panel is your access to managing your website. All right, so keep learning how to install WordPress and go log into your hosting account with the login details that came in your welcome email.
- Find the Control Panel: Find a link that says “Control Panel,” “hPanel,” or “cPanel” in your hosting dashboard.
- Locate The WordPress Installer: Almost all hosting companies have a section called “WordPress,” “Website,” or “Auto Installer.” For Hostinger, go to the “Websites” tab and click “Manage” for your domain.
Their control panel is very easy to use that you’ll easily find the option to install WordPress. This is the magic where you learn how to install WordPress in five minutes.
Step 3: Install WordPress One-Click Installer Once your hosting provider account is set up, you still need to access your one-click WordPress installer.
Nowadays hosts make the installation of WordPress a piece of cake with 1-click installation tools like Softaculous, Installatron, or their own in-house installer. Here’s how you can use Hostinger’s installer for example:
1. Choose WordPress: On the Control panel, press the “WordPress” or “Auto Installer” category. From the applications list, click on WordPress.
2. Customize installation options:
- Domain: Choose your domain where you want to install WordPress (e.g., yourwebsite. com or subdomain. yourwebsite. com).
- Directory: Enter nothing here to install WordPress on your domain (ex: yourwebsite. com). If you wish to use WordPress in a subdirectory (www. com/blog)name_of_folder/ in the folder.
- Site Name: Name your site (for example, “My Blog”). You can change this later.
- Admin Username and Password: Enter a username and password for your WordPress admin. Protect your site with a strong password.
- Admin Email: Enter an email to send admin alerts to.
3. Install: Use the “Install” or “Setup” button. The installer will download and set up WordPress files for you.
This process is usually completed in under a minute, and how to install WordPress couldn’t be easier or quicker. When finished, you’ll see a success message along with your WordPress admin login URL (for example, yourwebsite. com/wp-admin).
Step 4: Sign in to your WordPress Dashboard
Now, you know how to install WordPress, but in order to give life to your site, a visit to your site’s admin dashboard is necessary. Open your web browser and go to:
yourwebsite.com/wp-admin
Use the username and password you used during installation. The WordPress dashboard is where you’ll organize your website content, themes, plugins, and settings. If login does not works, please recheck the login credentials, you can contact your hosting support if needed.
Step 5: Verify the Installation
Make sure how to install WordPress was successful by visiting the URL of your website (such as yourwebsite. com). You should see the basic WordPress homepage, along with a “Hello, World!” post or a placeholder theme. If you get an error, such as 404 or a DB connection error, something is wrong with your configuration. Here’s how to troubleshoot:
- Check Domain Propagation: If you have just recently registered your domain, it can take a few hours for DNS changes to spread.
- Clear the web Browser Cache: Clear your web browser cache, or try another browser to view your website.
- Reach out to Support: Many hosting companies provide support 24/7 to help you with an installation problem.
Install WordPress – 5 minutes of glory Congratulations, you have now installed WordPress! Your website is live and you’re ready to start customizing.
Install WordPress with One-Click: Post-Setup Tasks That You Need to Make Your Website Ready!
How to install WordPress is step one, but the setup is what makes your site functional, secure, and attractive to visitors. Here are some of the first things to do after installing Ubuntu for the first time.
1. Choose a WordPress Theme
A theme is in charge of how your site will look like. WordPress has its own Twenty Twenty-Five themes if you don’t want to choose your own, but you can select from thousands of free and premium options that match your brand.
- Go to Themes: On the WordPress dashboard, click on Appearance > Themes.
- Install a Theme: Go to “Add New” to browse themes for free, or upload a premium theme. A few of the most popular themes that are available for free are Astra, GeneratePress and Neve.
- Activate: Once installed, click the “Activate” link.
Choosing a lightweight, responsive theme is key to a fast and mobile-friendly site.
2. Install Essential Plugins
Plugins add functionality to WordPress. And to help how to install WordPress with more user-friendly features, then you should definitely install these plugins:
- Rank Math SEO: Makes it easier for your site to be found on search engines.
- WPForms: Generates contact forms and lead capture tools.
- UpdraftPlus: Backs up your site to avoid data loss.
- Wordfence: Adds an extra layer of security by including firewall and malware scanning.
To install a plugin:
- Go to Plugins > Add New.
- Search for the plugin and click “Install Now,” then “Activate.”
Limit number of plugins to prevent your site from getting slower.
3. Configure Basic Settings
You should tweak your WordPress settings for a smooth running site:
- General: You can edit your site title, tagline, and timezone by visiting Settings > General.
- Permalinks: Go to Settings > Permalinks, and select the “Post name” structure for search engine friendly URLs like: yourwebsite. com/sample-post).
