USING THE WORDPRESS ONE-CLICK INSTALL
These web hosting companies support one-click WordPress installation:
. BlueHost : www.bluehost.com
. DreamHost : www.dreamhost.com
. GoDaddy : https://www.godaddy.com
. Laughing Squid : http://laughingsquid.net
. Media Temple : http://mediatemple.net
Other web hosting services may support a simplified installation of WordPress. Be sure to ask any web hosting service you’re looking at whether it offers one-click service.
SETTING UP YOUR WORDPRESS BLOG
If you host your own blog with a web hosting service, you have to upload a blog application to your server.
You set up a MySQL database into which each blog post is saved. Most blog applications use PHP code to parse a visitor’s request and serve up a blog post. If this task is beyond your technical ability, you can ask your web hosting service for assistance.
We recommend using WordPress. This robust blogging application is well documented.
Follow these steps to set up a blog on your own domain:
1. Set up a MySQL database on your domain. You usually complete this step on your web site control panel. Check with your web hosting service for
more information on setting up a MySQL database. When you set up the database, write down the path to the database on your server, as well as
your username and password. You need this information in order to configure the blog.
2. Download the WordPress application from wordpress.org/download.
3. Extract the documents from the zipped file.
4. Rename the file wp-config.sample.php to wp-config.php. This document is further modified to include the information to open the MySQL database.
5. Modify the wp-config.php document. Include the path to your MySQL database, database username, and database password. Installation instructions
are on the web page http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress. The link named The Famous Five Minute Installation, tells you everything
you need to know to install WordPress on your web site.
6. Use your favorite FTP client to upload the files to your web site. If you’re WordPress is the basis for your web site, upload the files to the root directory.
If you have an existing web site to which you’re adding the blog, create on your web site a folder named blog and upload WordPress to it.
7. Run the Installation Program. If you uploaded WordPress in the root directory of your web site, the path to the installation program is
http://www.mysite.com/wp-admin/install.php. If you upload WordPress to a folder named blog, the path
is http://www.mysite.com/blog/wp-install.php. If you’ve done everything correctly, a page tells you that the installation was successful. It also
shows your blog username and password.
8. Write down your username and password. You may be tempted to change your password to one that’s easier to remember. Don’t do it. If the password
is easy to decipher, your blog is prone to hackers.
HOSTING YOUR BLOG WITH WORDPRESS
If you don’t need the features of a web hosting service, consider hosting your blog with WordPress. It’s free and you still get all the features of the robust WordPress application. To host a blog with WordPress, follow these steps:
1. Launch your favorite web browser and navigate to www.wordpress.com. The site’s home page appears.
2. Click the Sign Up Now button. The browser refreshes and displays the information required to set up a WordPress blog.
3. Enter a username and password, confirm the password, and then enter your email address. Choose a username that reflects your business. If the name
of your business is long, consider an acronym that users associate with your business. Remember that some people have to type this information on
the address bar of their browsers. Your username becomes part of the URL for your blog. Eg: myblog.wordpress.com
4. Accept the terms and the option to create a blog, and then click Next. Your browser refreshes. Showing the URL of your blog and its title. You can
make changes to the URL and the blog title, but you can’t make those changes after you click the Signup button. Be sure to double-check them.
5. Click Signup. The Check Your Email to Complete Registration page appears. This page notifies you that a message has been sent to your email address.
You have to respond to it to complete the signup process. On this page, you can also update your profile. Add your first and last names and create a
brief bio in the About Yourself section.
6. Click Save Profile. This option saves your profile to the blog database.
7. Check your email. You should have a message from WordPress.com.
8. Click the link to activate your blog. A web page appears, telling you that your account is active. At this point, you can log into your blog. The Dashboard
then opens – a place where you can manage your blog, add new users, create posts, and more.
CREATING A FREE BLOG AT WORDPRESS.COM
If starting a free blog with limited functionality is all you need to meet your blogging goals, WordPress.com is a good choice for your blogging application. As soon as your blog is live, you can publish posts using the simple WYSIWYG post editor.
