Wordpress manual installation

Step 1: Download the installation archive from the WordPress download section by clicking on "Download.zip" or "Download.tar.gz". This way you will get the latest stable release of the WordPress application.

Step 2: Upload it to the public_html folder of your hosting account. You can do that via FTP with a client like Filezilla or via cPanel -> File Manager -> Upload file(s). This way, after the installation is completed, the WordPress blog will appear once you visit your website.

Another option is to create a subfolder in your hosting account and upload the archive in it. The WordPress installation will be accessible at:

https://www.yourdomainname.com/subfolder

Step 3: When you are in cPanel -> File Manager, navigate to the uploaded file and extract it by clicking on "Extract". The other option is to extract the file on your computer and then to upload the content in the desired folder via FTP.

Step 4: Once the files are extracted in the desired folder, you should create a MySQL database for WordPress. You can do that from cPanel -> MySQL Databases. Detailed instructions how to do so can be found in our MySQL tutorial.

Step 5: Rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and edit it. Fill in your database connection details in the following lines:

define('DB_NAME', ''); // The name of the database
define('DB_USER', ''); // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', ''); // ...and password

Please note that you should type the full name of the database and the MySQL user. Let's assume that your cPanel username is "mynewsit" and your domain name is mynewsite.com. If the name of your database is "wpress", the user is "wpuser" and the password for the MySQL user is "0la;mip" you should update the lines in the wp-config.php file to:

define('DB_NAME', 'mynewsit_wpress');
define('DB_USER', 'mynewsit_wpuser');
define('DB_PASSWORD', '0la;mip');

You can also change the default database prefix in order to secure your WordPress installation.


Step 6: Open in your browser:
www.yourdomainname.com/where_wordpress_is_extracted/wp-admin/install.php

This should set up the tables needed for your blog. If there is an error, double check your wp-config.php file, and try again.

Step 7: The installation procedure is finished. You can save the administrative username and the password. You will need them to access the WordPress installation admin backend in the future.

Automated Wordpress Installation

Automated installation is usually done by the hosting companies which employ softwares like fantastico for automated installation.

Explained below are steps from an hosting company.

• Log into your website’s cPanel account, then click on the Fantastico icon.
• From the Fantastico interface, scroll down until you see the Blogs section and just below it, you should see WordPress in the list. Click on the WordPress link.
• To the right, you will be provided with some information about the version of WordPress you will be able to install. Take a moment to ensure that it’s up to date. If all is well, click on New Installation.
• You should arrive at the first of three steps in the one-click installation process. Here, you’ll be able to determine which folder you’d like to have WordPress installed to, as well as some other blog information
  • Installation Location. If you want your blog to be your website’s homepage, ensure that you leave the space blank, otherwise type in the name of the folder you want WordPress installed to (make sure it doesn’t already exist).
  • Admin access data. Choose the username and password you’d like to use in order to access the WordPress admin panel after installation is completed.
  • Base configuration. Type a nickname you’d like to use throughout the blog. By default, the nickname is used whenever you leave comments or write an entry on the blog, so choose something you don’t mind the world seeing. The admin e-mail address is where notices, passwords, and other information about the administration of the blog is sent. Your blog’s name and description should be self-explanatory.
  • E-mail account configuration. You only need to worry about this if you plan to blog via e-mail. If you’ve set up a special e-mail account that you’ll use for blogging via e-mail, then enter the settings where applicable. (Bear in mind, you will need to enter an e-mail account password in order to proceed with the installation, simply use a false one if you don’t plan to blog via e-mail.)
  • When your blog information is complete, click on the Install WordPress button at the bottom.
• Verify that the information you provided is correct and click on Finish installation. Fantastico will create a brand new database for you and create the necessary WordPress files.
• Confirmation Message When the process is complete, you will receive a confirmation notice with the details of the installation. If you’d like a copy of the report for your records, you’ll have the option to send an e-mail to an account of your choosing.

But automated installations also pose problems as

• Updated versions of WordPress or any script are not immediately released on Fantastico and it can have a delay of several days when the latest version of a script arrives on Fantastico and if you remember the release of 2.8.4 WordPress, delay of a few days can be fatal for your blog given the kind of security loophole that was found in 2.8.3 and versions below it.
• Fantastico bypasses almost all settings used for installing and directly takes to you to the installed script and you can lose quite a few setting options which you could have chosen had you done manuall install. Now in case of WordPress, you can’t choose the custom setting while install to keep your blog private.  You need to do it manually via Settings panel from Wp-Dashboard afterwards and keeping in mind that it was turned off in last few versions of WordPress, many users found their blog not being indexed in search engines and lost quite a lot of traffic.
• You will never learn to configure or install script if needed in emergency – Choosing Fantasctio every time will make you think installing php scripts is a breeze and you may never try to bother learning to install it manually. Doing manual install can make you aware of lot of common problems and tweaks you can use to improve script performance or even troubleshoot yourself in case of a problem later.
• You can not customise database options while installing. For example, you can’t choose a descriptive name for your database, database prefix or even tell fantastico to use a existing database user.
• Fantastico does not know how to do upgrades – Well this is one thing Fantastico does worse. It does not know how to perform perfect upgrades since they never created those scripts. It can work sometimes or break the install completely on next time. In case you have modified any core file or done some hack, Fantastico won’t upgrade the script in such case.