WordPress is a free, wildly popular, user-friendly blogging engine that often used as a lightweight content management system, and runs many sites–like this one! But with several versions of WordPress to choose from and sometimes confusing instructions, it can be tough to figure it all out. Want to get into the WordPress scene but don’t know how to start? It’s not so hard!
Which “WordPress” is right for you?
- No budget, no tech expertise, no patience, no need for branding or your own domain? Try free, hosted WordPress from WordPress.com. You sign up for an account, pick a theme and start blogging. Advantages: Free and super easy. Disadvantages: Limited functionality, advertising-supported, and not very flexible. Must choose one of the available themes.
- Small budget, little tech expertise, and maybe want your own domain name? Try Premium WordPress features from WordPress.com. You sign up for an account, pick a theme, set up your domain name if you purchased one, do minor customizations if you purchased the ability to do so–and start blogging. Advantages: Probably inexpensive (depending on the premium features you purchase) and still very easy. Disadvantages: Limited functionality, and only slightly more flexible than free WordPress. Must choose one of the available themes.
- Some budget, some tech expertise (or access to somebody with the skills), full control of functionality, branding and domain name required? Then you need a self-hosted WordPress, which can be downloaded and installed from WordPress.org. Advantages: Full choice of hosting, theme, domain and about a gazillion plugins available for added functionality. This is by far the most flexible option. Disadvantages: More skills required to set up and configure, and ongoing investment required for hosting. Self-hosted WordPress is the best choice for most professional websites. Ad-supported and free blogs simply have less credibility than having your own site.
- Blog network? That would be WordPress MU. WordPress MU–short for multi user—is not to be confused with a blog sporting multiple contributors. The Wordpress.com blog network runs on WordPress MU. WordPress MU has special requirements and requires advanced technical skills to install and operate. If you don’t know what WordPress MU is already, you don’t need it. It’s included here to minimize confusion in case you’ve seen it mentioned elsewhere.
Since the vast majority of sites are best served by a self-hosted WordPress installation, that’s what we’ll cover in detail. You’ll need a Linux hosting account and domain name to set up your site. Almost any commercial web host will have the requirements to run WordPress already in place.
Installing via Fantastico
One of the easiest ways to get WordPress up and running is using a host that features an automatic script installer like Fantastico. To install with Fantastico, you access your hosting control panel, find the Fantastico Happy Face icon, and go through the prompts. Be prepared to decide where you want WordPress installed (in you “root” directory–i.e. if you want WordPress to be the main part of your site, or in a sub-directory, such as mydomain.com/blog,). You’ll also need to be ready to provide a username to sign on, password, and tagline for your blog.
See a Video of Fantastico WordPress Installation in a new window.
Manual Installation
Manual installation is more work and requires limited technical skill (or willingness to learn). WordPress does provide a detailed installation guide here.
- You start by downloading WordPress from WordPress.org.
- You create a database for WordPress on your host. Most hosts will have tools in their hosting control panel for setting up a database and managing users. Good Karma Host using a control panel called cPanel. [1]
- You create a new user for the WordPress database.
- You attach the user to the WordPress database. (Yes, this has to be done specifically and missing this step is a common error.) See a video on setting up a database and user on a cPanel host in a new window.
- You unzip the WordPress files.
- You rename “wp-config-sample.php” to “wp-config.php” and open it in a text editor to put in the information from the database and user you just set up.
- Upload WordPress to your web server’s desired installation folder – usually public_html if you want your main site to run on WordPress, or a different folder if you’re using some webpages that are not generated on WordPress for your main site. Uploading is most often done via a program called an “FTP client” which transfers files from your computer to your web server. If you’re using a cPanel host, you can also use the file manager in your control panel, but this is a clumsy method when uploading multiple files. See a video on using cPanel’s file manager in a new window.
- You run the installation script by browsing to http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php (where “yourdomain.com” is replaced by your actual domain).
- Follow the prompts and you should have yourself some WordPress goodness in about 5 minutes!
The Absolute Easiest WordPress Installation Option
Order hosting from Good Karma Host, and ask for help! We’ll set it all up for you and answer any questions you may have about getting started. 
Feel free to ask questions in the comments, and I’ll be glad to help if I can. Happy blogging, folks!
Footnotes- cPanel is the name of the most widely used hosting control panel software. [↑]
Posted on July 31, 2009 at 4:55 pm in: WordPress
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Update to this – WPMU is now integrated into standalone WP, called WP Multi-User.