Hosting a website does not stop from getting a good web hosting provider. You should also be knowledgeable on the different processes of setting up a website. A popular kind of website is a blog. Blogs nowadays are used by writers and non-writers alike. Blogs used to be a medium for self expression. But today, blogs are used to share information and form communities.

They say that if you are passionate about something, you can create a blog. You can write about it and get a loyal following of people who are also interested about the same thing. And in today’s trend, you can even make some money with your blog if you are good at it.

However, how can you make a blog if you do not know how to set one up. This is what this tutorial is for. Blogs, nowadays, are either hosted in free websites like Blogger or LiveJournal or they are hosted independently using a content management system like WordPress. The great thing with WordPress is it allows you to customize the facets of your blog. This means that you can edit the layout as well as include some plugins from the WordPress community.

While WordPress is flexible, some people find it hard to understand how to install WordPress on their website. Here is how.

Installing WordPress Through FTP

FTP is simple enough to understand. It stands for File transfer protocol. Basically, it is software that is able to open your hosting account and the your files on your computer in two windows. From here, you will be able to see the folders which allows you transfer files through the FTP connection.

Of course, you should have FTP software to begin the process. What I love to use is a Firefox Add-On called FireFTP. It is integrated with Firefox and it opens easily. What I like most about it is it is free. However, if you are not using Firefox, then you should look for other FTP software such as Filezilla or Cyberduck. These are some of the most frequently used FTP softwares.

Once you have your FTP software, you should also have the latest version of WordPress on your computer. If you don’t, you should get the latest version from WordPress.org. Extract the files in a folder on your desktop.

The next step entails going to your web hosting cPanel account and creating a MySQL database. Log in to your cPanel and find the database section. Click on the MySQL databases icon and create a new database. Remember the name. After that, create a user within that database.

Once you are done with that, go to your WordPress folder and rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php. Change the DB_name, DB_user and DB_pass and save. Upload all the files to your server through your FTP software and you are ready.

Installing WordPress Through Fantastico or Softaculous

In this method, you will install WordPress using the smiley icon called Fantastico in your cPanel. If you do not find this in your web hosting control panel look for another auto-installer called Softaculous. Simply click the icon, find the WordPress section and click on ‘New Installation’. From here, just fill out the form and click next and you are ready to go. Installing WordPress through an auto-installer is an easier and much faster method than doing a manual installation through FTP.  I use Fantastico or Softaculous when setting up all of my WordPress websites.

As you can see, installing WordPress is easy. Just follow these steps and you can start blogging in no time.