Kim Avery Coaching

How to Install WordPress

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Now that you have purchased your domain name and secured your hosting package, it is time to install WordPress.

This is going to get just a little bit techy, so if those things make you nervous, don’t panic. You can do this. You’ve come this far, and you can make it to the finish line.

There are two ways to install WordPress: manually and automagically. We’re going with the automated option. But it you want to really DIY, WordPress.org will give you the full set of instructions.

Install WordPress the easy way

Regardless of your hosting company, you will need to access your Hosting Dashboard. For some companies, like GoDaddy, this is accomplished by going through the company-provided interface. For other companies, like HostGator, you will log into your CPanel interface using your website domain.

Once you are in the Hosting Dashboard, you will choose the option that will let you install WordPress.

Your dashboard may show the WordPress Icon, and if it does, then of course, you would choose that option.

Alternatively, your dashboard may offer you the option of Fantastico Deluxe. Choose that, even though it doesn’t say WordPress.

Choices, choices, and more choices…

Next you will be given some choices:

  • Which domain do you want to install WordPress on? That’s easy if you only have one!
  • Where do you want it installed? If this is a new installation of WordPress, you will probably want it to be installed in the ‘root’ directory – that is the home directory.
  • Username – the default Admin account is admin. Choose something different. Every hacker knows the default user is “admin” and you don’t want to help anybody hack your site.
  • Password – creating a strong password is also a deterrent to hackers. The best passwords are comprised of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

Once you have made all your choices, the system will create a MySQL Database, assign a user and password, and give you more information than you probably want about it. Make sure you write down your WordPress Username and Password. The other information you can retrieve from within the Hosting Dashboard if you ever need it.

You did it!

Congratulations! You have now successfully installed WordPress on your domain, and you are ready to go forth and create a glorious website! I’m proud of you for sticking it out to the end.

Next week we will begin to explore what is inside, but for now, you can go in and poke around if you want.

By default, your website now has one sample post called “Hello World” – you can see it by typing your domain name into the address bar of your browser. Next week we will create a Coming Soon page.

And you can log in to the Dashboard using your new Username and Password by adding a forward-slash and wp-admin after your domain name. Like this:  www.YourDomainName.com/wp-admin

It is always exciting to me to see a new domain show up after I install WordPress. I’d love to hear how you felt when you saw your site for the first time – you can tell me in the comment area.


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