How to Install WordPress: Complete Beginner's Guide

Installing WordPress is the first step toward building your website. Whether you are creating a blog, a business website, or an online store, getting WordPress installed and configured properly sets the foundation for everything that follows.

The good news is that WordPress is designed to be easy to install. Most hosting providers offer one-click installation that gets you up and running in under five minutes. But even if you need to install manually, the process is straightforward.

In this guide, we walk you through both methods step by step.

What You Need Before Installing WordPress

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A domain name: Your website's address (e.g., mywebsite.com). See our domain name guide if you have not chosen one yet.
• Web hosting: A hosting account that supports PHP 7.4+ and MySQL 5.6+. Our hosting guide can help you choose.
• FTP client (for manual install): FileZilla is free and works on all platforms.
• Text editor (for manual install): Notepad++, Sublime Text, or VS Code.
• A modern web browser: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.

Method 1: One-Click Installation

Most hosting providers offer one-click WordPress installation through tools like Softaculous, QuickInstall, or their proprietary installer. This is the easiest and fastest method.

Step 1: Log into your hosting control panel
Access your hosting account and navigate to the control panel (usually cPanel, Plesk, or a custom panel).

Step 2: Find the WordPress installer
Look for an icon labeled "WordPress," "Softaculous," "QuickInstall," or "Website Builder." Click it.

Step 3: Start the installation
Click "Install" or "Install Now." You will be asked for:

• Domain: Select the domain where you want to install WordPress
• Directory: Leave blank to install in the root (recommended for most users)
• Site name: Your website's title
• Site description: A brief tagline
• Admin username: Choose something other than "admin" for security
• Admin password: Use a strong, unique password
• Admin email: Your email address

Step 4: Complete the installation
Click "Install" and wait for the process to complete. You should see a success message with your new WordPress admin URL (yourdomain.com/wp-admin).

That is it — WordPress is installed and ready to use.

Method 2: Manual Installation

Manual installation gives you more control and is useful when one-click installation is not available or when you need a custom setup.

Step 1: Download WordPress
Go to wordpress.org/download and download the latest version of WordPress. You will get a .zip file.

Step 2: Upload files to your server
Connect to your server using FileZilla (FTP credentials are in your hosting control panel). Navigate to the public_html directory (or your domain's document root). Upload the WordPress .zip file and extract it there. Alternatively, extract the zip locally and upload the individual files.

Step 3: Create a MySQL database
In your hosting control panel, navigate to "MySQL Databases." Create a new database, create a new MySQL user, and add the user to the database with "All Privileges." Note down the database name, username, password, and host (usually "localhost").

Step 4: Configure wp-config.php
In your WordPress files, find wp-config-sample.php and rename it to wp-config.php. Open it in a text editor and update these values with the database information from Step 3:

• DB_NAME — your database name
• DB_USER — your database username
• DB_PASSWORD — your database password
• DB_HOST — usually "localhost"

Also replace the unique authentication keys and salts. You can generate these at api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/.

Step 5: Run the installation script
Visit yourdomain.com in your browser. WordPress will detect that it is not configured and launch the installation wizard. Enter your site title, admin username, password, and email address.

Step 6: Complete installation
Click "Install WordPress." You should see a success message. Log into your new admin dashboard at yourdomain.com/wp-admin.

Configuring wp-config.php

The wp-config.php file contains important settings beyond database credentials. Here are the key configuration options:

Table prefix: The default is wp_. For security, change it to something unique like wp_x7k9_. This makes it harder for attackers to guess your table names.

Debug mode: Set WP_DEBUG to true during development to see PHP errors. Always set to false on production sites: define('WP_DEBUG', false);

Memory limit: Increase PHP memory if you experience memory exhaustion: define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

File editing: Disable the built-in file editor for security: define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);

First Steps After Installation

After installing WordPress, complete these essential setup tasks:

1. Delete default content: Remove the "Hello World" post, sample page, and default comment
2. Set your timezone: Settings > General > Timezone
3. Configure permalinks: Settings > Permalinks > Post name (most SEO-friendly)
4. Delete unused themes: Keep only your active theme and one default fallback
5. Install essential plugins: SEO, caching, security, backup, contact form
6. Firm up security: Change the default "admin" username, enable strong passwords
7. Set up SSL: Force HTTPS if your host provides free SSL

Choose and Install a Theme

Your theme determines your site's design and layout. Browse the WordPress theme directory (Appearance > Themes > Add New) or upload a premium theme. For beginners, we recommend starting with a free, lightweight theme:

• GeneratePress — fast, clean, highly customizable
• Astra — modern, many starter templates
• Kadence — feature-rich, excellent performance

Install Essential Plugins

Set Up Permalinks

Permalinks control the structure of your URLs. The default format (yourdomain.com/?p=123) is not SEO-friendly. Go to Settings > Permalinks and select "Post name" (yourdomain.com/sample-post/). This creates clean, readable URLs that help with SEO and user experience.

Delete Default Content

WordPress comes with sample content that should be deleted before launching your site:

• Hello World post (delete the post and the default comment)
• Sample Page
• Default widgets (remove from Appearance > Widgets)

Installation Troubleshooting

Common installation issues and their solutions:

"Error establishing database connection": Check your wp-config.php database credentials. Verify the database exists and the user has proper permissions.

White screen of death: Usually caused by a PHP memory limit or plugin conflict. Increase WP_MEMORY_LIMIT in wp-config.php or disable plugins by renaming the plugins folder via FTP.

500 Internal Server Error: Often caused by a corrupt .htaccess file. Rename .htaccess to .htaccess_old and let WordPress generate a new one.

Maintenance mode stuck: Delete the .maintenance file from your WordPress root directory.

WordPress installation is straightforward, whether you use the one-click method or install manually. Once installed, take the time to configure the essentials properly.

First Steps After Installation

Immediately after installation, complete these essential tasks: delete the default "Hello World" post, sample page, and comment; set your timezone in Settings > General; configure permalinks to "Post name" structure in Settings > Permalinks; delete unused themes (keep only your active theme); update the default tagline from "Just another WordPress site"; set your site language; and configure your reading settings (static page vs latest posts for homepage).

Essential Post-Installation Configuration

Configure your discussion settings to prevent spam: require comment moderation, require name and email for comments, and enable comment moderation for first-time commenters. Set up your media settings: configure image sizes (thumbnail, medium, large) to match your theme's dimensions. Disable image organization by date to keep your uploads folder manageable.

Creating a Child Theme

If you plan to customize your theme's code, always create a child theme first. A child theme inherits all functionality and styling from the parent theme while keeping your customizations separate. This means you can update the parent theme without losing your changes. Creating a child theme requires creating a new directory with a style.css file and functions.php file, or using a child theme plugin.

Setting Up Google Tools

Connect your site to Google services from day one: submit your sitemap to Google Search Console for indexing, install Google Analytics for traffic tracking, connect Google Tag Manager for marketing pixels, and verify domain ownership for Google services. These tools provide invaluable data that helps you make informed decisions about your site's growth.