How to install WordPress
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Prepare your account
Connect the intended domain and confirm your hosting supports current WordPress requirements. Keep administrator credentials in a password manager.
Install and secure
Use your host’s installer or the official WordPress installation instructions. Set a unique administrator username, enable HTTPS, and configure a backup before publishing.
Verify the launch
Check the homepage and a sample article on mobile, test navigation, set permalink structure, and confirm that any temporary search-engine visibility setting has been removed.
After the installer finishes
Visit both the public homepage and administrator area. Set your preferred permalink format, check timezone, remove sample content, confirm HTTPS, and test a backup restore before adding a large plugin stack.
If installation fails
Record the error, PHP and database versions, and whether the domain resolves correctly. Check the host’s documentation or support rather than repeatedly reinstalling over valuable content.
Technical reference: WordPress.org hosting requirements. Verify current recommendations before installing.
Put this guide to work
Use this short worksheet before making changes or purchasing a service. Keep your answers with your website records so you can revisit them when your needs or contract change.
- Prepare your account: Connect the intended domain and confirm your hosting supports current WordPress requirements. Write down what this means for your own website, identify the information you still need, and verify it using your current account or the relevant provider’s documentation. Do not substitute a general marketing claim for a plan-specific answer.
- Install and secure: Use your host’s installer or the official WordPress installation instructions. Write down what this means for your own website, identify the information you still need, and verify it using your current account or the relevant provider’s documentation. Do not substitute a general marketing claim for a plan-specific answer.
- Verify the launch: Check the homepage and a sample article on mobile, test navigation, set permalink structure, and confirm that any temporary search-engine visibility setting has been removed. Write down what this means for your own website, identify the information you still need, and verify it using your current account or the relevant provider’s documentation. Do not substitute a general marketing claim for a plan-specific answer.
If an answer is uncertain, pause that part of the decision and verify it. For changes to a live site, make a restorable backup first and test the result before deleting the previous configuration.