Although the process is considered simple by most people, a lot of webmasters can find installing WordPress for the first time a daunting task.  There are many things that can go wrong with the alleged “5 Minute Install”.  Here we’ll address the three most common mistakes webmasters make when installing WordPress.

Web Hosting Compatibility:

Often times web hosting services aren’t compatible with WordPress for one reason or another.  They might not have the required scripting support for PHP, or they may not allow for SQL access.  Both of these things are a MUST when using WordPress.  If your hosting company does not have these features, then you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Sometimes though, certain web hosts have a way to remedy this.  You can try to look for an auto installer that automatically installs WordPress for you like Fantastico.  The hosting company may have modified WordPress a little in order to emulate scripting and database support in a controlled environment.

MySQL Setup:

Many people try to upload WordPress thinking it’s going to work out-of-the-box.  This isn’t so.  As dictated in the installation manual for the “Famous 5-minute Install”, your SQL server information must be provided.  You must also create an SQL database complete with a username and password for WordPress to create a table in.

By default, WordPress uses “localhost” for the SQL server’s location.  Some web servers have separate machines that handle MySQL databases, and they can provide you with a domain name or IP address for your reference.  You can replace “localhost” with your SQL server’s location in the “config.php” file.

Auto-Installer Failures:

There are many free web hosts out there that claim to have a WordPress auto installer.  However, most of the time these installations are just bait in order to get you to purchase premium hosting.  What will happen is you’ll activate the install, and about half-way though you’ll be greeted with an error message telling you “You can either try again later, or purchase one of our premium hosting packages”.  Sound familiar?  Sadly, it’s not a coincidence.  Don’t expect a free hosting service to be able to install WordPress automatically. It’s well worth getting quality paid web hosting so that you don’t have to deal with the hassles and limitations of free hosting.

There are many forums and websites set up all over the internet that deal with WordPress installation issues.  The WordPress site itself has a very active forum dedicated to them.  If you don’t feel your installation problems were addressed here, just ask an online community.  Chances are someone else has had the same problem before, and will know how to fix it.