- You’ve made the huge decision to start your own business
- You’ve realized having a web site is crucial to your success
- You’ve brainstormed and researched and decided on a domain name
- You’ve secured your domain name
- You’ve signed up for a web hosting account
- You’ve made up your mind that you really want a WordPress web site to run your new venture
Now what? Install WordPress!
Well, now it’s time to tackle the real behind the scenes work of installing and configuring your site. Hold on! Don’t freak out! This post is for users that are new to web hosting and WordPress. If you used one of the better web hosting companies (like SiteGround ) you’re in luck. Most hosting providers have a quick installer that walks you through the steps of installing WordPress. It’s truly very easy. I’ve included a link from SiteGround that explains, step by step, the process for installing WordPress. This is the process to use if you want to do a manual install of WordPress. But, there’s a much easier way to install WordPress.
Assuming you’ve used a reputable web host, the place to start is by logging into your web host account. This will bring you to the main hub of your account. Once you’re logged in you’ll want to find where the applications available for you to use are. SiteGround (and most hosting companies) use cPanel. cPanel is a web based control panel tool which will help you manage your web hosting account through a web interface instead of a console. With cPanel you are able to accomplish your tasks faster and even non-professionals can easily set their websites via cPanel.
Once in the cPanel click the WordPress icon in the Auto Installers section, then click the Install button. Next you’ll enter the domain name you want to use for this install. One thing to consider at this point is if you want to set up your WordPress in a subfolder or install to the main directory. If you want your web site to work at a URL like yourdomainname.com then you would install it at the main or top level directory. If you want the domain name itself to use WordPress, the directory field should only have”/” entered . If you wanted something like support.yourdomainname.com then you would select the subdomain option and type in “support” in the correct field (without the quotes!) If you want the domain name itself to use WordPress, the directory field should only have”/” entered. This is the usual install directory you’ll want to use. Finally, you will need to enter a username and password as well as an email address.