- Comments: In Settings > Discussion, choose whether or not you want to enable comments on posts.
These are professional site settings.
4. Secure Your WordPress Site
After you have installed WordPress, security is extremely important. Here are some measures you should consider to secure your site:
- Turn on SSL: If you have a free SSL certificates available from your hosting provider then turn it on, so your site is served on HTTPS.
- Update WordPress: Making sure to keep WordPress, themes and plugins updated to the latest versions to fix security holes.
- Strong Passwords: Do not use admin as your username use strong password’s.
- Limit Login Attempts: Use the plugin such as Loginizer to prevent brute-force attempts.
5. Create Your First Content
With how to install WordPress done, you’re ready to begin creating your site content:
- Create Pages: Simply add your about, home, and contact pages using Pages > Add New.
- Write Your First Blog Post: To share your first blog post, head to Posts > Add New.
- Custom navigation: If you already had a Custom Menu, the pages will be added to it unless you have customised Navigation – update your menu at Appearance > Menus with the new pages.
That’s it – now your website is setup to scale!
Solving Common WordPress Installation Problems
Although installing WordPress typically goes smoothly, you might run into problems. Here’s what to do when you encounter common issues:
- “Error Establishing Database Connection”: It is a sign of misconfiguration. Review your database access information in the hosting control panel or contact the support.
- White Screen of Death: It might be due to a problematic plugin or theme. Use ftp to access your site, rename the plugins directory to plugin1, to be deactivated and try again.
- Poor Loading: Speed up your site by installing a caching plugin such as WP Rocket and compressing your images.
- 404 Errors: Check your permalinks style path and make sure your . htaccess file is set up correctly.
Most hosts provide live-chat or ticket support, so don’t be afraid to try.
Manual WordPress Install (optional!)
Although one-click installers make installing WordPress easy, many users like the control that manual installation gives. Here’s a brief overview:
- Download WordPress: wordpress.org” and get the latest file of WordPress in zip format.
- Upload Files: You can upload the unzipped files to your domain’s root directory (the folder you get when you log in to your FTP account, e.g. public_html) using an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla) or using your hosting file manager.
- Create a Database: In your host control panel, create a MySQL db and user (write them down).
- Install: Go to yourwebsite. com in your browser, and then follow the instructions to connect WordPress to your new database and set up settings.
The manual installation process, for you will take longer than five minutes so I suggest beginners to take the one-click route.
Why Hostinger is awesome for installing WordPress
If you’re still looking at where to install WordPress, Hostinger is a good option for you. Their plans include:
- One-Click Installation: Makes the installation process of a WordPress with a simple UI.
- Free Domain and SSL: Saves your investments and protects your site.
- Better performance: Litespeed servers for quick load times.
- 24/7 Support: Help with setup and installation on supported devices.
Is Hostinger a Good Choice as an Affiliate?
Conclusion!
Your First Blog Hostinger also features one of the best affiliate programs for bloggers promoting hosting service, as you asked.
Conclusion:
The fact that you’re learning how to install WordPress in under five minutes is really a game changer for those of us who want a website quickly. With a good host, a one-click installer and a couple of post-installation tweaks, a WordPress site can be ready to use in a matter of minutes. Whether you’re building a blog, an e-commerce store, or a portfolio, WordPress is the perfect solution thanks to its flexibility and ease of use.
Now that you understand how to set up WordPress, go to the next step: select a theme, install the plugins and go ahead and write some content that interests your readers. If anything goes wrong, you can turn to your hosting company’s support team. Start now and see your online presence strengthen!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What do I need before installing WordPress?
You want a domain name, a web hosting account with PHP configured (version 7.4 is best) and MySQL (v5.7, at least), and access to the web host control panel (cPanel is best). The majority of hosting companies provide one-click installation of WordPress.
2. Is it possible to create WordPress without a web host?
No, WordPress needs to be installed on a web server. You can also install it on your computer with something like XAMPP or MAMP for testing, but you need a hosting provider to have a live website.
3. What if I don’t have one-click installer in my hosting?
You have the option to manually install WordPress by the download from WordPress.org, then upload it to your server via FTP, create a MySQL database and run the installer from your web browser.
4. Do I have to be tech-savvy to use WordPress?
No with our 1 click installer you do not need to be a coder or a techie. The process is intuitive and easy. Manual installation might require manual upload of files and may need some technical skills.
5. Why is my WordPress site blank after installation?
Check to see that the domain links to the proper folder in the hosting server, along with checking that the database connection is correct or if WordPress files were upload(with the correct folder(public_html). If you still have problems, please directly contact your hosting support.
