How to install WordPress?

How to install WordPress?

WordPress is famous for its five-minute installation. Many commercial web hosts offer one-click
installation from their account control panels. If your host does not, you can
upload the WordPress files to your web directory. You can complete the installation using the web interface, or you can create a configuration file based on the sample included in the WordPress download.

How to install WordPress - System Requirements

WordPress’s requirements are modest. At minimum, your server should support:

• PHP version 4.3 or greater

• MySQL version 4.0 or greater

•  For clean URLs, a URL rewriting module that understands .htaccess directives, such as mod_rewrite on Apache or URL Rewrite on IIS 7

         Your host should list these features and version numbers in the description of hosting plans or the support area (or both). Note that PHP 4 reached its end of life in 2008 and is no longer supported by its developers. While WordPress will run on these older versions, I highly recommend using a web host that supports PHP 5.

How to install WordPress - One-click Installation

A number of web hosts offer one-click installation of WordPress via the control panel, usually using the Fantastico application installer. In actuality, it really takes about half a dozen clicks, so I’ll walk you
through it. (If your host doesn't offer Fantastico or another one-click option, you’ll need to see the
“Installation using the Web Interface” section of this chapter.)

           First, locate the Fantastico icon in your host’s control panel. You’ll see a list of applications that
Fantastico can install for you; WordPress is in the blogs category. Once you’ve chosen WordPress, you’ll see an informational screen letting you know how much disk space is required and that one of your MySQL databases will be used.

           On the following screen, you’ll be asked to fill in some information. Fantastico will create a database and user for you, but you still need to specify which of your domains (if you have more than one) you want WordPress to be installed on. You also need to specify the administrator account username, email address, and password you want to use for WordPress. Finally, you’ll be asked to give your new site a name and a description. All of these things can be changed later in the WordPress settings, so it’s OK if you aren’t sure yet. Just make up something!

            When you’re ready, press Install WordPress, and in a moment you’ll see a confirmation screen. Make sure you know the password (or copy it to your clipboard), then proceed to the Logging In section later in this chapter.