One of the best features of WordPress is that it is extremely easy to use. Even if you have never worked with WordPress earlier or used it in any of your operations, it will only take you a minute or two to figure out its installation procedure and to actually install WordPress on your system. In order to make the process of installation of WordPress easy, we are presenting you some important guidelines to you here. However, if you do not wish to install WordPress on your system manually, then you can even make use the automatic WordPress installation service offered by a number of web hosts on the Internet.

An important thing to remember before you start installing WordPress on your system manually is to check if your computer system as the minimum requirements to run WordPress. Also, it is important that you have a domain name and open a web hosting account in order to install WordPress without any hassle. In case you have already done that, then you are ready to install WordPress on your computer system.

Download WordPress

You have checked the minimum requirements for the installation of WordPress and checked that your computer system is compatible, and now you are ready to set up WordPress on your system. The first step in the process of manual installation of WordPress is to download the latest version of WordPress from the Internet. For this purpose, you can visit the website, http://wordpress.org/download/. On this website, you must click on the link ‘Download Zip’. Save this file on your computer, preferably on the desktop where you can find it easily, and then unzip the contents of the file.

Unzip the WordPress Folder

While unzipping a file or a folder is quite a simple task, but in case you are unfamiliar with the process, we will help you unzip the contents of this file. You should know that most computers have a built-in zip and unzip application. But, if you are not aware whether your computer has one or not, you can run a check on your system. You can right click on the WordPress file just downloaded by you and click on the ‘Extract All’ option. This small process will unzip the WordPress file on your computer system.

However, if your computer is not equipped with a built-in zip and unzip application, then, you will have to download one from the Internet. The relevant program is known as Stuffit Expander. This program is compatible with PCs and Macintoshes. You can also download another program called 7-zip. After you have downloaded a zip and unzip application, you can follow the same procedure for unzipping the WordPress file as mentioned above.

Download FTP Program

The next step in the process is setting up of your FTP program. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. With the help of this FTP file, you will be able to copy files from your computer system to the web hosting account opened by you. An FTP program is not difficult to find. You can easily look for this program on the Internet. One of the most popular FTP programs available on the Internet is called ‘Filezilla’. This program is available free of cost. You can either download this program on your computer system or use the file manager or control panel on your web hosting account to store it.

Configure FTP Account

After you have successfully downloaded the FTP program on your computer system, you will need to make a note of your FTP program details so that you are able to access and upload files on your web host. You can get details such as your domain name, username and your FTP account password from your web host.

Using Your CPanel

Now you have the information you need to be able to log on to your web hosting account. After you have logged in, you must open your file manager and upload the WordPress folder to your root directory.

Upload WordPress to Your Server

Once you have uploaded the WordPress folder to your root directory, the next thing you need to do is to upload your WordPress program on your web host’s server. For this purpose, you will need to open your FTP program and connect your FTP program to your web host’s server. Here, you will have to choose between placing your FTP program on either in the root directory of your web host’s server, or storing it as a sub-directory. Personally, I place mine in a subdirectory because I run several different websites on the same server, and it just makes things a lot easier by keeping them separate. Once you have made your choice, then you can upload all your files and directories in your WordPress folder in there.

Configure Your MySQL Database with Your Web Host

The next step after uploading the files is to find a link on your web hosting account’s control panel. This is done to set up a MySQL database there. In order to set up the MySQL database, you will have a click on hyperlink called ‘Create database’. You will be asked to enter the name of your database and its password as well. Now you have the name of your database, the password of your database, its username and its hostname. Check with your web hosts to see if your database’s hostname is the local host.

Enter Your Database Information into Your WordPress Configuration File Manually

While you are in the process of installing WordPress on your computer system, remember not to change any setting unless you are specifically asked to do so by the WordPress tutorial.

Next, you will need to open the WordPress folder located on your desktop and look for a file called ‘wp-config-sample’. Make use of applications such as Notepad or Wordpad to open this file. Once you open the wordpress file, you will see the following lines there:

// ** MySQL settings - You can get this info from your web host ** //

/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define ('DB_NAME', 'putyourdbnamehere');

/** MySQL database username */
define('DB_USER', 'usernamehere');

/** MySQL database password */
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'yourpasswordhere');

/** MySQL hostname */
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

It is here that you will enter all the database-related information collected by you in the previous step. While entering your database information here, remember to use (‘) before and after every information you enter. After you have entered all the information about your database here, save the file as ‘wp-config.php’. Make sure the file name is correct, and then, upload the file to your server in the WordPress folder.

Run the WordPress Install Script

After you have installed WordPress in your server’s root directory, open your web browser and enter the following URL there:

http://www.mydomain.com/wp-admin/install.php. Here, you will obviously have to replace ‘mydomainname’ with your actual domain name. In case you have installed WordPress in a sub-directory, you will need to open your web browser and enter the following URL there:

http://www.mydomain.com/wp-admin/install.php Again, you will need to enter your actual domain name in the address instead of writing ‘mydomainname’. Also, you will have to replace the term ‘sub-directory’ with the actual name of the sub-directory created by you.

The steps mentioned above are very simple and will help you in installing WordPress quite easily. However, if you do experience trouble in installing WordPress on your computer system, you can refer to WordPress Codex’s Troubleshooting.