HOW TO: Host and Build Your Own WordPress Blog -- Part 2	2.8/5.0 (4 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
Dre Armeda June 22, 2009

Your new domain name and hosting account is all set up. What now?

Now we get to the meat and potato’s. You now have your domain sitting on your hosting account. It’s time to get WordPress downloaded, uploaded to your server, and installed. You’ll know what I mean by the time you are done reading this post.

I initially wanted to create a post that went from registering your domain name, to installing WordPress, to publishing your first post. It became apparent quickly that it would be better to segment the HOW TO into multiple posts. This is the second post in the series, and the follow on will include plugin installation, theme upload, and WordPress personalization.

The great thing about WordPress is its following. If it exists in WordPress, it has probably been written about. Using your resources along the way, will help make anything possible.

1. Download WordPress

Not everyone is geeky The objective of this post is to show you that it’s fairly easy to get a small, manageable website up and running.

Lets head over to Wordpress.org and download the latest version of WordPress.

Make sure to save the compressed folder somewhere you remember. I typically create a directory on my desktop with the name of the project so I can keep everything organized in one place.

The file will need to be uncompressed, your Operating System should be able to do the job. If not, I recommend you get 7-Zip loaded. It’s free and simple to use.

2. Upload WordPress

Most hosts offer install scripts like Fantastico that will auto install software like WordPress very quickly. Although this is an option, I personally do manual installations and recommend you do so as well.

As you start the process of getting your WordPress site set up, you will be spending some good time logged into your server. You’ll be managing files, adding themes, and uploading images. A lot of these tasks can now be done via the WordPress administration panel but there are a few things that still need to be done via Secure Shell (SSH) or File Transfer Protocol (FTP). We will be going over using FTP to get your files where they need to be.

There are various FTP programs out there, some free, some quite expensive, all with similar features. I recommend FileZilla, as it is free and will do everything you need to manage your website files and directories via FTP.

So now you have your FTP program locked and loaded, it’s time to push your files up to your host.

Your host, will provide you with credentials and FTP configuration settings. Typically you will need to know the hostname (web address), Username, Password, and default directory. Once you get the correct information from your host, input the info into your client and test your connection to the server

If you can’t get connected to the server properly, contact your host, they should have documentation to help you out.

For the rest of you, now that you’re logged in, it’s time to upload your files to the proper directories. Navigate through your server to the place you want to install WordPress. Upload all of the files and directories that came with the WordPress download (i.e. http://armeda.com/ or http://armeda.com/blog). Depending on the type of site the location will vary. I typically install in the root directory but again, this will vary based on your needs and likes.

3. Create Database

As with the WordPress automatic installation that some hosts offer, the database creation can also be automated with scripts like Fantastico. Again, I prefer to manually create all needed components.

Every host will have a slightly variated way to create a database but most are similar. There are a few things you have to accomplish here when creating the WordPress ready database:

Create Database

Most hosts have an administration panel with a Database creation page, CPanel is a very popular Web-Admin Panel. I am a Media Temple guy and they have their own. Head over to the page and create a database, give it whatever name you like. I name my databases according to their use, makes it easier to remember.

Create Database User

Now your database is created but you can’t do anything with it without creating a database user that can use the database. Again choose the name of your choice and add the user.

Add User to Database

The database is ready, now you have a user, you need to associate them and give the user the appropriate permissions to access and use the database. Make sure to give the user read and write permissions, some database management pages will give you more options, give the user full rights if asked.

Take note of the database name, user name, and the password. You will need it during the Wordpress installation process.

4. Install WordPress

It’s all smooth riding from here. You have all the files you need, your database is ready to go, so let’s get cooking on a WordPress installation.

Open up your browser of choice. Do you remember where you uploaded your WordPress files and directories? (i.e. http://armeda.com/ or http://armeda.com/blog) Type in the URL and you’ll be prompted through the Famous 5 Minute Install.

Some servers require you to enter all of your settings into a configuration file. If you go to the WordPress download folder, you will find a file named wp-config-sample.php. Add your database and database user information into that file and save as wp-config.php. Open up your FTP client and upload the file.

In any case, the web interface configuration works for most installations just fine. At this point you enter all of your database and database user information.

Once your database information is entered in the web interface or straight into wp-config.php, you will receive a Welcome screen asking for you to give your blog a name.

This is one of the last steps and now you are only moments away from logging into your WordPress admin area for the first time. Once you enter your Blog title and email address, you will be taken to a page that shows you your admin password. Make sure to keep that in a safe place, then click the log in button.

That’s it. You just installed WordPress. It’s time to login for the first time

Now wasn’t that easy? The neat thing is there are various ways to get to the same place, it’s a matter of getting comfortable with the various processes and using what is best in your situation

There you have it. So far in the series, you have registered a domain name, purchased hosting, you’ve learned how to FTP files to a server, create a MySQL database, and install WordPress on your server. Stay tuned for the next post in the series which will cover plugin installation, theme upload, and how to personalize your blog.

If you or anyone you know is in need of professional WordPress or Web help for that matter, don’t hesitate to contact me.

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