Installing Wordpress

This tutorial on installing Wordpress on your website is lengthy due to the screenshots I have used to help you, but is fairly easy to follow. If you have a problem with it please email me at pete@blogging-profit.com and I will pleased to help you further.

STEP 1

Before you start installing Wordpress onto your website you first of all need a website! If you don't have one you can't begin yet, and I suggest you check out the bottom of this page: http://www.blogging-profit.com/blogging-for-money.html where I suggest two web hosts that I am currently using.

Once you have a website you need the following:

1. Your website Control Panel login details: no all web hosting services provide you with this, but the two I suggested do. Without these details you don't have full control over your website.
2. In installing Wordpress you need MySQL loaded on your site: again both my recommendations include that. MySQL is a database system that is essential for your blog, and also many other features you might want to introduce to your site. I run an eBay store on one of my subdomains, for example, that cannot work without MySQL, and on another I run an online trivia quiz. All the questions and answers are contained in a MySQL database. Your MySQL could be hidden within a folder named Web hosting Options or File Manager.

STEP 2

Go to your control panel after logging in and look for a link to MySQL – it is likely in one of the directories stated above, but you should be able to find it OK. Installing Wordpress without it is impossible.

Now find a link called 'Database Management' and click on it. That should bring a page looking a bit like this:

Enter a database name into the first box, and then create a user name and password for yourself. You can use what you want, but write them down and keep them in a secure place because you won’t get the password back. The user name, yes, but not the password. There is no password reminder service with MySQL.

Once you are sure you have the name and password you want, then click 'Create MySQL User'.

You should now see a permissions page like this one:

You will likely see that MySQL has added the website name to your user name and database name as mine above (seoscopy_pete). If it does that then when asked for the name of the database and your user name that is what you must provide.

Click on the box beside ALL privileges and again on the button that is labelled 'Grant Permissions' as in the screenshot above , or something similar.

Your database has now been created. The nest steps in installing Wordpress involves downloading it to your hard disk, and then uploading it to your website.

STEP 3

Go to http://www.wordpress.org and look for the download link for Wordpress. It should say 'DOWNLOAD.ZIP'. Click on it and open the file. You will need Winzip for this, so if you don’t have it get it here: http://www.wordpress.com

The instructions are clear from here on, so follow them exactly and you will come across a folder named “Wordpress”. Open it and then double click and open the ‘Read Me’ file.

STEP 4

The next instructions are very important, so follow them EXACTLY!

1. Use a text editor such as Wordpad. Click on ‘File’ the ‘Open’ and then make sure that the file type you are trying to open is set to ‘All Files’ or ‘All Documents’. You should then see some php files in the list.


2. If you can’t see php files, you have not set the file types to ‘All’ so make sure that the boxes at the bottom of the ‘Open’ screen is set to all file types, and not just ‘txt’ or ‘doc’. Make sure that you can see php files.


3. Open the wp-config-sample.php file.

You should see this:

Enter your database name, your user name and your password where stated. Use the website or domain name with the underscore if MySQL has added it (refer to Step 2). Keep the rest the same then save the file as wp-config.php - that is without the 'sample' part.

STEP 5

1. The next step is to upload the files to your website. For that you are best to use an ftp program, and if you don’t have one then the one I swear by is Coreftp, downloadable free from: http://www.coreftp.com


2. You don’t need the pro version so download the free normal version.


3. Open it and you will see a page like this:



The above screen will be empty: the one shown above contains my own site details.

4. Click on 'New Site' and then enter your site name. Now enter the URL in ftp format as I have done above. If your website has the URL http://www.mysite.com, then enter ftp.mysite.com


5. Enter the user name and password you use on your website control panel. If you are not sure what that is contact your web host.


6. The other information fills in by itself, and all you need do now is click on ‘Connect’.

   You should now see a screen like this:

   

7. Using the search box on the left side find the Wordpress folder that you downloaded: the same one that you have just edited. It should show on the screen like mine above.


8. What you can see on the right hand screen is the root directory of my website. Yours will be similar, so open the public_html folder.


9. Highlight the Wordpress folder on the left and then click on the arrow to the right of the search box. The folder and its contents will now be copied from your hard disk to your public_html folder. You will see the progress in the white box at the bottom of the screen.


10. Before installing Wordpress you will likely have chosen a name for your blog. Now change the name of the Wordpress folder to that name. You can see below that I chose BlogonBlog for mine:

Now open /wp-admin/install.php in your browser. The tables required for your blog should now all set. If not, then your settings in wp-config have likely been entered wrongly so check these these. If you still have problems email me or check out the Wordpress forum on http://wordpress.org/support/

You will be given a password at this stage so note it down.

If all is correct you should now be sent to a login page. Log in with the user name Admin and the password that you were provided with. You have now finished installing Wordpress

You can edit the blog from here or use your web editor to edit the index page. Before doing that copy the whole folder and also the index file so that if you screw up you can reload the files.

The best way to learn is to play about with the files and see what you can do with them.

So make the copies, play about with the blog and then email me when you need help on Pete@create-a-blog.net

You should make an attempt to finish yourself, but I don't mind you emailing me for more help from here on.

However remember:

RULE 1: Always make a copy of the original file before changing anything. You can then change back to the original file if something goes wrong.

Installing Wordpress, while not difficult, can be tricky and you don't want to lose any essential files.

RULE 2: Happy Blogging!