Video How-to: Install WordPress - Nice 'n Simple

So you wanna blog, huh? And you’ve looked at the options, and like WordPress. Me too! And you like the expandability and personalisation that a WordPress standalone install gives, but are put off by the installation process?

Don’t be.

In this video I’ll show you, video too, how to install WordPress, nice ‘n simple – including that bit about connecting it to a database. (Ouch! No, really, no worries.)

Here we go…

…or if you want the detailed notes…

How-To Install WordPress

Download WordPress

From wordPress.org, for the latest version.

Unzip

Open the zip file and drag all the files and folders to wherever you’re wanting to host your blog. That could be your site root, ie www.xyz.com, else a containing folder, ie www.xyz.com/blog. Or it could be your local machine, say, for a test blog, ie your C://xamp/htdocs/mynewblog folder for a XAMP setup.

Goto

In your web browser, navigate to that folder, say www.myblog.com/blog. An installation page will appear, like the one above. You’ll be prompted to create a configuration file. Click through.

Some notes

WordPress lets you know what is required. Click through.

DB linkup

You’ll be promted for some details; db name, username, password, host, prefix. Pause…

DB setup

This varies from web host to web host, but commonly there’s an option to set up a database using, say, Postgre or MySQL. If you’ve got a web host utilising cPanel or similar, there’s a link on the control panel. Click on your preferred db vendor – for newbies I recommend mySQL because there’s more community support – and you’ll be prompted to create a new database. Give it a name. Your user name is generally your web host username + db name, ie guv_newdb. Again generally, your password will be the password you use to access your web host administration, as default, but change that.

DB setup alt

If you know your way around phpMyAdmin – which is also included generally with webhost packages, on the database page within your admin panel, or as a XAMP module – open up the page in your web browser. Simply add the database name and click “Create”. Your username and password will be whatever you use to access phpMyAdmin.

OK, back to the WordPress install page…

DB linkup (contd)

Now you have the details to fill the fields Database Name, User Name and Password. For the field Database Host, leave “localhost”. For the Table Prefix, change the default “wp_” to something original like “hack055_”, again for increased security.

Submit

Yup. Click submit. An “All right sparky…” page pops up. Just click “Run the install” now.

Now that wasn’t so bad, connecting the db, huh!

Welcome!

The WordPress installation will open a new page asking for a Blog Title and Your E-mail. Add those. It’ll also ask you whether or not to allow your blog to appear in search engine results. Now click “Install WordPress” and WordPress will fill your database with the required tables. If you don’t understand that, forget it, it’s unimportant, for this anyhow.

Success

The new page says, er, “success”, and gives you a password. Don’t lose that. If you do, and don’t know how to hack a db, you’ll have to do the whole thing over.

Login

For the first time, using “Admin” and the password you’d copied.

Make it hack-proof

OK, here’s the admin panel. Now, to tighten up your blog security, read “Video How-to: 10 Tips To Make WordPress Hack-Proof” and watch the vid.

Enjoy. ‘Cos that’s the main thing.

That handy? Else what have I forgotten? Lemme know below…