Installing Wordpress

Installing WordPress is one of the best things you can do for your website because it can help you publish content immediately without any knowledge of HTML. One of the best things about installing WordPress is that it’s simple and only takes a few seconds. Even newbies can do it!

To install WordPress, you will need:

• The free WordPress package from WordPress.org
• A web server
• An FTP program

1. Begin by unzipping the WordPress package you downloaded. This package comes in a compressed file that is unzippable. Open the file and extract the contents to an empty folder on your hard drive. Make sure to remember where you extracted the files to.
2. Create a database on your web server. This database will be strictly used for WordPress and you’ll also need to create a MySQL user account for yourself so you can access it. Remember to copy down your database details.
3. Open the folder you extracted the files to. You’ll need to look for a file named “wp-config-sample.php” and rename it to “wp-config.php” (no quotation marks). Make sure you leave the file extension alone as well. Accidentally renaming the file extension (.php) could result in modifying the file-type.
4. Open the file titled “wp-config.php” with Notepad and make sure you’ve got your database details handy. You will need to edit this file by entering some information about your database. If you look down under the text that reads “MySQL settings—You can get this info from your web host,” you’ll see a whole lot of technical jargon. However, WordPress has made it pretty easy for novices to enter information. Search for the values titled things like “database_name_here” and enter your details accordingly. Use the details you copied down when creating your database to do this.
5. Create a folder on your server called “WordPress” and upload your WordPress files to it using an FTP program. This might take awhile depending on the FTP transfer speed, but the overall process should only take a few moments.
6. Finish your installation by browsing to the installation file on your server. You’ll do this by opening a web browser and typing the URL to that file. This would be http://yoursite.com/wordpress/wp-admin/install.php (use your own site’s domain). Once you’ve arrived at this page, you’ll finish the installation by running through this setup.
7. Once you’ve finished, you’ll be ready to start using WordPress. Enjoy having your own little piece of web space!