Perhaps no system out there is easier to set up than the WordPress CMS. They say it’s a “5 minute” process, and they are not far from wrong. That said, if this is your first time to install one of these products, there are a few things you should be aware of. In this article, I take you for a quick stroll through the WordPress automatic installer, with lots of screenshots to show you what you can expect. Note, text shown in bold and italic indicates text you see on the screen.
Special Note: WordPress 3 System Requirements
WordPress 3 has fairly lenient system requirements. The needs of the system are squarely within the capabilities of most shared hosting environments. Perhaps it’s obvious, but I will say it anyways: Always make sure your hosting environment can support the system prior to attempting installation; if you don’t you’re just asking for headaches and heartbreaks. Here are the basic requirements. (Source: http://wordpress.org/about/requirements/)
| webserver : | Apache, with mod_rewrite (recommended), WordPress can also be run on Nginx, or any server that supports PHP and MySQL |
| database : | MySQL 4.1.2+ (recommended) |
| PHP : | 4.3+ |
STEP 1: Download the files & get them on your server.
Download your copy of the most recent version of WordPress from http://wordpress.org/download/. You can download all the files in your choice of archive format – .zip or .tar.gz. There are quite a few files in the core package, so if you are comfortable moving up to your server the compressed file and extracting it on the server, you will want to do so — its a bit of a time-saver. If not, then extract the files locally and move them to your server with either FTP or your web host’s file manager. In terms of placement on the server: While you can install a WordPress site anywhere inside the directory structure, for the vast majority of people, installing WordPress means putting the files in the root directory.
STEP 2: Create a new database.
The WordPress automated Installer will do a lot of the work for you but you will need to first create a database for the Installer to use. For most of you, that means either firing up the phpMyAdmin installation on your web host, or using whatever tool they give you inside your web hosting control panel. When you create your DB, make sure you note your (1) Database name; (2) Database username; (3) Database password; and (4) Database host. You will need all four pieces of information in STEP 6, below.
STEP 3: Run the installer.
This is simply a matter of pointing your browser to the URL where you placed the files. So, if your new site will be located at http://www.yournewsite.com, then simply visit that address. WordPress will do the rest.
The Installer will first prompt you to create a configuration file.
STEP 4: Create a Configuration File.
This is the first step of the automated WordPress installer. As you can see in the screenshot, the first screen prompts you to create a configuration file (wp-config.php). The system needs this file to hold the basic system settings information. Click the Create a Configuration File button and the system will try to create the file for you. If you are successful, you will automatically move along to the next step in the installation process. If you are not successful, you will need to create this file manually. Manual creation is a simple matter: Access on the server the directory where you placed the WordPress CMS files; you will see there a file named wp-config-sample.php. Copy that file and rename the copy wp-config.php. That’s all you need to do. Now go back to the browser and run the installer again (or simply click the refresh button if the installer is still open in the window). If all is well, the system will advance to the next step in the installation process, discussed below.
Get ready for the database installation...
STEP 5: Get ready for database configuration.
The next screen you will see is an informational page — shown at right. This page simply reminds you that you need to have a database ready to go and advises you to have the necessary information before proceeding to the next step.
STEP 6: Database configuration.
Enter here the details of your database and click Submit.
Enter here the information you noted when you created your database. Four of the fields shown, Database Name, User Name, Password and Database Host are required. The Table Prefix field is optional and really only necessary if you wish to run multiple WordPress installations on a single database.
OK, everything's ready, time for the Installer to do the work.
After you have input the necessary data, click the Submit button. If you were successful, you will see the confirmation screen, as shown in the screenshot on the right. If, on the other hand, you are not successful, first double check the information you input. If you are confident it is correct, then you will need to enter the information manually into the configuration file. Simply open wp-config.php file (located on the server in the same directory as your WordPress installation), fill in the database information (the place to do this is obvious once you have the file open), and save the file. After you have done this, reload the installer page in your browser window and everything should be fine.
STEP 7: (Basic) Site configuration.
Enter basic site configuration information in these fields.
This page prompts you for basic site information: the site’s name, the username and password for the administrator, etc. Fill in all fields, as shown at left, then click Install WordPress and the let the software work its magic… (Note you can always adjust these settings at any time after installation from inside the WordPress admin system.)
STEP 8: Congrats!
The final step in the Installer.
The Installer wraps things up with the Success! screen, shown at right. There’s nothing to do here but click the Log In button to get started. After this, you will leave the Installer and the browser will go to the standard WordPress admin login screen (http://www.yournewsite.com/wp-login.php). Enter the username and password you provided in Step 6, above, then click the Log In button; the WordPress admin Dashboard will load in your browser.
That’s it — you’re done. The new Installer is fast and painless. Assuming a good connection and a bit of confidence with the tools, the total time from start to finish (including moving the files up to the server and creating the database) should be about 15 minutes — OK, not the 5 minutes WordPress promises, but hey, you can’t complain — it’s pretty durn easy!
2 comments
Kristina McInerny
January 9, 2011 at 00:47 (UTC 8) Link to this comment
Excellent. I’ll RT this. I use cPanel and Fantastico and 90% of the time it goes smoothly. The other 10%…well, it’s good to get the experience and exposure.
Ric
January 9, 2011 at 01:16 (UTC 8) Link to this comment
Thanks, Kristina. I generally shy away from the automated installers. I’ve had problems in the past with permissions / ownership of files and directories as the result of the use of those systems, so I always use the WordPress/Joomla/Drupal Installer instead. It may mean a tad more time at setup, but if you contrast that with getting part way through a project only to then run into permissions difficulties, I personally find the trade-off worth it! (Murphy’s Law says the latter always happens after many man hours are invested or when you are on deadline!!)
best,
ric