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How to install WordPress

By Ash, Founder, HosteazePublished 2 min read

The short answer

The quickest way to install WordPress is your hosting control panel's one-click installer, which takes a few minutes. To install it by hand, create a MySQL or MariaDB database and user, upload the WordPress files from wordpress.org to your web folder, then visit your domain and follow the setup screens. Afterwards, set your permalinks, timezone and HTTPS address.

A seedling planted in a small mound of soil on a potting bench beside terracotta pots, a new site ready to grow.
Credit: Ylanite via Pixabay

WordPress's famous promise is a five-minute install, and with a one-click installer it really is that quick. Installing by hand takes a bit longer but teaches you where everything lives, which pays off the first time something breaks. Either way, the setup you do in the first ten minutes afterwards matters as much as the install itself.

Which installation method should I use?

MethodTimeBest forDownside
Host's one-click installerA few minutesMost peopleSome installers add extra plugins you may want to remove
Manual installLonger, mostly uploadingLearning, or hosts without an installerMore steps where a typo can trip you up
Pre-installed by your hostNoneAnyone who'd rather skip itLess control over setup choices

Many hosts offer a one-click installer in their control panel. Look for "WordPress" or "Apps", choose your domain and follow the prompts.

What do I need before I start?

  1. A domain name pointed at your hosting. See how to point a domain to a website.
  2. Hosting that meets WordPress's recommended requirements. As of October 2026 that's PHP 8.3 or greater, MariaDB 10.11 or greater (or MySQL 8.0 or greater) and HTTPS support. See which PHP version WordPress should use.
  3. An SSL certificate on your domain, so the site starts life on https.
  4. Your hosting control panel login and SFTP details.

How do I install WordPress manually?

  1. Download the latest WordPress from wordpress.org/download and unzip it on your computer.
  2. In your hosting control panel, create a new database. Many shared hosts add your account name as a prefix, such as acme_wp.
  3. Create a database user with a strong password and give it all privileges on that database. Write down the database name, username, password and database host (usually localhost).
  4. Connect by SFTP and upload everything inside the wordpress folder, not the folder itself, into your web root. Hosts name this differently; public_html is common.
  5. Visit your domain in a browser. WordPress asks for your language, then your database details, and writes the wp-config.php file for you.
  6. Enter a site title, an admin username (not "admin"), a strong password and your email address, then click Install WordPress.

If you see a database error at step 5, the details don't match. Check them against your control panel, letter by letter.

What should I set up straight after installing?

  1. Go to Settings > General. Check that both WordPress Address and Site Address start with https://, and set your timezone (London, for UK businesses).
  2. Go to Settings > Permalinks and choose Post name, so addresses read /contact rather than /?p=12.
  3. Delete the sample post and sample page that every new install includes.
  4. Delete any themes and plugins you won't use.
  5. Set up backups before you add content. Our guide on how to back up a WordPress site shows how.

Then pick a lightweight theme and start building. If you haven't decided whether self-hosted WordPress is right for you, WordPress.com vs WordPress.org explains the difference.

Step by step

  1. 1.Check your hosting

    Make sure your hosting supports PHP 8.3 or greater, MariaDB 10.11 or MySQL 8.0 or greater, and HTTPS.

  2. 2.Create a database

    In your hosting control panel, create a database and a database user with all privileges on it, and note the details.

  3. 3.Upload WordPress

    Download WordPress from wordpress.org/download, unzip it and upload the contents of the wordpress folder to your web root by SFTP.

  4. 4.Run the installer

    Visit your domain, choose a language, enter the database details, then set your site title, admin username, password and email.

  5. 5.Set up the basics

    Set permalinks to Post name, choose your timezone and confirm both site addresses start with https.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to install WordPress?

With a one-click installer, a few minutes. A manual install takes longer the first time, and most of that is creating the database and waiting for files to upload.

Should I tick Discourage search engines from indexing this site?

Only while you're building the site and don't want it in Google yet. Untick it under Settings, Reading before you launch. A forgotten tick is a common reason a new site never appears in search results.

Do I need to know how to code to install WordPress?

No. You'll need to create a database in your hosting control panel and possibly upload files by SFTP, but there's no coding involved. After installation, everything is done through the WordPress dashboard.

Sources

  1. WordPress Advanced Administration Handbook, How to install WordPress
  2. WordPress.org, Requirements
  3. WordPress.org, Download WordPress
  4. WordPress.org Documentation, Settings Reading Screen

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