Installing Wordpress Step by Step
This guide aims to show you how to set up Wordpress and configure it for painless maintenance using auto-update plugins.
Step 1: Installing Wordpress
- First, log in to Cpanel. Instructions for this are in the welcome email.
- Click on the button labelled "Fantastico". It's near the bottom, under the heading "Software/Services". It looks like this:
- You will see a list of programs along the left that you can install. Click on "Wordpress", which is under "Blogs" near the top.
- Click on "New Installation" to get started with the install.
- On this page, you will need to enter some information to configure the install. Most are self-explantory, but here are some notes on them:
- Install on domain: if you have subdomains or add-on domains, this lets you choose to install on one of these rather than your main domain.
- Install in directory: you will usually leave this blank unless you are adding a blog to an already existing site. Leaving it blank will install it in your main directory so it will show up at www.yourdomain.com.
- Administration-username and password: write these down as you will use them to log in to Wordpress after the install is finished.
- Admin nickname: This will show up on posts you author (although this can be changed later in Settings).
- Admin email, Site name, Description: These can all be changed later if you need to, so just enter some initial values. "Description" is kind of like a tagline, it will show up in your header (depending on your theme).
- Click "Install Wordpress". It will show page 2, which just tells you that the server is going to install a database for you. Click "Finish Installation".
- The last page of the install lets you know the process is complete, and lets you send an email of the details to yourself. This is a good idea in case you forget your admin password.
- Now click "Back to Wordpress Overview" or click "Wordpress" along the left menu. You will now see your installation under "Current installations". Click "Visit site" to go to your new Wordpress installation.
Tip: If you see the Acorn Host "Under Construction" page instead of a Wordpress site, you will need to remove this file from your home directory so your Wordpress installation will show up. Please see the tutorial How to Remove The Default Under Construction Page.
- Scroll down and click "Log In" under "Meta" to log in to your new Wordpress installation.
- Enter the username and password you created in step 5, and log in.
- You should now see your Wordpress dashboard. Congrats, you are finished installing Wordpress!
Step 2: Install and Configure Two Essential Plugins
Plugins add specific functionality to your site. There are many to choose from, but we want to start you off with two that are essentials. The first one fights spam on your blog, and the second makes it really easy to install themes without using FTP.
1. Install Akismet
- Click "Plugins" along the right-hand menu.
- You will see there are two plugins that are included by default, Akismet and Hello Dolly. Akismet is very useful and we will activate it right now. (Hello Dolly you can largely ignore, it just happens to be the first official Wordpress plugin so it's a bit of history). Both are inactive by default. Each plugin you install will be inactive until you activate it.
- Click to activate the Akismet plugin.
- You will see a yellow warning box letting you know that you need to get an API key from Wordpress.com. Getting an API key is a simple process and you only need to do it once. It involves signing up for an account at Wordpress.com (it's free). You need to "create a blog", but you don't have to do anything with it after you create it. After you sign up, they will send you the API key in your welcome email. You can also find it later by logging in at Wordpress.com and then looking under My Account -> Edit Profile and you will see your API key. Getting an API key is necessary because Akismet uses Wordpress.com's spam-fighting tools to determine spam comments on your blog. Here is Wordpress.com's page on API Keys for more info.
- When you have your API key, click the link in the yellow box to enter it.
2. Install One Click Plugin Updater
This plugin doesn't come pre-loaded, so we will need to install. You can follow these same directions to install any Wordpress plugin.
- Click "Add Plugin". In the search box, type "One Click Plugin Updater" and press "Search".
- The first result should be the One Click Plugin Updater. Now we are going to install it. Click on the plugin title and an inset window will appear. Click the orange "Install Now" button.
- This will install the plugin automatically for you. Neat, huh?
Note: Depending on how your server is set up, you may be presented with a page to enter your FTP settings. These are contained in your welcome email. Don't worry, you won't need to actually use FTP - you will just be telling Wordpress to use it. - Now click "Activate Plugin" to finish the installation.
- You should now see that the plugin has been activated.
Step 3: Install a Theme
Themes define the look of your site - the design and layout. There are many to choose from. Here we will guide you through installing one so you can do it on your own.
- On the sidebar, click "Appearance" and then "Install a Theme". (This will be available after installing the One Click Plugin Updater as explained in Step #2).
- Open a new browser window or tab (usually CTRL-T will do this), and go to this site: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/. This is the official Wordpress Theme repository. There are a lot of other places to find themes which we will discuss in Choosing a Wordpress Theme, but this is a good place to start.
- Look through the featured themes and find one you like. You don't have to choose permanently right now, just pick one that looks good. You will likely want to test drive a few themes anyway before you find the one that works for you. For the sake of the exercise we will install the Gear theme.
- Next to the Gear theme, or the theme you want to install, right-click on the "Download" button and choose "Copy Link Location" (Firefox) or "Copy Shortcut" (IE). If you are on a Mac and have a one button mouse, you may need to hold it down for a few seconds until the right-click menu pops up.
View Screenshot (Internet Explorer)
- Now switch back to your browser tab with your blog and press CTRL-V to paste the address into the URL field and press Install. (Alternatively, you can press "Download" on the theme site, and press "Browse" to upload the file here.)
- If everything went OK, you should see the "Theme Installed" success message.
- We still need to activate the theme to apply it to our site. Click "Themes" in the Appearance section on the navigation menu.
- Your newly installed theme should be listed under "Available Themes". Click on the thumbnail and a windows will pop up with a preview of what the theme will look like with your site content. Click the small "Activate" text in the upper right hand corner of the pop-up window.
- Now if visit your site, all your content will now automatically be displayed with your new theme!
- If you installed Gear, you will notice it has an options page. Click "Theme Options" under Appearance on the navigation menu to change some of the default settings for this theme. (Some themes have options page and some don't.)
What's next?
Now that you know how to install plugins and themes, you have the tools to make Wordpress work for you. Here are some more articles to help you get the most out of Wordpress.
1. Five essential plugins There are many plugins to choose from that will match your specific needs, but there are a few that are very useful for everyone. We have collected plugins for including a contact form, traffic statistics, and other essential functions. (And if you've followed this tutorial, you've already installed two of them!)
2. Find the right theme for you. There are many free (and some commercial) themes out there - we'll discuss what to look for, free vs premium themes, and list a few of our favorites, including some simple ones that are great for customizing.