Creating a new account and a blog using WordPress.com require only a few steps:
1. Visit www.wordpress.com and click the Sign Up Now button on the right side of your screen. This step takes you to the new account creation page.
2. Complete the sign up form on the Get Your Own WordPress Account in Seconds page and click the Next button at the bottom of the form.
Be sure the Radio button next to Gimme a Blog! (like username .wordpress.com) is selected. You arrive at the next page of the sign up process.
3. Compete the form by entering your new blog’s domain name and title and choosing a language. Then click the Sign Up button at the bottom of the page.
Keep in mind, your first domain name choice might already be taken. Also, you can change your blog’s title later, so don’t stress about that now.
Be sure the check box in the Privacy section is selected if you want your blog to be included in search engines to drive search traffic.
4. Check your email box for a registration confirmation message from WordPress, which includes a link that you must click to complete your registration.
You should receive your registration confirmation email very quickly. If you don’t, check your email spam folder.
5. Click the link in your registration confirmation email.
A new page opens in your web browser, telling you that your account is active.
If you forgot the username and password you used to create your account, another message will be sent to you from WordPress with that information, so don’t worry!
6. On the Your Account Is Now Active! Page, click the link that is your blog’s domain name. Your live blog opens, using the default WordPress theme and content.
7. In the right sidebar, under the meta heading, click the Log In Link. This step opens the WordPress.com login page for your blog account.
8. Enter the WordPress username and password you used to create your new blog account and then click the Log In button. This step opens your
WordPress account dashboard, so you can begin configuring your blog settings and publishing content.
INSTALLING WORDPRESS.ORG
WordPress.org requires more work up front to create a new blog than WordPress.com does, first, you need to obtain a web hosting account to store your blog’s data. After you obtain a web hosting account, you need to purchase a domain name for your new blog.
When you have a web hosting account and a domain name, you can upload WordPress to your web hosting account, associate it with your domain name, and start your new blog. This section walks you through the steps to create, customize, and publish content to a new blog created using WordPress.org with BlueHost as the web host.
Some web hosting companies make it easier to install WordPress.org than others do, which is an important factor to consider when selecting your web hosting service. For example, some web hosts require that you manually download the WordPress.org application from the WordPress web site and upload all the files to your web hosting account. This can be cumbersome and challenging process if you’re not technologically savvy.
Fortunately, many web hosting companies offer WordPress installation through an easy-to-use cPanel (control panel) and one-click install tools such as Fantastico. With the simple click of your mouse on an icon in your web hosting account cPanel, you can install WordPress to your chosen domain in seconds.
If you’re not technically adept, be sure to choose a web host that includes a user cPanel and offers one-click installation of WordPress through Fantastico or Simple Scripts.
Following are the simplest steps to install WordPress to a new domain that has already been purchased using BlueHost:
1. Log in to your web hosting account cPanel and click the Fantastico De Luxe icon to software installation. The Fantastico icon is located about halfway down
the cPanel main page. Clicking this icon takes you to the Fantastico page.
2. Click the WordPress link in the left sidebar or in the center of your screen. Both WordPress links lead you to the same place, the WordPress installation page.
3. Click the New Installation link in the center of the page. This step allows you to begin the process of installing WordPress to your new domain. You arrive
at the WordPress installation configuration page.
4. Select the domain that you want to install WordPress to from the dropdown list, fill in the text boxes, and then click the Install WordPress button. You
must also enter a username and password to access your new WordPress account as well as your nickname, email address, site name and description
to complete the base configurations for your new blog.
After you click the Install WordPress button, you’re taken to the confirmation page.
5. Review the confirmation details related to your installation and click the Finish Installation button. Road the information provided in the confirmation details
to ensure accurate information is shown.
When you click the Finish Installation button, a page displays with your login information as well as an option to have your installation details emailed to you.
6. Click the link to view your new WordPress site. Your new blog is now live using the default WordPress theme and information. You can log into your
WordPress dashboard by using the link provided to you upon completion of your WordPress installation or by clicking the LogIn link under the meta
heading in the right sidebar of your new blog.
Notice that after initial installation, the WordPress.org blog looks just like the WordPress.com blog.